Family Fun: Children’s Day,
Ikebana Flower Arrangement- Ikenobo School, and Sado: The Way of Tea at
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
May workshops, classes, and demonstrations:
Friday, May 2
Documentary Film Screening: Fall Seven Times, Get up Eight: The Japanese War Brides
Discussion led by Director Katheryn Tolbert and Moderator Dr. Mitzi Carter
Underwritten by Linda and Michael Sonnenreich
Time: 7:00pm
Cost: $10 (members $7)
Despite lingering wartime enmity, tens of thousands of Japanese wives — the biggest influx of Asian women in
U.S. history — crossed the Pacific. They began new lives in difficult and to them mysterious circumstances,
scattered across the country in places where they were often the first Japanese ever seen. What was it like to
abandon family, friends and country, and marry a former enemy? Even for those whose choice of spouse
proved to be a tragic mistake, there was no turning back. Many in Japan viewed them as social outcasts and
even today the words “war bride” in Japanese carry such a stigma — of bar girls, even prostitution — that
people don’t like to say them. Now these women are in their 80s. This is their story, of lives shaped by one
irrevocable decision.
Kathryn Tolbert was a journalist with The Washington Post for more than 25 years, as an editor, reporter, and
correspondent in Tokyo. She is currently executive director of The War Bride Experience, Inc., a nonprofit
organization founded by Kathryn and two other first-born daughters of Japanese war brides, Lucy Craft and
Karen Kasmauski. She is the author of the oral history archive at www.warbrideproject.com and was a co-
director of the documentary film Fall Seven Times Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides. The War Bride
Experience has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National
Museum of American History to create the exhibition “Japanese War Brides, Across a Wide Divide.”
Saturday, May 3
Calligraphy: Adults (W)
Time: 11:30am – 1pm or 2pm – 3:30pm
Cost: $40 (Cost does not include museum admission) Advance Registration Required
Learn brush strokes using sumi ink and a brush to write Japanese characters. After practicing on paper, you will
create a final calligraphy on shikishi board to take home. Just bring your curiosity! For more information or to
register, visit www.morikami.org.
Saturday, May 3
Koto (D)
Time: 12pm, 1:30pm or 3pm
Cost: $5 with paid admission to the museum
Koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument first introduced to Japan from China in the 7th-8th
centuries. Learn the fascinating history of this exquisite instrument and listen to its captivating and tranquil
sounds demonstrated by intermediate koto students.
Saturday, May 3
Family Fun: Children’s Day
Time: 10am – 4pm
Cost: FREE for members or with paid museum admission
Come join us to celebrate the Japanese holiday of Children’s Day by making a Japanese toy kendama, playing
Japanese games, or making a flying carp kite called koinobori!
Saturday, May 10
Tea Ceremony (W)
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Cost: $60 Advance Registration Required
The workshop teaches the basics of sadō – The Way of Tea – necessary to understand the aesthetics of sadō
and to fully enjoy the tea ceremony itself. Participants become familiar with how to be a guest, how to make a
bowl of tea, and serve it. To register, visit morikami.org.
Saturday, May 17
Sado: The Way of Tea (D)
Time: 12pm, 1:30pm or 3pm
Cost: $5 with paid museum admission.
Observe Japanese sadō, an ever-changing demonstration rich in seasonal subtleties. Your involvement in the
true spirit of sadō — harmony (wa), reverence (kei), purity (sei), tranquility (jaku) — along with a sip of matcha
green tea and a sweet will help you bring a calm perspective into your busy life.
Sunday, May 18
Family Fun: Sumo Wrestling Game
Time: Virtual Program
Cost: FREE
Sumo season is here! Become your own sumo wrestler by making your own sumo wrestling ring game!