Press

‘Hello From Japan!’ 

Poor Godzilla. He didn’t make the cut.

“Hello From Japan!,” the latest exhibition at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, crams a lot of culture into one room. While it doesn’t include movie monsters — perhaps too scary? — it has other fanciful Japanese creatures: dragons, beckoning white cats (they’re good luck) and yuru-kyara, odd mascots representing places, sports teams, businesses, even individuals. The city of Narita, for instance, takes pride in its eel restaurants and busy airport, so its yuru-kyara, Unari-kun, is half eel and half airplane. Part of the fun of “Hello From Japan!” is an opportunity for children to create their own mascots; no hybrid is too bizarre.

At one end of the exhibition, you’ll stroll through displays representing Tokyo’s Harajuku district, the center of teenage life and wacky fashion. Little visitors can join the fun by dressing up according to the kawaii, or cute, aesthetic — think of Hello Kitty — and singing karaoke to tunes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” (A video screen shows you how to pronounce the Japanese lyrics.) This is Japan at its sweetest and silliest.

A more serious and serene aspect, though, lies across a small bridge, where the exhibition evokes one of Japan’s many Shinto shrine parks. The Shinto religion honors kami, or spirits, which are believed to exist in all things and can help humans. A reproduction of a shrine to Inari Okami, or the kami protecting rice fields, includes figures of kitsune (foxes) believed to be this spirit’s messengers. (Perhaps not surprisingly, they look like Pokémon.)

Central to this area is a big wishing tree, trees being conduits for kami. Children can follow the practice of writing wishes on ema — wooden plaques, here represented by notecards — and tying them to the branches. They may not understand the religious references — Buddhism is mentioned, too — but it’s refreshing to see a show for young people deal with non-Western faiths so straightforwardly.

The exhibition also succeeds in entertaining a range of ages. Preschoolers can build miniature bridges or serve a plate of pretend shun (seasonal food); older children can investigate the Japanese language via touch screens that allow them to trace characters with a finger, stroke by stroke, and spell the words for various fruits and vegetables. Kamishibai Weekend: The Art of Storytelling, this Saturday and Sunday, will offer traditional Japanese tales and crafts.

And yes, the show will teach you how to say hello: “Konnichiwa.”

By LAUREL GRAEBER