The Hokusai-kan Museum in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture, marked its 50th anniversary this year. The museum has a kids' room that reflects Japanese tradition and sensibility, and it also includes an art gallery that exhibits and sells works by contemporary artists, as well as a café, making it a museum that even small children can enjoy.
The museum shop carries a range of kids' items, including kids' T-shirts designed by Eiji Mitooka (水戸岡鋭治), who designed the kids' room, and picture books. The recommended items below include original Hokusai-kan products, and they can also be purchased at the museum's online shop.
Kids' Items at the Hokusai-kan Museum Shop
Mitokusai Kids' T-Shirt (Navy and Red), Red Fuji Design (Hokusai-kan Original)
Sizes: 90, 110 and 130. Only the size 90 has snap buttons on the shoulder, which make it easier to pull over the head.
This original kids' T-shirt was born from "Mitokusai" (水戸久斎), the kids' room at the Hokusai-kan Museum. It brings the colorful and fun world of "Mitokusai" onto a T-shirt. The design is Red Fuji, "Fine Wind, Clear Morning" (凱風快晴).
The design is by Eiji Mitooka, who has designed many JR Kyushu trains and stations and has won numerous awards for his bold color schemes and use of materials such as wood and leather.
Mitokusai Kids' T-Shirt (White), "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" Design (Hokusai-kan Original)
Sizes: 90, 110 and 130. Only the size 90 has snap buttons.
This is another original kids' T-shirt born from the "Mitokusai" kids' room, bringing the colorful and fun world of "Mitokusai" onto a T-shirt. The design is "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (神奈川沖浪裏).
It suits both days of energetic play and outings.
Cheek Room Kids' T-Shirt (Pink, Yellow and Blue), Big Wave
Sizes: 80, 100 and 120. Only the size 80 has snap buttons.
This Big Wave T-shirt comes from "Cheek Room" (チークルーム), a kids' apparel brand that draws on the essence of educational toys. Its concept is to look, touch and think, and the T-shirt has fun built-in features that suit curious kids.
The big wave and Mount Fuji parts have flaps that can be lifted, and children might even play with the clothes together with their friends. Cute animals such as an octopus and a penguin play on the big wave, and the scene is meant to make kids smile and spark their imagination as they wonder what the animals are doing and what happens next.
Hokusai Snow Globe "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (神奈川沖浪裏)
Children and adults alike are captivated by the way the glitter swirls and sparkles inside. The snow globe shows the three-dimensional splashes of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." It is suitable for small children and people of any age, and it is also recommended as a gift for someone special.
Origami Cranes "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" (冨嶽三十六景)
Hokusai's popular series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" has been turned into pearl-finish origami paper for folding cranes. As the crane takes shape, the images from the series appear on its wings. There are 46 designs in all, and the paper is also recommended as a gift.
Book: Miffy and Hokusai-san (ミッフィーとほくさいさん)
This picture book can be enjoyed by children and adults together. It is suited to reading aloud to children and to giving as a gift.
It is the third book in the "Talking With Kids About Pictures" (こどもと絵で話そう) series. This volume features Katsushika Hokusai, a star artist of the Edo period who is known around the world. Beginning with the famous painting of Mount Fuji that everyone has seen, it lets both children and adults discover new charms and fun in Hokusai's work.
Hair Ties, Katsushika Hokusai "One Hundred Ghost Tales" Series, Severed-Head Hair Ties (Oiwa-san, Kohada Koheiji, Sarayashiki and Warai Hannya)
Hokusai's "One Hundred Ghost Tales" (百物語) have been turned into hair ties. Four designs are available: "Oiwa-san" (お岩さん), "Kohada Koheiji" (こはだ小平次), "Sarayashiki" (さらやしき) and "Warai Hannya" (笑ひはんにゃ).
The hair ties blend horror and cuteness into a new kind of item. With their striking looks, they can also be used to help prevent umbrella theft, as hair accessories or as markers for belongings. They can also be used as part of gift wrapping.
Book: The Hokusai Museum Coloring Book (北斎 ぬりえミュージアム), Shogakukan Art Coloring Book (小学館 アートぬりえBOOK)
From Mount Fuji to yokai, this coloring book gathers Hokusai's masterpieces into 30 pages to color. Katsushika Hokusai is a superstar whose fame spread around the world and who has fascinated not only people of the Edo period but people today as well. The pages range from Mount Fuji in "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" to the humorous pictures of "Hokusai Manga" and the ghosts of "One Hundred Ghost Tales."
At the front of the book are special stickers, a color list of the works and an explanatory page that covers everything about Hokusai in 10 minutes. The full text comes with an English translation.
Passport Cover "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (神奈川沖浪裏)
This popular item turns one of Hokusai's best-known works into a passport cover. It is made of clear PVC, and the design of the passport blends well with "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" from "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji." Parents and children can also carry matching covers.
Book: Katsushika Hokusai, Comic Edition Biographies of the World, Vol. 37 (葛飾北斎 コミック版 世界の伝記)
Katsushika Hokusai joins Poplar Publishing's (ポプラ社) "Comic Edition Biographies of the World" series, which is known for its illustrations that are friendly to children and easy-to-follow stories, as well as extensive articles on the historical background and chronologies.
Hokusai was a genius ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period who is also introduced in elementary school textbooks. A rising manga artist dramatically depicts his unconventional life. Through a life filled with many extraordinary episodes, the book conveys Hokusai's passion for painting.
Kids' Room "Mitokusai's Playroom" (水戸久斎)
Inside the room, children can play as if traveling around the places depicted in "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji." The room also has a ball pool inspired by waves and a play area that reproduces "Hokusai Manga" in three dimensions. It is a space where children can play together with their guardians.
Design by Eiji Mitooka (水戸岡鋭治) × space design by 砂田光紀
Admission information
- Eligible visitors: Children aged 1 year to preschool age, together with a guardian
- Fee: ¥300 per child (an accompanying guardian is given a visitor card)
Online Shop and Official Website
- Hokusai-kan Online Shop: https://shop.hokusai-kan.com/
- Hokusai-kan Official Website: https://hokusai-kan.com/
