On June 7, the House of Histories, a branch of the National Museum of Lithuania (NML), will open its summer Family Weekend series. The first of three events scheduled for this season coincides with Father’s Day and invites families to an Ainu-themed weekend – a full-day program where visitors can discover the culture of Japan’s enigmatic northern Indigenous people through mythology, traditions, art, music and cuisine. The day’s program will feature educational activities, creative workshops, guided tours, lectures and culinary experiences inspired by the exhibition “A Soul Between Worlds”.

According to the House of Histories team, June’s inaugural Family Weekend is designed as an opportunity for meaningful time with loved ones. Families are invited to take part in creative and educational activities together, explore the distinctive world of Ainu culture and uncover unexpected connections between distant traditions.

“We want the museum to be a place where curiosity becomes a shared and meaningful experience for families – through creativity, discovery and play,” says Simona Širvydaitė-Šliupienė, director of the House of Histories and curator of the exhibition “A Soul Between Worlds”. “Ainu culture lends itself especially well to this vision, as it is rich in connections to nature, mythology, symbolism and living traditions.”

Throughout the Family Weekend, visitors will have the chance to try playing jaw harps, participate in manga workshops and learn about the history and cultural significance of tattooing. The program will also include the educational session Lithuanian Mythical Beings, which invites participants to explore ancient Lithuanian worldviews and trace their parallels with Ainu culture.

Guided tours of the exhibition “A Soul Between Worlds” will introduce visitors to Ainu traditions, ways of life and the remarkable story of Bronisław Piłsudski, the Lithuanian-born researcher whose work helped document and preserve Ainu culture.

Creativity, Cuisine and the Stories Behind Tattoos

A variety of hands-on creative activities will also await Family Weekend visitors. Book designer Justina Brukštutė-Šimkė will help children create moving representations of kamuy, the spiritual beings of Ainu belief, while professional manga artist Gvidas Diržys will introduce participants to manga culture and the fundamentals of drawing. Meanwhile, Tamie Sasaki, chef at the Embassy of Japan in Lithuania, will invite families to prepare imoshito, a traditional Ainu dish.

Music enthusiasts will have the opportunity to experiment with one of the world’s oldest instruments – the jaw harp. During a special educational session, visitors will be introduced both to the Ainu bamboo instrument mukkuri and to the Lithuanian metal jaw harp, with participants encouraged to try producing its distinctive sound themselves.

Older visitors can attend a lecture on the history of tattooing and the traditional facial tattoos of Ainu women. The talk will be led by traveling tattoo artist Giedrius Bardauskas, founder of one of Lithuania’s oldest professional tattoo studios and creator of the Tattoo Museum. Having spent years traveling the world, Bardauskas studies traditional tattooing techniques among Indigenous communities, researching symbolism and exploring tattoo traditions across cultures.

Throughout the event, younger visitors will also be able to create paper dolls, decorate them with Ainu-inspired patterns and cut traditional ornaments from origami paper.

More Activities Planned Throughout the Summer

The Ainu-themed weekend is only the first of three Family Weekends scheduled at the House of Histories this summer.

On July 11, the museum will host an event dedicated to themes of statehood in connection with the exhibition “Riding the Wave of Paris Exhibitions: Ethnography, Cultural Diplomacy and Identity”. Visitors can look forward to the lay “Žalia Gyva” (“Green, Alive”), contemporary interpretations of musical programs and a range of educational activities.

Ahead of the Feast of the Assumption, on August 8, another Family Weekend will focus on ethnography and traditional herbs. Organized in collaboration with the Vilnius Ethnic Culture Center, the event will invite families to explore folk traditions, the world of medicinal and ceremonial plants and themes connected to the museum’s collections through creative activities and educational workshops.

The first Family Weekend will take place on June 7 at the House of Histories, a branch of the National Museum of Lithuania, located at T. Kosciuškos Street 3 in Vilnius. While some activities are free of charge, advance registration is required for selected educational programs and workshops. Additional information is available on the National Museum of Lithuania’s website: click here.