Have you heard of hospital classrooms?
Hospital classrooms are special support classes for children with health impairments or physical frailty, set up inside hospitals for students who have to be hospitalized due to injury or illness.
In Kurashiki City, hospital classrooms for Kurashiki City Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School and Kurashiki City Higashi Junior High School are located at Kurashiki Central Hospital, while hospital classrooms for Kurashiki City Sho Elementary School and Kurashiki City Sho Junior High School are located at Kawasaki Medical School Hospital.
The Hospital Classroom Art Exhibition, where visitors can see the traces of the children’s learning, is being held again this school year (2024) at Nishina Shoten iroiro, located in Ebisu-dori Shopping Street, close to the Bikan Historical Area.
The information provided was accurate at the time this article was published in February 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is the “Hospital Classroom Nakayoshi Art Exhibition Special Display”?
From Tuesday, January 21 to Sunday, January 26, 2025, the “Kurashiki Kids Nakayoshi Art Exhibition” was held at Kurashiki City Art Museum.
The Kurashiki Kids Nakayoshi Art Exhibition is held every year to broaden understanding of and support for special needs education.
All special needs schools in Kurashiki City, as well as every school with special support classes, participate in the Kurashiki Kids Nakayoshi Art Exhibition.
The “Hospital Classroom Nakayoshi Art Exhibition Special Display” (hereafter, “Hospital Classroom Art Exhibition”) features only works by students in special support classes for children with health impairments or physical frailty, whose classrooms are located inside hospitals.
It was first held in the 2023 school year, and this school year (2024) marks its second edition.
Each hospital classroom is designated as a special support class at a Kurashiki City elementary or junior high school, but its classroom is in a hospital, not on school grounds. As a result, even students at the same school may not know that the hospital classroom exists.
The Hospital Classroom Art Exhibition began because the teachers in charge of the hospital classrooms were eager for many people, including local residents and tourists, to learn about the hospital classrooms and the achievements of the students who work hard there.
Jan. 27 (Mon.)–Feb. 1 (Sat.): view from outside the shop; Feb. 2 (Sun.): time available to view inside
The Hospital Classroom Art Exhibition is organized by the teachers in charge of the hospital classrooms. Therefore, on weekdays, when students are engaged in educational activities, the works can be viewed through the glass from outside Nishina Shoten iroiro.
Although viewed through glass, the works are easy to see because the teachers in charge of the hospital classrooms have carefully arranged the display so that visitors can see them clearly from outside.
If you would like to take your time viewing the works inside, we recommend visiting between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 2. During this time, the glass doors at the front of the shop will be open, allowing you to view the works up close.
Being hospitalized is hard, but hospital classrooms are fun!
Students in hospital classrooms are hospitalized, and many have to cope with dietary restrictions, fluctuating health, and difficult treatments. They must face many hardships that healthy people can hardly imagine.
One of the exhibited works, “Everyone’s Dream Tree,” shares the children’s heartfelt wishes, such as “I want to eat my mom’s cooking” and “I want to leave the hospital soon.”
On the other hand, because instruction needs to be tailored to each child, hospital classrooms have small numbers of students. This also gives each child the reassurance of always having a teacher’s attention.
Hospital classrooms also include time for independent living activities, a feature of special needs education. Kurashiki Central Hospital calls this “Genki Time,” while Kawasaki Medical School Hospital calls it “Nakayoshi Time.” The children reportedly gather together for activities that help them get along and deepen their connections.
Independent living activities are activities that “foster the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and habits necessary for individual students to aim for independence and proactively improve or overcome difficulties in learning or daily life caused by disabilities, thereby cultivating the foundation for harmonious development of mind and body.”
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Many of the works in this exhibition were also created during “Genki Time” or “Nakayoshi Time.”
According to the teachers in charge of the hospital classrooms, the children work hard to manage their health and undergo treatment in preparation for these activities, and enjoy spending time together in a relaxed atmosphere.
Hospital classrooms provide attentive instruction and offer activities that children look forward to. Many children reportedly say when they leave the hospital, “Being hospitalized was hard, but hospital classroom was fun!”
Experiences made possible by being in a hospital classroom
Among the works in the Hospital Classroom Art Exhibition are pieces created during an outreach workshop by Ohara Museum of Art in the Bikan Historical Area, as well as dolls made for the Happy Doll Project, which shares mascot dolls created by patients, doctors, staff, and others by featuring them in the Paper Museum.
Children who usually spend their time in hospital rooms often have difficulty going outside. One feature of hospital classrooms is that they offer many activities that children can experience while remaining in the hospital.
These hands-on learning experiences may be one reason why children say, “Being hospitalized was hard, but hospital classroom was fun!”
This year’s Ohara Museum of Art outreach program connected the hospital classrooms at Kurashiki Central Hospital and Kawasaki Medical School Hospital online, and was held while the children watched how things were going for each other. Since these are the only two hospital classrooms in Kurashiki City, exchanging with fellow students working hard through their hospital stays must have been a great source of inspiration.
The computer-printed works created in the hospital classroom at Kawasaki Medical School Hospital were made together with students from Kawasaki Medical School. The works were also exhibited at the university’s school festival, providing another opportunity for exchange with the university.
Interview with Teachers in Charge of Hospital Classrooms
We spoke with Vice Principal Nakamura Mika (Kurashiki Municipal Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School), Teacher Suwa Mayumi (Kurashiki Municipal Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School), Teacher Yamaguchi Yumiko (Kurashiki Municipal Higashi Junior High School), and Teacher Kashitani Kyoko (Kurashiki Municipal Sho Elementary School), who helped set up the hospital classroom exhibition.
Could you tell us what inspired you to plan the “Hospital Classroom Friendship Exhibition Special Showcase”?
Nakamura (surname only)
The exhibition at Nishina Shoten iroiro began last year (fiscal 2023), thanks to a connection we made. The shop is located on a shopping street linking JR Kurashiki Station and the Bikan Historical Area, and we wanted people to learn about hospital classrooms and see what the children working hard in them can do.
Many people came to see the exhibition last year, and we received comments such as, “I learned about hospital classrooms for the first time” and “The brightness of the children’s work cheered me up.” Hospital classrooms are still not widely known, so I’m glad we were able to create an opportunity like this.
Who would you like to come and see the exhibition?
Nakamura
I hope local residents as well as tourists will stop by and take a look.
I’d also like children who have been discharged from the hospital and left their hospital classroom, as well as former students, to come and see it. Children who have been discharged can rarely meet the classmates and younger students they worked hard alongside in the hospital classroom. But I’d be happy if they could see through the exhibition how their peers are doing in the hospital classroom, or look back fondly on the fun memories they made at the time.
I heard that the Ohara Museum of Art outreach program brought together the two hospitals for activities online.
Yamaguchi (surname only)
We were able to bring iPads and other digital devices into the hospital, so we worked together online while watching each other create. The children were very happy and held their works in progress up to the camera to show one another.
Suwa (surname only)
“Our Dream Tree,” displayed on the wall, is also a collaborative work by the four hospital classrooms. It’s an exhibition where you can see the children’s authentic voices.
Do you have a message for our readers?
Kashitani (surname only)
Even while in the hospital because of illness or injury, children approach their studies with a positive attitude. Through this exhibition, I hope more people will learn about hospital classrooms and the children working hard in them.
All of the children’s works are bright and uplifting, so I hope you’ll come and feel their energy.
From the Writer
At the Friendship Exhibition held at Kurashiki City Art Museum through Sunday, January 26, 2025, the hospital classroom works were displayed in a tall, narrow space. At Nishina Shoten iroiro, they are displayed with plenty of room in a spacious area, which gave them a noticeably different impression.
I had imagined that hospital classrooms involved children with different symptoms studying individually. However, many of the works in this exhibition were made by children working together or showed traces of activities they shared. It was clear that the teachers actively ensure that children in the hospital can enjoy group activities and take part in activities with adults from outside the hospital.
“What is a hospital classroom?” “I missed the Kurashiki Kids’ Friendship Exhibition!” For anyone wondering, these are works that many people will want to stop and admire.
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