Even if you’re interested in visiting an art museum with your children, do you worry, “Will they be able to look at the art quietly?” or “Will they disturb the other visitors?” Parents of children with disabilities or children whose physical or mental development is slower may feel even more limited in their options for outings.
However, regardless of disability or age, the experience of viewing art and being moved by it is irreplaceable.
On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the event “Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day” was held, giving families who use Kurashiki City Comprehensive Developmental Support and Consultation Center “Yumepal”—which supports parents and children with disabilities or slower physical or mental development—exclusive access to a special exhibition at the Kurashiki City Art Museum.
The Kurashiki City Art Museum is currently hosting the special exhibition “Mitsunori Yabe and Taro Yabe: Kurashiki, the Hometown of ‘My Dad’,” which evokes the warmth between parents and children.
Here’s a look at “Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day,” which also included a kamishibai storytelling session.
The information provided was current when this article was published in December 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Kurashiki City Comprehensive Developmental Support and Consultation Center “Yumepal”?
Yumepal is a comprehensive developmental support and consultation center on the first floor of Kurashiki Health and Welfare Plaza in Sasaoki, Kurashiki City.
Yumepal offers the following three services:
- Consultations about children’s physical and mental development
- Information about children’s development
- Building connections among the various organizations involved with children
It provides consultations for children whose physical or mental development is a concern, and helps connect families with the welfare services they need.
What is “Mitsunori Yabe and Taro Yabe: Kurashiki, the Hometown of ‘My Dad’”?
“Mitsunori Yabe and Taro Yabe: Kurashiki, the Hometown of ‘My Dad’” is an exhibition held at the Kurashiki City Art Museum from Friday, October 17, through Sunday, December 21, 2025.
Many related events are planned during the exhibition, including a talk and workshops with father-and-son artists Mitsunori Yabe and Taro Yabe, as well as kamishibai storytelling sessions.
What “Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day” was like
For the Kurashiki City Art Museum, offering an art-viewing experience for children with disabilities or developmental concerns and their parents was a first. So this event was held on Tuesday, November 4, a day when the museum was closed and there were no other visitors.
As it was held on a weekday morning, only two families took part.
The event began in a relaxed atmosphere.
Hand-play activities, picture books, and kamishibai, tailored to the children’s reactions
The current exhibition, “Mitsunori Yabe and Taro Yabe: Kurashiki, the Hometown of ‘My Dad’,” begins with original illustrations from Mitsunori Yabe’s kamishibai works. Videos of Yabe reading his kamishibai are also popular, and many museum visitors stop to watch them closely.
For this event, before entering the exhibition room, Kurashiki City College Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education Asano Yasumasa led a kamishibai storytelling session.
The five works featured in the storytelling session were:
- Picture book “Bakebake Happa”
Tomohiko Fujimoto / Happy Owl - Picture book “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (a pull-tab book)
David A. Carter / Dainippon Kaiga - Kamishibai “What’s That? What’s That?”
Mitsunori Yabe / Doshinsha - Kamishibai “The Hare and the Tortoise”
Taro Yabe and Mitsunori Yabe / Doshinsha - Kamishibai “The Cowherd and the Mountain Witch”
Joji Tsubota and Mitsunori Yabe / Doshinsha
Although there were many works, the session included plenty of hand-play activities and interaction with the children. The children even asked Asano to “Read more!” and everyone clearly enjoyed the storytelling.
An engaging viewing session as parents and children interacted with curators and staff
Because the group was small, the curator was able to explain the works at the children’s pace.
Mitsunori Yabe’s works are all like records of child-rearing that bring to mind interactions between parents and children. At the time, Yabe’s family was also something of a pioneer of the “ikumen” (hands-on father), with the mother going out to work and the father taking care of the children—a still-uncommon arrangement.
By chance, one family that day had a father visiting with his two daughters. As he took his time looking at the works, museum and Yumepal staff kept an eye on the children.
The children especially loved the corner with toys made from scrap materials. After trying every toy, they repeatedly played with their favorites.
The exhibition also conveyed how much Mitsunori Yabe looks forward to making toys from scrap materials and playing with children. The children readily embraced Yabe’s ideas and played to their hearts’ content, making their play seem like another work of art.
“Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day” is expected to be held again
Parents who took part shared the following comments:
“It was wonderful to be able to enjoy the art at the children’s pace. I was happy to see them having such a great time and getting absorbed in it. If there are more opportunities like this, I’d love to bring them along again.”
Staff at the Kurashiki City Art Museum also said:
“This was our first time welcoming families with developmental concerns, and we were glad that both the children and their parents enjoyed it. Mr. Yabe is an artist who believes it is valuable for children to enjoy engaging with art, so this initiative was also in keeping with the exhibition’s purpose. We hope to continue working with Yumepal to offer opportunities to enjoy art to families facing a range of circumstances.”
“Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day,” which brought smiles to both participants and organizers, is just getting started.
We hope that more initiatives will make it possible for children with disabilities or developmental concerns, and their parents, to enjoy art.
Articles about the Kurashiki City Art Museum
Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day Information
| Name | Art for Parents and Children! Yumepal Day |
|---|---|
| Date | November 4, 2025 (Tuesday) 10:00–11:00 a.m. |
| Location | 2-6-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Participation fee (tax included) | Free admission |
| Website | Kurashiki City Comprehensive Therapy Consultation Center Yumepal |
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