Sakura City Students' Learning Reaches Nepal: Educational Support by Nakayoshi Gakuen Project

In June 2026, the NPO Nakayoshi Gakuen Project carried out educational support activities at schools in Lumbini Province, Nepal, utilizing teaching materials created by children in Japanese schools.

For this initiative, "matching cards" and paper cup kendama toys made by students at Sakura City Ojidai Elementary School, origami works by students at Sakura City Manodai Elementary School, as well as Sakura miso and recipe materials, were utilized at schools in Lumbini Province and at a Japanese restaurant in the capital city, Kathmandu.

Sakura City has previously participated in educational support activities at refugee camps in Syria and Cambodia through the "Learning Connecting to the World" project. This year, multiple schools within the city are participating, continuing efforts to deliver the learning of Japanese children to countries around the world.

This time, Nakayoshi Gakuen was invited by Nepalese government education officials to conduct classes introducing Japanese education in Lumbini Province. The activities were conducted at the invitation of government advisor Usa Giri as part of the Japanese-style education introduction program rolled out at 12 local schools. The activities have also been reported to the Minister of Education.

At Madrasa Kadariya Ahl-e-Sunnat Misbahul Uloom school, an intercultural exchange and hands-on class was held under the theme of "Introduction to Japan." Using the Japan Introduction BOOK created by Kashiwa Junior High School of Shibaura Institute of Technology, they taught about Japanese life and culture, followed by playing with the matching cards made by students from Ojidai Elementary School, creating a time to learn while playing with Nepalese children.

Matching cards are handmade teaching materials made using leaves and familiar natural objects. Children flip the cards and look for the same patterns, exercising observation, memory, and concentration. They conveyed to Nepalese children and teachers that learning can be created using objects around them, without the need for expensive teaching materials or special equipment.

Paper cup kendama toys were also introduced. Seeing Japanese children creating games using familiar materials provided fresh learning for the local teachers.

Local teachers who observed the classes shared their impressions: "This is the first time I've seen Japanese education. It is wonderful that children are making prototypes of goods adults create using things around them, rather than expensive teaching tools. We are busy teaching textbooks, but the Nakayoshi Gakuen class, where students learn structures through creativity and making things, was listened to with great interest by not only the students but also the teachers."

What Nakayoshi Gakuen delivers is not just teaching materials. It is the experience that things Japanese children learned, thought about, and made cross the sea and are actually used in classrooms around the world. By having the reactions returned to Japanese schools, the Japanese children themselves can gain the realization that "their learning is useful to the world."

Recipe materials and Sakura miso created by students at Manodai Elementary School were delivered to the Japanese restaurant "Harima" in Kathmandu. The recipes explain how to make yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls) and miso soup. In Nepal, yaki-onigiri was actually made using Sakura miso. In the future, local chefs plan to add arrangements tailored to Nepalese food culture, planning to develop this into a new form of learning that connects Japanese and local food cultures.

Ms. Rie Nakamura, Secretary-General of Nakayoshi Gakuen, held origami workshops at each school. The origami works and gifts sent by students from Manodai Elementary School conveyed peace and Japanese culture to the children of Nepal.