The International Quilt Museum alongside Saitama University teamed up with University of Nebraska–Lincoln students earlier this summer for an opportunity to explore nutrition, culture and textile arts in Japan.

On June 4, 16 Nebraska students met up with a group of Saitama University students at the Janus Creation Gallery, a textile art gallery located in Tokyo. The UNL students, on the education abroad experience, “Nutrition, Exercise, Food and Culture,” visited the gallery to learn about the quilts on display there from Marin Hanson, curator of International Collections at Nebraska’s International Quilt Museum. In addition to admiring the art quilts, the students had the opportunity to sample a range of traditional Japanese sweets and snacks, courtesy of Ryoko Kobayashi, gallery owner and IQM International Advisory Board member.

Hanson, who was teaching a Museum Studies class with Saitama professor and UNL alum, Nao Nomura, connected with the university education abroad tour leaders, Shinya Takahashi and Linda Young of the College of Education and Human Sciences, to make the meet-up happen.

During their two-week trip, the students examined how diet, physical activity, exercise habits and culture influence individuals’ well-being in the United States and Japan. The trip included a variety of activities intended to introduce the students to Japanese culture while emphasizing interactions with the people of Japan. Students participated in a Judo lesson, Zen meditation and rice planting. They also made visits to the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, the 2021 summer Olympic games stadium, two universities (including the Tokyo University of Agriculture), and a middle school and high school.