Kimono Mom Family Cooking Class

This class is sold out. Limited tickets are available for the on-stage Q&A.

Moe is a former geisha who launched the YouTube channel Kimono Mom in 2020 to share her love of Japanese food and family with the world. Over the past five years, she’s made almost 800 videos and created a global following with over 3 million subscribers. 

Moe’s videos spotlight Japanese home cooking recipes often made side-by-side with her daughter Sutan or husband Moto, and together they showcase their love of food and the honest ups and downs of family life in Japan. Kimono Mom’s latest project is an American cross-country road trip, with Moe, Sutan and Moto traveling around the U.S. to make videos, meet fans and celebrate the American launch of her Umami Sauce. Japan Society is excited to welcome Moe for two events on June 28 as part of her cross-country trek—a family-centered cooking workshop and a larger on-stage Q&A with her fans.

This event is a cooking class hosted by Moe specifically for parents and children, and each ticket includes admission for one parent and one child. In this class, Moe will teach you how to make her take on miso-dama called “UMAMiso Balls.” Miso is a traditional, healthy and vegan Japanese food, and UMAMiso Balls are a fun way of introducing the practice of drinking miso soup—with all attendees able to create and decorate UMAMiso Balls together with Moe. Attendees will receive all the ingredients and supplies needed to make UMAMiso Balls including Kimono Mom’s Umami Sauce, and attendees will make their first miso-dama in this class together with Moe as a guide. After the class, attendees will be able to keep all their ingredients and supplies to make even more UMAMiso Balls at home.

The class will conclude with a photo op where all attendees can meet Moe and get a personal picture together.

About Moe

Japanese mom Moe wants to share her love for Japanese home cooking, and her accessible recipes are watched by millions of people throughout the world. Ever since she was little, Moe enjoyed food and making traditional Japanese meals with her mother and grandmother are some of her earliest memories. Moe’s first profession was as a maiko, a junior geisha. She always had a love for the traditional Japanese world because her grandfather worked in the kimono industry. At age 16, she had a chance to study the traditional professions of Kyoto while she was in high school, leading her to become a maiko and then a geiko in Gion. Moe started her YouTube channel to showcase the unique intersections of her identity and interests—kimono and cooking. What first started as a way to overcome postpartum depression by connecting with others online quickly gained traction with an international audience. Moe hopes to spread Japan to the world through her kitchen, and her greatest joy is seeing people from various countries trying to make Kimono Mom recipes.

About Umami Sauce

Umami Sauce is a vegan, gluten-free, non-alcoholic and MSG-free sauce made from tamari soy sauce, shiitake mushrooms and kelp extract. Created by Kimono Mom in partnership with a soy sauce brewery with a history spanning over 330 years, Umami Sauce is a umami-focused sauce designed to help global food lovers add Japanese flavor to their cooking. It doesn’t contain any additives, preservatives, sweeteners, coloring agents or artificial flavors.

About Miso

Miso is a fermented paste made from soybeans, salt and koji (a Japanese mold also used to make sake). It’s a staple in Japanese cuisine and is known for its rich umami flavor. Miso is used to make soups, sauces, dressings and more. Miso contains many probiotics and all the essential amino acids needed for human health. It’s widely considered a health food with digestive and gut microbiome benefits.

About Miso-Dama

The history of miso-dama can be traced back to the late 15th century and Japan’s feudal era. Soldiers would roll miso paste into small balls and let them dry as a way of transporting miso during long campaigns. This tradition continues today and miso-dama is a useful way of bringing miso to school or the office for lunch, taking miso on a picnic or simply a quick way of enjoying miso at home. Unlike instant soup mixes with many additives, by making miso-dama, you can make sure your miso soup only uses high quality ingredients, and you can further customize your miso-drama with different toppings to personalize your soup just for you.

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Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Japan Society Food Events are sponsored by Kikkoman Corporation.

Additional support for cultural programs is provided by an anonymous donor; Sendon and BuyJapon; the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund; and Anime NYC.