Asian Art Museum

If you were too, uh, under the weather to make New Year’s resolutions on January 1, you’ll have a second chance at the Japanese new year Mochitsuki celebration at the Asian Art Museum on January 9. From noon to 1 p.m., watch traditionally costumed mochi pounders at work, transforming glutinous rice into sticky-sweet balls of goodness. From 1 until 4 p.m. you can try your hand at the pounding while enjoying live music and dance, then pull a fortune for the upcoming year. The event is free with museum admission; admission for children under 12 is free.

If you grew up on the Karate Kid or couldn't get enough of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, here’s your chance to live out your dreams, or at least learn more about them. In conjunction with "Lords of the Samurai," AsiaAlive will showcase three Japanese martial art forms Friday through Sunday. From the fundamentals of kendo kata, kyudo (i.e. Japanese archery) and the Japanese sword, these performances will give you black-belt envy in no time.

Kampai! The Asian Art Museum's Matcha mixer is the best way to experience Eastern culture—mesmerizing performances, gallery tours, art lessons, mingling over sake cocktails and dancing to the night's DJ are all part of the fun. Since you can't make it to Thailand, MATCHA brings the annual Loi Krathong festival to you—listen to live music and watch dance by the Thai Cultural Center. Sample Burmese Tea Leaf Salad, marvel at the puppet mastery of the Mandalay Marionette Theatre, create your own river offering and more.

"Lords of the Samurai" explores the many sides of famed Japanese warrior elite. The Asian Art Museum takes an intimate look at the daimyo (literally "great name"), or provincial lords of the warrior class in feudal Japan, which have long captivated the Western world. From objects-armor to weaponry, ceramics to costumes, you'll gain insight into the principles that governed the culture of these samurai lords.

Add a little Eastern flair to your wardrobe with bandhani. Swing by this trunk show and sale to see pieces from three families' work using this traditional tie-dye technique. Choose from both contemporary and classic scarves, shawls and jackets in silk, tussar and cotton.

Note: This sale will be held in the museum's Education Hall.

Step back in time while viewing the Asian Art museum’s holdings of historical photographs. The images on view reflect lives people led in Asia and record the travels people took there—from formal portraits of princes to picturesque views of palaces and temples to depictions of dancers and tightrope walkers in mid-performance. See work by well-known photographers from around the world—Englishman Charles Shepherd, the Indian Lala Deen Dayal, and the Japanese Tamamura Kozaburo.