｜Length : 15min. x13 ｜Year : 2003 ｜

Nobiro is an elementary school student in grade two. His parents have gone to Africa on business, and while they are away, Nobiro is staying with the family of his father's good friends, Otengu. Otengu and his wife, Metengu, take good care of Nobiro as if he was their own son. But in fact, Otengu and Metengu are not human. They are crow goblins. The Otengu family live in apartment 305 of a very tall building called "Monster Heights". Nobiro's school, "Monster School", is found on the 101st floor, on the roof of the tower. A high-speed elevator takes the students up to school each day. Nobiro's classmates include Santa the water goblin, Miiko the magic cat, Byakko the fox, the Yukinki Brothers the twin yeti and Mush the magical mushroom. Each of them has their own special powers. Even their teacher, Ms.Okiku, the principal, Principal Bunbuku, and the school chef, Noppera, are monsters.
This series of programs uses puppet characters to tell the story of Nobiro as he gets to know his new classmates. He learns to understand them, and teaches them about himself. Through this core theme, the series focuses on teaching children the importance of communication.


1. I Love Monster School
2. Metengu Lays An Egg
3. Miiko and Byakko's Contest
4. Why Isn't Ms.Okiku Angry?
5. Kotengu is Born
6. Nighttime at the Monster Market
7. Nobiro's School Project
8. The Haunted Bathroom
9. My Cute Little Sister
10. Midnight Marathon
11. My Magic Pencil Crayons
12. Nanny Knows Best
13. Monster School Cinderella

｜Length : 47min. ｜Year : 2003 ｜

"Sankyoson" signifies a certain type of rural community where villagers'houses are scattered irregularly, with each house situated in the middle of 1 hectare of plowed land. Factors that allowed such beautiful scenery and this unique form of local community to continue existence into this modern age are found in the form of Sankyoson itself. "Houses scattered, separated from each other by 100 meters" indicates the basic layout. A big house called "Azumadachi", and "Kainyo", a thick estate forest surrounding its lot of 500 tsubo, provide each family with perfect privacy free from unnecessary attention from the neighbors.

｜Length : 24min. ｜Year : 2003 ｜

Takenobu Tanino is a papermaker with 50 years' experience, living in Najio Village, Western Japan, Hyogo prefecture. The materials he uses for papermaking are the bark of 'Ganpi tree' and the rock dust. Tanino's paper is used for restoration of 'fusuma' Japanese sliding paper doors in Nijo Castle in Kyoto that is registered as a National Treasure. Today Tanino is the only person who can do all the process of this traditional method properly.

｜Length : 24min. ｜Year : 2003 ｜

We remember, in our childhood, we were fascinated with the unexpected beauty we find the moment we looked into the kaleidoscopes. Today, kaleidoscopes are recognized as an art from in many countries, and particularly in the United States, they are often used for medical instruments for healing people. Koji Yamami, a professional kaleidoscope maker, won the Grand Prix at the kaleidoscope convention held in the US in 2001.

｜Length : 24min. ｜Year : 2003 ｜

Today, there are only a small number of craftsmen who make fountain pens all hand-made. Uehara, aged 82, has been engaged in this work since he was 19. He makes special fountain pens that fit perfectly in the hand of each customer, taking each person's particular handwriting into consideration. His skill of adjusting the pen point, using a loupe, is remarkable, because a difference of 0.01 millimeters does affect the smoothness of writing.