On August 21, 2021, veterans of the Nisei Week cruises and organizers of the Showoff discussed the history and legacy of nikkei car culture in Los Angeles in a conversation moderated by Oliver Wang with Janet Fujimoto, Tod Kaneko, Brian Karasawa, and Ken Miyoshi.
![a photo collage of people with their cars](/sites/default/files/2024-08/cruising-jtown-photo-collage-exhibit-header-4.png)
Upcoming Exhibition
![A blue car license plate that says: JANM 2025 Cruising J-Town Behind the wheel of the Nikkei Community](/sites/default/files/2024-08/jtown-lic-plate-3.png)
Resources
Explore the world of cars and trucks as powerful vehicles for personal expression, collective identity, and social mobility.
Related Content
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Nikkei Car Clubs
The history of Japanese Americans in Los Angeles car culture dates back at least as early as the 1910s when Fred Fujioka teamed up with George Kawamoto to found F&K Garage in Little Tokyo.
![cars in front of fukui mural](/sites/default/files/styles/three_columns/public/2023-04/janm-exhibit-cruising-j-town-fukui-mural-bob-nishida.jpg?itok=RHlFjwMi 1200w,
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Cruising Nisei
If you arrived after dark to the Nisei Week carnival back in the 1980s, you likely would have encountered the following scene: a seemingly endless parade of cars, trucks, and motorcycles circling the streets, blaring music, revving engines, burning rubber.
![the atomettes group of women pose for a photo under trees](/sites/default/files/styles/three_columns/public/2024-08/janm-atomettes-group-trees-crop-2023.48.24.jpg?itok=xNVl7Pbi 1200w,
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On the Road with the Atomettes
One summer in the early 1950s, a small group of young Nikkei women from the Sawtelle neighborhood of West Los Angeles squeezed into a Chevy Bel Air. They were bound for Northern California and as part of their planning, the group picked one route in particular.
![Hikotaro Yamada army veteran opening car door talking to men](/sites/default/files/styles/three_columns/public/2024-08/janm-hikotaro-yamada-mystery-veteran-crop.png?itok=rKVS51pp 1200w,
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Hikotaro Yamada—The Mystery Veteran Rediscovered
Who is the US Navy veteran getting out of his car in 1942 at the Santa Anita temporary detention center, incarcerated by his own government? Follow Cruising J-town curator Oliver Wang’s journey to put a name to a face and recover the identity of Hikotaro Yamada.
Little Tokyo Drift
Little Tokyo Drift: Nisei Week Car Culture
Little Tokyo Drift: Nisei Week Car Culture
Support the understanding and appreciation of the Japanese American experience.