With over 47,000 artifacts donated by more than 5,000 individuals, families, and organizations, the National Museum has the largest collection of Japanese American materials in the world. This exhibition showcases a range of compelling objects from the permanent collection, some of which have never been displayed before.
Exhibition highlights include a seven-story-long American flag sewn by the Monterey Bay Japanese American community for a 1930s July 4th parade, relics from America’s concentraton camps, and a turn-of-the-century picture bride’s kimono made from fabric that was hand-dyed and woven from home-grown silkworms. The exhibition encourages visitors to consider how material objects “speak” through the stories they embody and the evidence they bear of the diverse experiences of Japanese Americans.