EVENT UPDATE
As of December 27, 2021
With the rapidly increasing COVID-19 infection rates in Los Angeles County due to the Omicron variant, the Japanese American National Museum will temporarily close to the public effective immediately. The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us, as is our obligation as a public institution to do our part to support efforts to inhibit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We will continue to monitor public health guidelines and reassess as the situation unfolds.
In the 30 years since JANM first opened its doors, we’ve been sustained and inspired by your support and commitment to the Museum. While our doors are temporarily shuttered, we do hope that you’ll take this opportunity to explore our digital content—our rich collection of life histories and documentaries where Japanese American stories come alive; our archive of letters and documents that preserve this important history; and activities from our Education Unit that can be done at home. We also invite you to join us for upcoming virtual programs. We hope you will continue your journey of learning with us.
Welcome the Year of the Tiger with virtual crafts, cultural activities, and performances!
- Live-streamed performance by East LA Taiko & friends
- Oshogatsu and Year of the Tiger-inspired crafts, origami, and scavenger hunts that you can do from home
- Live-streamed demonstration of traditional mochitsuki (Japanese rice pounding ritual) by Kodama Taiko
- JANM Members exclusive program and opportunities
- Opportunities to win special prizes!
...and so much more!
Sponsored by:
Media Sponsor: 
Schedule
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
MEMBERS ONLY CONVERSATION: NEW YEAR’S FOOD!
Current JANM Members are invited to join in on a virtual conversation around New Year’s food!
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
MOCHITSUKI DEMONSTRATION
Join us on our YouTube channel for a live-streamed demonstration of traditional mochitsuki (Japanese rice pounding ritual) by Kodama Taiko!
Making fresh mochi is a beloved Japanese New Year tradition. Join Kodama Taiko for their unique mochitsuki (rice pounding) demonstration, which incorporates taiko drumming.
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
PERFORMANCE BY EAST LA TAIKO
Join us on our YouTube channel for a live-streamed performance from East LA Taiko & friends!
A fiery eclectic blend of world rhythm that travels the globe with Latin-Rock-Punk taiko beats and takes you right into the heart of Los Angeles.
Oshogatsu Family Festival Videos
Oshogatsu 2022: Kodama Taiko Mochitsuki (01/02/2022)
Oshogatsu 2022: Kodama Taiko Mochitsuki (01/02/2022)
Virtual Activities
Celebrate from home with these virtual activities!
Email a photo of your completed activities to publicprograms@janm.org along with your first name by January 9, 2022, to be entered in a raffle for tiger-themed prizes!
Year of the Tiger Origami
Learn how to make a cute tiger face in Ruthie’s Virtual Origami Corner!
This activity is named in honor of JANM volunteer Ruthie Kitagawa (1937-2020), who led origami activities at the museum for many years.
Tiger Origami Fortune Tellers
Learn how to make an origami fortune teller! Decorate it like a tiger face for New Year’s—or however you’d like!
30th Anniversary Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Email your completed pages to publicprograms@janm.org along with your first name by January 9, 2022, to be entered in a raffle for free passes to visit the museum or other tiger-themed prizes!
Year of the Tiger Coloring Page
Download and color in our Year of the Tiger design!
Share your designs with us on social media using the hashtag #JANMOshogatsu.
Fukubukuro
Traditionally at New Years, stores in Japan clean their inventory of slightly imperfect merchandise and otherwise intact items missing packaging or with dented boxes in fukubukuro, or lucky grab bags. Our new tradition at the JANM Store is shipping-friendly--FukuBOXuro! Starting January 2, 2022, a limited number of lucky boxes will be available at janmstore.com for only $25. Boxes will contain $50 (or more!) of JANM Store merchandise! As in past years our boxes include one-of-a-kind items, discontinued products, slightly imperfect items, and display samples.
Limit three (3) per person. All sales are final. While supplies last.
Discover Nikkei Oshogatsu Photo Activity
Oshogatsu is the most important holiday in Japan and for Nikkei communities and families around the world. They celebrate the new year with important traditions and lucky foods like ozoni, toshi-koshi soba, and osechi-ryori. JANM’s Discover Nikkei project is compiling photos to share how our global Nikkei community celebrates the new year with food. We want to see all your favorite and lucky dishes that you and your family eat to ring in the new year!
On-Site Pickup (or Online Order!)
Pick up and take home these items to help you celebrate from home!
Tiger Visor Craft
ROAR! Get creative with a fierce feline to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. Limited supplies available for pick up at JANM when the museum reopens, or use simple materials to follow along from home with our YouTube channel.
Available when museum reopens, while supplies last.
JANM Store
Purchase a limited-edition, kid-friendly gift from the JANM Store! A grab bag of culturally curated gifts for kids from the JANM Store—stickers, fusen, toys, and other surprises! Starting January 2, 2022 a limited number of grab bags will be available at janmstore.com for only $20. Boxes will contain over $20 (retail value) of JANM Store merchandise! Each bag will contain a tiger fusen to celebrate the new Year of the Tiger!
Limited two (2) per person. While supplies last. All sales are final. If you’re local, you may select on-site pick up! The normal on-site pick-up procedure is in place even though JANM is temporarily closed to the public.