The Japanese American National Museum Celebrates the Oshogatsu Festival on Sunday, January 8, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will hold its annual Oshogatsu Family Festival on Sunday, January 8, 2023, from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. The New Year celebration will include free crafts, performances, and cultural activities for all ages to help ring in the Year of the Rabbit. Visit janm.org/oshogatsufest2023 to RSVP.

New Year’s, or Oshogatsu, is one of Japan’s longest and most important holidays. Although Oshogatsu originally referred to the whole month of January, most people associate it with the first three days (sanga nichi) of the month.

All day activities at the 2023 Oshogatsu Family Festival include:

• Learning how to fold a cute origami rabbit face at Ruthie's Origami Corner!
• Hopping into the New Year with a rabbit headband and matching carrot.
• Fun props for souvenir photos by Cre8tive Outlets.
• Exploring JANM's exhibitions with a Year of the Rabbit themed scavenger hunt. Participants will have a chance to win a candy sculpture by Shan Ichiyanagi through a Kids' Raffle while supplies last. Limit (1) raffle ticket per child (two for JANM Members). 

Scheduled activities throughout the day include:

• 11 a.m.–5 p.m.: Shan Ichiyanagi will demonstrate the ancient and now rarely practiced Asian folk art of candy sculpting. Watch as he makes candy in the shape of rabbits and other animals of the Asian zodiac. The finished pieces will be offered as prizes in the Kids' Raffle noted above.
• 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.: Los Angeles-based musician Yuki Yasuda will play the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Reserved seating for JANM Members. 
• 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.: Author Mina Harada Eimon will read from her children’s book Why Cats Chase Mice: A Story of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. This retelling of a Japanese version of the Asian folktale explains the origins of the animals chosen for the zodiac. Harada will also sign copies of the book, available in the JANM Store.
• 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.: Making fresh mochi is a beloved Japanese new year tradition. Join Kodama Taiko for their unique mochitsuki (rice pounding) demonstration, which incorporates taiko drumming.
• 2 p.m.–3 p.m.: Enjoy a performance by the nation's longest running, Asian-American improv and sketch comedy group Cold Tofu as they improvise scenes and games based on audience suggestions. Reserved seating for JANM Members.
• 2:30 p.m.–3 p.m.: Join friends from the Los Angeles Public Library for a fun-filled storytime session.

JANM Members enjoy special benefits including express lines and reserved seating. All performances will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel (@janmdotorg) and Instagram (@jamuseum) throughout the day.

Admission to all exhibitions is free all day during the festival too: 

• BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration (closing January 8, 2023)
• Sutra and Bible: Faith and the Japanese American World War II Incarceration
• Common Ground: The Heart of Community
• The Interactive StoryFile of Lawson Iichiro Sakai

Check janm.org/oshogatsufest2023 for the full schedule of events. JANM’s 2023 Oshogatsu Family Festival is sponsored by the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, The Nissan Foundation, City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. Media Sponsor: The Rafu Shimpo. 

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite while traveling 17 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and is free on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. Starting in January 2023, JANM will be free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM will be free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.