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  • PREMIERE and Q&A—ATOMIC CAFE: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town

    Sep 27, 2020

    FREE In the late 1970s, when L.A.’s punk rock scene was exploding, an unlikely family-owned restaurant in Little Tokyo started by Japanese Americans returning from America’s WWII concentration camps became one of its most popular hang-outs. That’s when Sansei “Atomic Nancy” with her “take-no-prisoners” punk make-up and demeanor took the café over from her parents and cranked up the jukebox. Infamous for its eclec...

  • Coming Out and Coming Home: Documenting the Voices of Queer and Trans Japanese Americans

    Sep 26, 2020

    PAY-WHAT-YOU-WISH $10 suggested donation The Japanese American community has not always broadly welcomed gay, transgender, and queer Nikkei people. It took courage for LGBTQ+ Nikkei to live openly and with integrity in decades past. Hear from four LGBTQ+ Japanese Americans who are forerunners of making Nikkei communities more accepting: Melvin Fujikawa, Gary Hayashi, Bill Tashima, and Mia Yamamoto. They will ...

  • ON THE PASSING OF FRANK HAJIME WATASE

    Sep 21, 2020

    Los Angeles, CA–In my capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Japanese American National Museum, I wanted to convey our condolences and deepest sympathies to the family of Frank Hajime Watase at his recent passing earlier this month at the age of 96. Frank was among the first Trustees for JANM before our public opening in 1992 and served as a Governor twice. Frank believed in our mission to pres...

  • Japanese Cooking for Beginners with Azusa Oda: Baked Karaage

    Sep 19, 2020

    $25 general $20 member Pack a fall picnic or stay-at-home bento (Japanese packed lunch) for the kids with cookbook author, food blogger, and designer Azusa Oda! In this workshop, participants will learn how to cook tamagoyaki (rolled egg omelet), Japanese potato salad, and baked karaage (Japanese “fried” chicken). Participants have the opportunity to cook alongside Oda on Zoom as they make dishes that are easy t...

  • JANM Digital Film Festival Q&A: Words, Weavings & Songs

    Sep 18, 2020

    FREE Join us for a Q&A with the grandchildren of Wakako Yamauchi, Momo Nagano, and Mary Nomura, the subjects of Words, Weavings & Songs (2002). Alyctra Matsushita, Hana van der Steur, and Erin Nomura Marquez will talk about their grandmothers and their impacts on the Japanese American community and beyond. They will also be joined by Mary Kageyama Nomura, the Songbird of Manzanar herself, in a special appearan...

  • JANM’S FOUNDING MEMBER, TRUSTEE AND CHAIR EMERITUS GEORGE TAKEI’S ‘THEY CALLED US ENEMY’ GRAPHIC NOVEL RECOGNIZED WITH 2020 AMERICAN BOOK AWARD

    Sep 17, 2020

    Los Angeles, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) extends its heartfelt congratulations to its Trustee, Chair Emeritus and founding member, George Takei, whose graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, has been recognized with a 2020 American Book Award by the Before Columbus Foundation. Takei collaborated with writers Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and artist/illustrator Harmony Becker to create th...

  • Muslims at Manzanar: A Civil Rights Journey

    Sep 15, 2020

    PAY-WHAT-YOU-WISH $10 suggested donation Join leaders in the Japanese American and Muslim American communities in a conversation on 'Muslims at Manzanar: A Civil Rights Journey,' produced by the Council for American Islamic Relations. This documentary follows CAIR staff as they participate in the 2019 Manzanar Pilgrimage that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first organized Manzanar Pilgrimage in 1969. T...

  • Tea & Letter Writing: Letters of Solace

    Sep 09, 2020

    PAY-WHAT-YOU-WISH $10 suggested donation At the start of safer at home orders in Los Angeles, we gathered virtually for the first time to write letters to seniors who were isolating physically in their homes in Little Tokyo. Now, six months later, we will be writing again to our community elders to see how they are now and how we can continue to provide comfort and connection. Gather with us in the comfort of ...

  • On the Passing of Lane Ryo Hirabayashi

    Aug 25, 2020

    Los Angeles, CA – The leadership, staff and volunteers of the Japanese American National Museum were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Dr. Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. Having served as the George and Sakaye Aratani Professor of the Japanese American Incarceration, Redress and Community and as the chair of the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA from 2006 until his retirement in 2017, Lane was respected for his ...

  • Tea & Letter Writing: Writing for Freedom

    Aug 19, 2020

    FREE For many currently incarcerated individuals, letters are one of the only means of communication with loved ones or supporters. These letters become messages of solidarity, hope, and future liberation. In this session, we will be writing to those currently incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison and reflecting on what freedom for all truly means in this time. Gather with us in the comfort of your own home ...