The is located in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

. Founded in 1992, it is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown. The museum is an affiliate within the

Smithsonian Affiliations Smithsonian Affiliations is a division of the Smithsonian Institution that establishes long-term partnerships with non-Smithsonian museums and educational and cultural organizations in order to share collections, exhibitions and educational str ...

program. The museum covers more than 130 years of Japanese-American history, dating to the first

Issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...

generation of immigrants. Its moving image archive contains over of 16 mm and 8 mm home movies made by and about Japanese Americans from the 1920s to the 1950s. It also contains artifacts, textiles, art, photographs, and

oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

of Japanese Americans. The Japanese American National Museum of Los Angeles and the Academy Film Archive collaborate to care for and provide access to home movies that document the Japanese-American experience. Established in 1992, the JANM Collection at the Academy Film Archive currently contains over 250 home movies and continues to grow.

History

Activist Bruce Teruo Kaji (1926–2017) was the founding president of the museum. He worked alongside other prominent Japanese-Americans to create the museum. The community had become organized around gaining recognition of the injustice they had suffered from the federal government during World War II. The museum was conceived as a way to preserve the positive aspects of their full history and culture in the United States. When it first opened in 1992, the museum was housed in the 1925 historic Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple building. Irene Hirano served as its first executive director and later as president and CEO of the museum. In January 1999, the National Museum opened its current Pavilion, designed under the supervision of architect

Gyo Obata Gyo Obata (小圃暁, February 28, 1923 – March 8, 2022) was an American architect, the son of painter Chiura Obata and his wife, Haruko Obata, a floral designer. In 1955, he co-founded the global architectural firm HOK (formerly Hellmuth, O ...

, to the public. The temple building was used by government officials in 1942 to process Japanese Americans for wartime confinement. It is now used for offices and storage. In 1993 the museum was given hundreds of artifacts and letters from children in internment camps, which they had sent to San Diego librarian

Clara Breed Clara Estelle Breed (March 19, 1906 – September 8, 1994) was an American librarian remembered chiefly for her support for Japanese American children during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, many residents ...

. The material was featured in an exhibit, ''"Dear Miss Breed": Letters from Camp''. It is now part of the museum's permanent collection. In 1997, the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center was established by Robert A. Nakamura and Karen L. Ishizuka, to develop new ways to document, preserve and make known the experience of Americans of Japanese ancestry. In 1999, the Manabi and Sumi Hirasaki National Resource Center (HNRC) was established to provide access to the museum's information and resources, both at the facility and online. It documents the life and culture of the

. Akemi Kikumura Yano, author, was the museum's first curator. She succeeded Irene Hirano as president and CEO from 2008 until 2011. During her tenure, in December 2010, the museum was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Rev.

Greg Kimura Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...

, an Episcopal priest, was appointed the president and CEO of the museum, serving between 2012 and 2016. During his time the museum experienced an economic downturn as he looked to promote untraditional exhibits and let go core staff members. He resigned in May 2016 to pursue other work opportunities. In 2016, Ann Burroughs was announced to replace him as the new interim CEO and was officially selected shortly thereafter. Burroughs spoke of her role: "I am committed to reinvigorating and finding new ways to advance the museum’s key values, emphasizing the importance of being vigilant about democracy and stressing the value of diversity in our world today." Actor

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

serves as a member of the museum's board of trustees. He represented it as his charity during his time on ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

'' and during his appearance on ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...

''.

Exhibits

The museum's on-going exhibition is ''Common Ground: The Heart of Community,'' covering 130 years of Japanese American history, from the

and early immigration into the United States, World War II incarceration, to the present.

Selected previous exhibitions

* ''

Miné Okubo Miné Okubo (; June 27, 1912 – February 10, 2001) was an American artist and writer. She is best known for her book ''Citizen 13660'', a collection of 198 drawings and accompanying text chronicling her experiences in Japanese American internmen ...

's Masterpiece: The Art of Citizen 13660'' (August 28, 2021 - February 20, 2022) *''A Life In Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami'' (July 9, 2021 - January 9, 2022) *''Under a Mushroom Cloud: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Atomic Bomb'' (November 9, 2019 - July 25, 2021) *''Taiji Terasaki: Transcendients'' (February 1, 2020 - May 16, 2021) *''At First Light'' (May 25, 2019 - October 20, 2019) *''Kaiju Vs. Heroes'' (September 15, 2018 - July 7, 2019) *''Gambatte!'' (November 17, 2018 - April 28, 2019) *''hapa.me: 15 years of the hapa project'' (April 7, 2018 - October 28, 2018) *''What We Carried'' (May 19, 2018 - August 5, 2018) *''Transpacific Borderlands: The Art of the Japanese Diaspora in Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Saõ Paulo'' (September 17, 2017 - February 25, 2018) *''New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of

'' (March 12, 2017 - August 20, 2017) *''Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066'' (February 18, 2017 - August 13, 2017) *''Tatau: Marks of Polynesia'' (July 30, 2016 - January 22, 2017) *''Uprooted: Japanese American Farm Labor Camps During World War II'' (September 27, 2016 - January 8, 2017) *''Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami'' (May 29, 2016 - August 21, 2016) *''Making Waves: Japanese American Photography 1920-1940'' (February 28, 2016 - June 26, 2016) *''Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty'' (October 11, 2014 - May 31, 2015) *''Two Views: Photographs by Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank'' (February 28, 2016 - April 24, 2016) *''Giant Robot Biennale 4'' (October 11, 2015 - January 24, 2016) *''Before They Were Heroes: Sus Ito's World War II Images'' (July 14, 2015 - September 6, 2015) *''Sugar/ Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai'i - The Art of Laura Kina and Emily Hanako Momohara'' (July 11, 2015 - September 6, 2015) * ''

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

: Brotherhood of the Game'' (March 29 - September 14, 2014) * ''Perseverance:

Japanese Tattoo (also spelled or sometimes ) is the Japanese word for tattoo, and is used in English to refer to a distinctive style of Japanese tattooing, though it is also used as a blanket term to describe a number of tattoo styles originating in Japan, inc ...

Tradition in a Modern World'' (March 8 - September 14, 2014) * ''Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986'' (October 12, 2013 - February 9, 2014) * ''Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of

Origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...

'' (March 10 - August 26, 2012) * ''Drawing the Line: Japanese American Art, Design & Activism in Post-War Los Angeles'' (October 15, 2011 – February 19, 2012) * ''Year of the Rabbit:

Stan Sakai is a Japanese-born American cartoonist and comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series '' Usagi Yojimbo''. Career He began his career by lettering comic books (notably ''Groo the Wanderer'' by Sergio Aragonés and Ma ...

Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit ''rōnin'', Miyamoto Usagi, whom Saka ...

'' (July 9 - October 30, 2011) * ''No Victory Ever Stays Won: The ACLU's 90 Years of Protecting Liberty'' (November 21 - December 11, 2010) * ''Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by

Kip Fulbeck Lawrence Keith "Kip" Fulbeck is an American artist, spoken word performer, filmmaker and author. Fulbeck's work explores identity politics. His mixed race ethnic background is English, Welsh, Irish and Cantonese. He is best known for his work a ...

'' (March 20 - October 17, 2010) * ''20 Years Ago Today: Supporting Visual Artists in L.A.'' (October 4, 2008 - January 11, 2009) * ''Glorious Excess (Born): Paintings by Linkin Park's

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocal ...

'' (July 12 - August 3, 2008) * ''Living Flowers:

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

and Contemporary Art'' (June 15 - September 7, 2008) * ''Southern California Gardeners' Federation: Fifty Years'' (October 25 - November 13, 2005) * ''

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

: The Power of Place'' (September 8, 2002 – February 23, 2003) * ''Sumo U.S.A.: Wrestling the Grand Tradition'' (July 3 - November 30, 1997) * ''Dear Miss Breed: Letters from Camp'' (January 14 - April 13, 1997)

Major projects

Discover Nikkei
a multilingual, online resource that presents the global Nikkei experience through first-person narratives, historic photos and research, and opportunities for user engagement. The museum's International Nikkei Research Project produced the book '' New Worlds, New Lives'' (2002).

Additional images

File:Akabeko at The Japanese American National Museum.jpg, Akabeko at the shop inside the museum File:Kokeshi at The Japanese American National Museum.jpg,

Kokeshi , are simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as a toy for children. Originally from the northeastern region ( Tōhoku-chihō) of Japan, they are handmade from wood, having a simple trunk ...

at the shop inside the museum

References

External links

Japanese American National MuseumNational Film Preservation Foundation
{{coord, 34, 2, 58.7, N, 118, 14, 18.9, W, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title Asian art museums in California Asian-American art Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Little Tokyo, Los Angeles History museums in California Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles Museums in Los Angeles Museums of Japanese culture abroad in the United States Ethnic museums in California Film archives in the United States Museums established in 1992 Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Asian-American organizations Smithsonian Institution affiliates 1992 establishments in California Gyo Obata buildings