By appointment only, beginning January 2014

Upper Level President’s & Chairman’s Circle Members are invited to experience a behind-the-scenes tour of the world’s largest collection of Japanese American artifacts. Your on-going support helps maintain this unique collection that chronicles over 130 years of Japanese American history.

Contact Charlien Church at cchurch@janm.org or 213.830.5676 to reserve a personalized tour for you and 5 guests.

Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.

Ring in the New Year and the Year of the Horse with fun arts ‘n crafts, food, exciting cultural activities, and performances!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Onigiri Contest sponsored by Common Grains

Candy artist Shan Ichiyanagi

Meet & ride real live ponies!

Sample traditional Japanese New Year's foods

Mochitsuki demonstration by Kodama Taiko

...and more!

Check janm.org/oshogatsufest2014 for more details.

Check out our other fun and free Family Festivals!

POSTPONED TO FEBRUARY 12, 2014

The public is invited to join a live taping of the radio forum, Critical Issues Seminars, held by KPCC and Community Advocates.

FREE

Dr. Lane Ryo Hirabayashi presents a memoir by accomplished writer, playwright, poet, and actor Hiroshi Kashiwagi. Edited with an introduction by Tim Yamamura, the book chronicles Kashiwagi’s confinement at Tule Lake, the stigma of being labeled a “No-No Boy,” and the traumas of racism.

Q&A with Kashiwagi and Yamamura to follow. This program is co-sponsored by the Aratani Endowed Chair, UCLA Asian American Studies.

Click here to read an article with Hiroshi Kashiwagi on Discover Nikkei>>

Showtimes: 4PM & 7PM

The universe unfolds a little differently in Japantown. It operates in a way you couldn’t possibly comprehend. But there is a method to its madness and for the most part it runs as smoothly as a Tokyo train station. However, every once in a great while, it needs a little help.

Meet Tenshi.

He’s an obnoxious 400-year-old spirit from old Japan who has a foul mouth and a propensity for petty theft. He’s been charged with watching over the residents of Japantown, which he does with all the grace of a drunken sumo wrestler singing karaoke. Despite this he’s able to keep things running on course most of the time but it’s always a challenge, never easy. And, complicating matters today, is his new apprentice.

Meet Lucy.

She’s a naïve woman wearing a red dress who stepped right out of the 1940s into the modern world. She’s unsure of the year, her surroundings and her new role in the universe but she’s got a good heart and is a quick learner. Unfortunately, Tenshi is her only teacher.

Together, these two unseen spirits will wander in and out of the lives of Japantown residents, trying to keep the universe in order. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail but no matter what they will irreparably change and connect the lives of dozens of people – whether they like it or not.

Directed by Kerwin Berk. Q&A with cast and crew to follow.


OUR STORIES

Things Aren’t Always as They Seem
It’s Lucy Yamaguchi’s first day on the job and her mean old boss is giving her a hard time. Things just don’t seem to be going according to plan – or are they?
Hiroshi Kashiwagi and Wendy Woo

Feels Like Old Times
A chance encounter between a couple after 20 years apart and it’s just like old times – which isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Sandra Young and Todd Nakagawa

Waiting for Akira
Who knew that camping out for a midnight movie could be more entertaining than watching the film.
Carolyn Hu, Rey Taira, Nishea Andolong, Nan Suphari, Rafe Biggs and Ricky Wang

Words Can’t Say
There are times that words are meaningless – no matter what language.
Jean Franco and Anna Jones

Sisters
A resident of a nursing home gets a surprise visit.
Chizuko Omori

Some Things Never Change
A father and his son deal with aging, dating and a pair of gossipy old farts.
Randall Nakano, Kevin Khoi Tran, Henrietta Gard, Larry Kitagawa and Ben Arikawa

Everyone Goes to Benkyodo
The lives of a cantankerous waitress, a put-upon cook and a new employee are on a collision course in Japantown.
Suz Takeda, Kallan Nishimoto and Koichi Sugiyama

Their Hands Were Fast as Lightning
From kung fu to kamaboko, everything in life can be a metaphor – even a bowl of ramen.
Naomi Quinones and LJ Batinas


Purchase tickets at infinityandchashuramen.com. $10 advance tickets; $12 at door; $8 for members. Will be checking membership card for member ticket purchases.

Watch the trailer for the LA premiere here>>

FREE ADMISSION ALL DAY!

Come join us as the Japanese American National Museum participates in the Museum Marketing Roundtable's ninth annual “Museums Free-For-All,” where museums across Southern California open their doors and invite visitors free of charge.

More information visit museumsla.org

The Museum Marketing Roundtable unites the diverse museums of Southern California in joint marketing and communication efforts to increase visitation and membership in museums in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Museum Marketing Roundtable leverages the museums’ collective strengths, working together to reach current and potential museum goers.

Relive history and learn about present-day Little Tokyo with Museum docents. $9 Members; $14 non-members, includes admission. Comfortable walking shoes recommended. Weather permitting.

FREE

Digitally restored after 30 years, this documentary features the candid stories of the Japanese men and women who immigrated to the West Coast of the United States at the turn of the century. Directed by Toshi Washizu. Introduction by Dr. Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. Q&A with Washizu and Hirabayashi to follow screening.

This program is co-sponsored by the Aratani Endowed Chair, UCLA Asian American Studies.

FREE

This film is an indie rock slice-of life tragicomedy about Darla, an overly serious musician whose stagnant life is shaken up when her long lost best friend Elisa shows up and crashes on her couch…indefinitely. Free-spirited Elisa has just moved back to Los Angeles after a devastating break-up, and no one else in their funky group of friends is willing to help her out. She is charming and musically gifted, making her the perfect partner in the band that Darla has long wanted to start up. But when the band gets rolling, insecurity, heartache, and oversized egos all work against them. While they both share dreams of rocking the globe, it becomes a monumental struggle just getting out of the garage.

Featuring music by Grammy winner Quetzal Flores. Directed by Akira Boch, the National Museum’s own Media Arts Specialist. Q&A with filmmakers to follow screening. http://www.thecrumbles.com/

Check out their trailer here>>

See the blog post here>>