Common Ground: The Heart of Community
ongoing
Incorporating hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs collected by the Japanese American National Museum, this exhibition chronicles 130 years of Japanese American history, beginning with the early days of the Issei pioneers through the World War II incarceration to the present.
Among the notable artifacts on display is a Heart Mountain barracks, an original structure saved and preserved from the concentration camp in Wyoming.
Common Ground Audio Guides
Enhance your visit to JANM with our Common Ground audio guides, available in English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish. The audio guides provide images, oral histories, and other rich content pertaining to the Japanese American experience.
iPod touches are available for museum visitors to borrow free of charge while viewing the exhibition. Please make your request at the front desk. The guides may also be downloaded free from the Apple App Store.
JANM’s audio guides are made possible by Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc.
See the Common Ground Collection at the JANM Store for books, DVDs, and other related items.
In the summer of 2010, museum volunteers worked with staff and interns to create a series of 30-second digital video shorts sharing the volunteer’s personal stories related to artifacts from the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community.
Check out all of the volunteer videos >>
Upcoming Events
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Past Events
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Conversations—SOLIDARITY
FREE
JANM presents a four-week series of public conversations taking place within our core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Each conversation, which will be facilitated by a member of our education staff and follow a guiding theme, is intended to generate meaningful dialogue among guests, utilizing Japanese American history to delve into contemporary issues and concerns. Portions of the exhibition will serve as jumping-off points for each conversation.
Common Ground incorporates hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs to chronicle 130 years of Japanese American history, beginning with the first generation of immigrants to the United States (Issei) and including prominent coverage of the World War II incarceration as well as the military service of Japanese Americans during the war.
All are welcome to attend and no tickets or RSVPs are required. Common Ground Conversations are free and coincide with JANM’s free admission on Thursdays starting at 5 p.m.
January 12: Compassion
January 19: Transparency
January 26: Speaking Out
February 2: Solidarity
Common Ground Conversations—SPEAKING OUT
FREE
JANM presents a four-week series of public conversations taking place within our core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Each conversation, which will be facilitated by a member of our education staff and follow a guiding theme, is intended to generate meaningful dialogue among guests, utilizing Japanese American history to delve into contemporary issues and concerns. Portions of the exhibition will serve as jumping-off points for each conversation.
Common Ground incorporates hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs to chronicle 130 years of Japanese American history, beginning with the first generation of immigrants to the United States (Issei) and including prominent coverage of the World War II incarceration as well as the military service of Japanese Americans during the war.
All are welcome to attend and no tickets or RSVPs are required. Common Ground Conversations are free and coincide with JANM’s free admission on Thursdays starting at 5 p.m.
January 12: Compassion
January 19: Transparency
January 26: Speaking Out
February 2: Solidarity
Common Ground Conversations—TRANSPARENCY
FREE
JANM presents a four-week series of public conversations taking place within our core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Each conversation, which will be facilitated by a member of our education staff and follow a guiding theme, is intended to generate meaningful dialogue among guests, utilizing Japanese American history to delve into contemporary issues and concerns. Portions of the exhibition will serve as jumping-off points for each conversation.
Common Ground incorporates hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs to chronicle 130 years of Japanese American history, beginning with the first generation of immigrants to the United States (Issei) and including prominent coverage of the World War II incarceration as well as the military service of Japanese Americans during the war.
All are welcome to attend and no tickets or RSVPs are required. Common Ground Conversations are free and coincide with JANM’s free admission on Thursdays starting at 5 p.m.
January 12: Compassion
January 19: Transparency
January 26: Speaking Out
February 2: Solidarity
Common Ground Conversations—COMPASSION
FREE
JANM presents a four-week series of public conversations taking place within our core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Each conversation, which will be facilitated by a member of our education staff and follow a guiding theme, is intended to generate meaningful dialogue among guests, utilizing Japanese American history to delve into contemporary issues and concerns. Portions of the exhibition will serve as jumping-off points for each conversation.
Common Ground incorporates hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs to chronicle 130 years of Japanese American history, beginning with the first generation of immigrants to the United States (Issei) and including prominent coverage of the World War II incarceration as well as the military service of Japanese Americans during the war.
All are welcome to attend and no tickets or RSVPs are required. Common Ground Conversations are free and coincide with JANM’s free admission on Thursdays starting at 5 p.m.
January 12: Compassion
January 19: Transparency
January 26: Speaking Out
February 2: Solidarity
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
CANCELLED: Members Only Spotlight on Common Ground
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Members and their families are invited to join JANM’s Education Department for an in-depth look at their favorite artifacts in Common Ground. Recommended for multi-generational families with children high school-aged and older.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
CANCELLED: Members Only Spotlight on Common Ground
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Members and their families are invited to join JANM’s Education Department for an in-depth look at some of our favorite artifacts in Common Ground. Recommended for multi-generational families with children high school-aged and older.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with museum admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with general admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with general admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with general admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Free with general admission.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour the ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with JANM’s knowledgeable docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with our knowledgeable Museum docents.
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. 16 Years Later: The Heart Mountain Barracks
In 1994, the Japanese American National Museum staff and volunteers organized a project to travel to Heart Mountain, Wyoming to take apart and bring back to Los Angeles two fragments of original barracks buildings built by the U.S. government to house Japanese Americans unfairly imprisoned during World War II. The project was part of the National Museum’s landmark exhibition, America’s Concentration Camps: Remembering the Japanese American Experience, and the display of the Heart Mountain barracks building became the symbol of the unconstitutional mass incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry.
The project, organized by Museum staff member Nancy Araki and former Heart Mountain inmate Bacon Sakatani, included dozens of former inmates and interested parties who traveled over 1,000 miles or more to take part in the dismantling. To recall the historic events, the program will include the screening of the award winning documentary, “Legacy of the Barracks”, produced by Mark Mohr for KABC-TV Channel 7 in 1994.
Also on hand will be other key participants, including Ron Mukai, whose father Tomo lived in the barracks fragment still on display at the Museum; Sakatani; Araki; contractor David Honda; author Sharon Yamato, who, along with her cousins, took part in the dismantling, and then wrote a book on her experiences, Moving Walls: Preserving the Barracks of America’s Concentration Camps; and, preservation architect Jim McElwain, who oversaw the logistics of the dismantling and the reassembly in Los Angeles.
Following the program, a reception will be held adjacent to the Heart Mountain barracks in the National Museum’s Pavilion.
[Purchase a copy of Moving Walls: Preserving the Barracks of America's Concentration Camps at the Museum Store Online]
Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Common Ground Tour for Families
Take a fun and educational family friendly tour of Common Ground: Heart of a Community. This tour is designed to make history come alive for the whole family. Other Family Events at the National Museum
September 12 – Target Family Free Saturday: Crafty!
October 10 – Target Family Free Saturday: Toy Shoppe!
October 10: A Special Reading of Be Water, My Friend by Ken Mochizuki
October 17: Fall into JANM Comfort Foods Cooking Workshop
November 14 – Target Family Free Saturday: Merry Melodies
December 5: Winter Family Breakfast Feast Cooking Workshop>
December 12 – Target Family Free Saturday: Let's Celebrate!
Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with experienced docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents.Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. Exhibition Tour
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. Exhibition Tour: Common Ground
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. Exhibition Tour: Common Ground
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. Exhibition Tour: Common Ground
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. Exhibition Tour: Common Ground
Tour our ongoing exhibition Common Ground: Heart of a Community with our experienced and knowledgeable docents. From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil Liberties
The last session in this seminar reflects on propaganda post-September 11 using select objects in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Guest speaker to be announced.
Common Ground: The Japanese American National Museum and the Culture of Collaborations
This collection of essays outlines how the National Museum operates in collaboration with other institutions, museums, researchers, audiences, and funders. Authors will speak on their case studies which explore collaboration with community-oriented partners in order to document, interpret, and present their histories and experiences and provide a new understanding of what museums can and should be in the United States. Book signing to follow.
From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil Liberties
In this fourth of five sessions that examines ways propaganda has been used to perpetuate negative ethnic images and stereotypes, Dr. Mitchell Maki is joined by Johnn y Mori from the groundbreaking band Hiroshima. During the 1970s, the band impressed the music scene with jazz that effortlessly integrated East and West. Their music, as well as their commitment to the communities in which it was born, speak volumes about the ability of artists--and the arts--to subvert ethnic stereotypes and bridge cultures.
From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil Liberties
In this third of five sessions, we continue our examination of selected propaganda artifacts displayed in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community featuring Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, Acting Dean, College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Los Angeles to reflect on propaganda prevalent during the resettlement era post-World War II. He will consider what lessons we can learn from the past to address current attempts to defend the incarceration of Japanese Americans and justify assaults on civil liberties.
From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil Liberties
In this second of a five-part seminar features Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, Acting Dean, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Los Angeles, and author of Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress, in conversation with noted scholars, activists, and artists as they respond to propaganda artifacts displayed in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community. This session will examine the World War II period with actor George Takei. Mr. Takei was incarcerated in the Jerome and Tule Lake Concentration Camps. In his autobiography, To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu, he writes how this odyssey propelled him to become and actor, writer, businessman and politically active individual.
Please note: Actor Pat Morita was originally scheduled to be part of this discussion. Unfortunately he sends his regrets as he's been called to service - he will be the emcee for a major welcome home of troops from Iraq in Honolulu.
From Tokyo Rose to the Patriot Act: Propaganda and its Impact on Civil Liberties
This five-part seminar features Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, Acting Dean, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Los Angeles, and author of Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress, in conversation with noted scholars, activists, and artists as they respond to propaganda artifacts displayed in the exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community. This session will examine the period covering the late nineteenth century through the Great Depression era and include comments by Akemi Kikumura-Yano, PhD?, National Museum Senior Vice President, author of Through Harsh Winters: The Life of a Japanese Immigrant Woman, and curator of the National Museum's inaugural exhibit Issei Pioneers: Hawai`i and the Mainland 1885 - 1924.
