Events

FREE ALL DAY

In conjunction with the opening of Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i, join us for a day of performances, crafts, and activities celebrating Okinawan culture.

ALL DAY ACTIVITIES:

SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES:

11:30 a.m.: Learn to draw a pair of shiisaa in our drawing workshop.

1 p.m.: Listen to live sanshin-minyo (traditional folk songs accompanied by Okinawan banjo) performed by Yuna and Tida.

1:15 p.m.: Enjoy traditional Okinawan dances performed by Tamagusukuryu Kansen-Kai, Yonamine Keiko Ryubu Dojo.

1:30 p.m.: Take in a stimulating concert by Aloha Time Machine, featuring reggae- and blues-influenced ukulele player Jason Arimoto and Afro-Cuban percussionist Brad Ranola.

2 p.m.: Join us for a panel discussion and reception on the occasion of the opening of our new exhibition, Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i. Curator Krystal Hauseur, PhD, and artists Laura Kina and Emily Hanako Momohara will talk about the ideas, histories, and inspirations behind their exhibition.

3 p.m.: Enjoy an authentic Okinawan taiko performance by the Los Angeles branch of Ryukukoku Matsuri Daiko, founded in Okinawa in 1982.

3:30 p.m.: Close out the day with some bluegrass-inspired pop by Okinawan musician Banjo Ai.

3:50 p.m.: Winners of the Okinawan Gifts Raffle will be announced!

Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i—The Art of Laura Kina and Emily Hanako Momohara curator Krystal Hauseur, PhD, and artists Laura Kina and Emily Hanako Momohara discuss the ideas, histories, and inspirations behind their exhibition. Light reception to follow.

This program is free, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged using the link below.

JANM members are invited to join curator Krystal Hauseur, PhD, and artists Laura Kina and Emily Hanako Momohara on this exclusive tour of the exhibition Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i.

This event has reached capacity; no additional reservations can be accepted.

Join artist Laura Kina and curator Krystal Hauseur, PhD, for this exclusive gallery tour of the exhibition Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i.

Limited to 25 participants. RSVP to memberevents@janm.org or 213.830.5646.

The Japanese immigrants who worked on Hawai‘i’s sugar plantations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sang as they worked, creating a Japanese-American equivalent of “the blues.” Called holehole (Hawaiian for dried cane leaves) bushi (Japanese for melody or tune), the songs are a record of the workers’ joys, sorrows, and challenges, providing a fascinating window onto early plantation life.

In the 1960s, Honolulu music teacher Harry Urata, whose own experiences in WWII concentration camps taught him the value of preserving immigrant culture, recorded hundreds of these songs, sung by the women who had created them 60 years before. Several years later, documentary producers Chris Conybeare, Franklin Odo, and Joy Chong-Stannard captured the last of the women pioneers on videotape, telling their stories and sharing their songs.

This material is brought together in the stunning new PBS Hawai‘i documentary video, Canefield Songs: Holehole Bushi, narrated by ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. Screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the producers.

This program is free, but RSVPs are recommended using the link below.

Artist Laura Kina and curator Krystal Hauseur, PhD, will be signing copies of the Sugar/Islands: Finding Okinawa in Hawai‘i exhibition catalog.

The catalog is available for purchase from the JANM Store.

JANM members and their children, grandchildren, parents, and/or grandparents are invited to explore their family history together in this new workshop inspired by the Sugar/Islands exhibition.

After a brief tour of the exhibition, your family will create sun prints using one or two family photos that you bring along (photos will not be damaged) and family records that will be prepared for you ahead of time.

This event has reached capacity; no additional reservations can be accepted.

FREE ALL DAY

Our popular annual summer celebration features Japanese and Japanese American performances, crafts, and activities for the whole family.

• Enjoy stimulating performances by Minyo Station, Random Ninjas, and TAIKOPROJECT with Quetzal

• Impress the crowd at our Karaoke Open Mic

• Take a basic taiko drumming lesson with docent Hal Keimi

• Join our community bon odori dance

• Participate in a variety of family arts and crafts projects

• Get a custom screen-printed Natsumatsuri t-shirt for your child, while supplies last

…and more!

Check janm.org/natsumatsuri2015 for complete schedule.

Natsumatsuri is held in conjunction with Nisei Week Festival (August 15–23), Little Tokyo’s biggest annual event. Make your plans early!