JANM Mourns the Passing of Barbara Keimi

Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) mourns the passing of Barbara Keimi. She and her husband, Harold “Hal” Keimi, began volunteering at JANM nearly thirty-four years ago—before JANM opened its doors to the public in its Historic Building in 1992. 

Keimi was born in Los Angeles’s Sawtelle neighborhood to Chihiro Harry Mikami and Fumiko K. Mikami in 1935. Chihiro was born in Japan and Fumiko was born in Buena Park, California, in 1912. Fumiko’s family returned to Hiroshima when she was around three years old. Growing up, she aspired to become a doctor, but her dream did not come to pass. Fumiko met her future husband through a family member, who arranged their marriage. 

After marrying in 1930, Chihiro and Fumiko immigrated to the United States, where Chihiro was a chauffeur for wealthy families in Los Angeles. The Mikamis lived in Beverly Hills and Sawtelle, and they eventually moved to North Long Beach, California. During that time, Chihiro worked for Masami Sasaki, Keimi’s granduncle and the “Chili King of Orange County” who was known for his prosperous chili pepper farm in Huntington Beach, California. Both of them were involved in the community. Chihiro joined the board of the Japanese language school in Huntington Beach and Masami hosted civic groups at his warehouses. When the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, the Mikami family lost everything.

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Keimi’s parents were arrested by the FBI. In their absence, the Mikamis moved from North Long Beach to the chili farm in Huntington Beach to live with Keimi’s grandaunt, Shigeko Sasaki. When Chihiro and Masami were taken to the Tuna Canyon Detention Station, they moved to Marysville in northern California, and stayed with friends’ relatives.

When Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt, Fumiko and her children were imprisoned at the Merced temporary detention station, where Chihiro reunited with them. Together, they were transferred to the Amache concentration camp in Colorado. Keimi’s strongest memories of camp were of her mother. Prior to World War II, Fumiko took sewing classes at the Pacific Sewing School in Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo. She continued honing her skills at Amache, where she took sewing, tailoring, and ikebana classes. She even made a suit for Chihiro in camp. During that time, Keimi’s parents decided to return to Japan because of the uncertainty of their family’s future. Fumiko wrote to her father in Hiroshima, asking if the Mikamis could live with him in Japan. Since her father grew his own vegetables and caught fish from a stream on his property, he agreed. When Chihiro and Fumiko requested to return to Japan they were sent to Tule Lake, where they eventually decided to stay in the United States. They were released from Tule Lake in 1945, shortly before Keimi turned ten years old.

But Chihiro and Fumiko pulled their resources together to provide stability and safety for their children. Prior to their release from Tule Lake, Chihiro returned to Los Angeles alone to secure a job at a mattress factory and an apartment in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. When the Mikamis were released from Tule Lake, they came directly to that apartment during a time when many families could not return home. After the war, Fumiko taught ikebana and sewed clothing by the piece and Chihiro eventually started his own gardening business. 

Keimi attended East Los Angeles College and the University of Southern California (USC), where she studied accounting and office management. Many of her USC friends were majoring in teaching, and that is where she met Hal, her future husband and Heart Mountain survivor. While working in the accounting department at Lucky Stores, now known as Kroger, she volunteered at JANM on Thursday nights. After retiring, she and Hal continued to be involved with the Museum’s volunteer program in many areas, including Development, Outreach, Special Events, HR/Volunteer Office, and Events & Recognition (later named Organization Support) Committee. She Received the Family Spirit Award with Hal in 1999 and Administration Award in 2004.

“JANM is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Barbara Keimi. Barbara, together with Hal, have been part of the lifeblood of the Museum for so many years—giving their time, care, and unwavering commitment in ways that have shaped JANM and touched all of us. Losing Barbara is heartbreaking, and it will be felt profoundly across our JANM family and beyond. She will be remembered not only for her generosity and dedication, but for the warmth, kindness, and grace she brought to everything she did. Our thoughts are with Hal and their family during this difficult time,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO.

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