JANM on the Go logo
Closed for Renovations

JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation and will reopen in late 2026. While the museum and store are closed, join us for programs and events on our Little Tokyo campus, throughout Southern California, and beyond. 

Learn More

Search Results For

  • Special Screening: “The Dragon Painter” featuring Sessue Hayakawa

    Mar 01, 2025

    Join the Little Tokyo Historical Society and the Japanese American National Museum for a special screening of the 1919 silent film, The Dragon Painter, with live music composed and performed by Goh Nakamura. The program will include remarks by Dr. Daisuke Miyao, a professor of Japanese films at the University of California San Diego.Written by film star Sessue Hayakawa, The Dragon Painter, stars Hayakawa as Tasu, the...

  • Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty at the EMP Museum (Seattle, WA)

    Nov 14, 2015 - May 15, 2016

    TRAVELING EXHIBITION EMP Museum Seattle Center Seattle, WA The Japanese American National Museum is now traveling Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, the first large-scale Hello Kitty museum retrospective in the United States. Organized as part of the global icon’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, the exhibition examines the colorful history of Hello Kitty and her influence on popul...

  • AKEMI KIKUMURA YANO DECIDES TO STEP DOWN AS PRESIDENT/CEO OF JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

    Jul 01, 2011

    The Board of Trustees of the Japanese American National Museum announced today that the Museum's President and Chief Executive Officer Akemi Kikumura Yano, Ph.D., has decided to step down from her current position. The Board also announced it will conduct a national search for her successor. Dr. Yano has been in discussions with the Board of Trustees of the Japanese American National Museum about her desire to ste...

  • "Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority " a film by Kimberlee Bassford

    Oct 30, 2010

    Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority is a one-hour documentary by Kimberlee Bassford that explores the remarkable political story of Patsy Mink, an Asian American woman who, battling racism and sexism, redefined American politics. Small in stature but a giant in vision, she began her life on a Maui sugar plantation and rose to become the first Asian American woman and woman of color in the United States Congress. A...

  • Asian American Music Festival's Movement 3: Stars of the Islands

    Oct 16, 2010

    Asian American Music Festival's Movement 3 is Hawaiian music night with international pop superstar Jake Shimabukuro headlining. Abe Lagrimas, Jr. and Noel Okimoto open in their vibraphone and drums quartet. The AAMF is the world’s leading festival celebrating Asian American music: jazz, world, hip-hop and beyond. AAMF celebrates the artistic and creative achievements of Asian American, Asian, and Asian Pacific Is...

  • Bird Pins: The Creative Legacy of Camp

    Feb 19, 2006

    Allowed to bring only what they could carry during World War II, Japanese American inmates looked for ways to occupy their time by creating items such as bird pins. Learn the fascinating story behind the pins and design your own out of various art materials. Afternoon storytelling will feature Marlene Shigekawa's Blue Jay in the Desert and Welcome Home Swallows.

  • "Summer of the Big Bachi", by Naomi Hirahara

    Apr 10, 2004

    Torn between two cultures and two worlds, the Nisei felt like wandering nomads with no ties to their homeland. For these "war orphans," America was a blank or "clean white" sheet of paper where anything was possible, but for Mas Arai, he couldn't escape the painful memories of World War II. Arai harbors a dark and disturbing secret about what happened before his flight from Hiroshima, a secret he had planed to take t...

  • Harsh Canvas: The Art and Life of Henry Sugimoto

    Jul 12, 2001

    This documentary features rare home movie footage of Sugimoto painting in Jerome concentration camp and the voice of Academy Award-nominated actor Mako. The panel discussion immediately following includes Director John Esaki, musician David Iwataki and Mako.

  • Cold Tofu Improv: More Soy of Sex

    Aug 28, 1997

    Cold Tofu looks at love & relationships, the expanded version! This talented, energetic, multicultural comedy improv group has an amazing assortment of entertainment techniques that will keep you laughing all night. Free. Reservations suggested. Limited seating.

  • Cold Tofu Improv: Attack of the Killer Tofus

    Jan 30, 1997

    Thursday Evening at the Museum Performance Cold Tofu provides a monthly evening of laughs and entertainment at the Museum. This talented, energetic, multicultural improvisational group has an amazing assortment of entertainment techniques that will keep you laughing all night. This year Cold Tofu will present themed shows collaborating with guest artists and musicians. This evening, Cold Tofu parodies that hig...