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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. 

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  • Smithsonian Exhibition on Implicit Bias Comes to JANM on November 18, 2023

    Oct 02, 2023

    LOS ANGELES, CA – The Bias Inside Us, a nationally touring exhibition about implicit bias, will be on view at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) from November 18, 2023–January 28, 2024. Presented by JANM’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) and organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibition discusses the social science and psyc...

  • Author Discussion—"Un-American: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II" by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams

    Mar 03, 2018

    Featuring rarely seen photographs by Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Japanese American photographers employed by the US government, Un-American is an extensive documentation of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The authors used key images from the National Archives and Library of Congress, and then tracked down many of the people in those photographs so that the subjects could share thei...

  • "Becoming American? The Art and Identity Crisis of Yasuo Kuniyoshi" by Shipu Wang

    Sep 24, 2011

    "A few short days has changed my status in this country, although I myself have not changed at all." On December 8, 1941, artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953) awoke to find himself branded an "enemy alien" by the U.S. government in the aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The historical crisis forced Kuniyoshi, an émigré Japanese with a distinguished career in American art, to rethink his pictorial strategie...

  • Summer Film Festival: "Harsh Canvas: The Art and Life of Henry Sugimoto"

    Jun 18, 2009 - Jun 28, 2009

    To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center, the National Museum will continuously screen Harsh Canvas: The Art and Life of Henry Sugimoto. From Japan to California, on to Paris, then to concentration camps in Arkansas that transformed his art forever and finally to New York, Henry Sugimoto (1900-1990) pursued what he called, “the path of an artist.” Sugimoto’s recently translat...

  • Bringing the Circle Together: A Native American Film Series -- Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

    Jun 19, 2008

    Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki) exposes the armed confrontation between Mohawks and Canadian government during the 1990 standoff in Kanehsatake near the village of Oka in Quebec. Her portrait of the resistance focuses on the human dimension of the conflict, exploring their conviction and communal spirit that enabled them to stand firm. Music by Jamie Coon (Creek/Seminole) to open the ...

  • Opening of the exhibition "Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden"

    Jun 17, 2007

    Gardens were among the first forms of Japanese culture to gain popularity in the United States. Since their introduction to the American public at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Japanese-style gardens have proliferated across the country. Landscaping America reveals the personal stories, historical journeys, communities, and creativity that underlie the surface of the "Japanese garden." This multi...

  • Members Dessert Reception for opening of Ansel Adams at Manzanar

    Nov 12, 2006

    A dessert reception for current National Museum Members celebrating the opening of Ansel Adams at Manzanar. Will begin following the Opening Public Program with Dr. Anne Hammond. Become a member!

  • "Peaceful Painter Hisako Hibi: Memoirs of an Issei Woman Artist"

    Dec 05, 2004

    Ibuki Hibi Lee compiled a selection of her mother's journal notes and art, which offer an insight into the daily life of a woman who would not abandon her art or betray her spirit. Kristine Kim, director of Program Initiatives, will talk about Hisako Hibi's life. From her days as an art student in Japan, to her role as an art instructor in the Topaz Concentration camp, and finally as a celebrated painter in San Franc...

  • Wartime Incarceration and the Life Course of Nisei Families

    Nov 21, 1998

    Ellis Island Immigration Museum Noted sociologist Dr. Setsuko Matsunaga Nishi will discuss her study on the long-term social and psychological effects of wartime incarceration on Japanese Americans. Funded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation.

  • A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami - Video

    A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami debuted June 9 at the Tribeca Festival 2021 and brings to life the diary and letters of a Los Angeles teenager whose Japanese American family was imprisoned by the U.S government during World War II. The exhibition at JANM features three versions of this video: a 360-degree, interactive video that was created from the virtual reality (VR) film and...