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

  • JANM Announces New After-hours Artmaking Series Beginning March 21

    Mar 01, 2024

    LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) announces Asobi! at JANM, a new series from 7 p.m.–9 p.m. on selected Thursdays where local artists showcase their unique work through interactive demonstrations and every guest goes home with a new art piece and sense of accomplishment. Admission is $10 (Members: free). Visitors can learn how to make art, mingle with old and new friends, and try somet...

  • Author Discussion—"Nisei Naysayer: The Memoir of Militant Japanese American Journalist Jimmie Omura" by James Matsumoto Omura; edited by Arthur A. Hansen

    Aug 25, 2018

    If you missed the program, you can watch it online on JANM’s YouTube channel. The late journalist James "Jimmie" Omura was among the fiercest opponents of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. In his sharply written columns, Omura called out leaders in the Nikkei community for what he saw as their complicity with the US government’s unjust and unconstitutional policie...

  • Big Trouble in Little Tokyo presents "The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West" (1916-17)

    May 13, 2015

    In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, JANM presents a rare screening of The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West (1916–17), a silent black-and-white film directed by Marion Wong. The Curse of Quon Gwon is the earliest known film directed by an Asian American, and one of the earliest directed by a woman. Reflecting the filmmaker’s desire to present authentic Chinese culture t...

  • SMITHSONIAN TOUR OF CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL AWARDED TO JAPANESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERANS MAKES NEXT STOP AT THE JANM

    Apr 25, 2013

    LOS ANGELES—The Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 2011 to Japanese American, or Nisei, World War II veterans in recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments will be on view at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, CA, May 4–June 9, 2013. The medal is on a national tour that will visit seven cities in 2013. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) has partnered with the...

  • "Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn " a film by Nancy Kapitanoff and Sharon Yamato, narrated by Sandra Oh

    Nov 07, 2010

    Michi Nishiura Weglyn gave up a successful career as costume designer to write the landmark book, Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps, that set the record straight about the World War II incarceration. This short film paints a portrait of her dynamic personality and gives a stunning human face to the struggle for civil justice. The film recently received a Special Jury Mention at thi...

  • "Because they might be a threat..." Memories of the Children's Village at Manzanar

    Jan 14, 2007

    On June 23, 1942, forty orphans arrived at Manzanar. By the time the camp closed, more than sixty joined their ranks. As assistant superintendent, Lillian Matsumoto oversaw the operation of the facility and care of the orphans. Now in her nineties, Matsumoto shares her memories in a very special program that includes her daughter, Karyl Matsumoto, and oral historian, Greg Marutani. Reservations recommended. This p...

  • "Common Ground: The Japanese American National Museum and the Culture of Collaborations"

    May 15, 2005

    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 State...

  • "An Introduction to The History and Practice of Taiko"

    Feb 15, 2005

    In advance of the exhibition Big Drum: Taiko in the United States (opening July 2005), musician, Yuta Kato will lead an eight-week course to give students a historical and practical approach to learning taiko. Early reservations are recommended due to limited space. Course fees are $100 for National Museum Members and $125 for non-members. Participants must be at least 16 years old.

  • U.S. Government Appropriates Federal Funds To Establish National Center For The Preservation Of Democracy At Japanese American National Museum

    Oct 17, 2000

    The Japanese American National Museum and the Chairman of its Board of Governors, The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator from Hawai‘i, announced today the appropriation of $20 million in federal funds to establish the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy which will be affiliated with the National Museum in Los Angeles. The new National Center will be headquartered in the National Museum’...

  • Japanese American National Museum and National Coalition for Redress/Reparations Present 'Day of Remembrance' Programs on Feb. 19 and 20

    Feb 01, 1999

    In annual remembrance of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the unconstitutional incarceration of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II, the Japanese American National Museum and the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations (NCRR) are featuring a weekend of programs and events at the Japanese American National Museum on Friday, Februa...