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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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  • Tea & Letter Writing: letters to ghosts

    Oct 06, 2021

    $10 Suggested Donation Gather with us in the comfort of your own home to share tea and conversation in this virtual program! This month we’ll be exploring ghosts, hauntings, and memories. Join traci kato-kiriyama, former Little Tokyo +LAB Artist-in-Residence at JANM, and Mya Worrell, zine maker and writer, for creative zine making and writing. Make yourself a cup of tea, get comfortable, and join us online for thi...

  • 2019 Natsumatsuri Family Festival

    Aug 10, 2019

    Join us for our annual summer celebration featuring Japanese and Japanese American performances, crafts, and activities. Plus, free admission all day to see At First Light: The Dawning of Asian Pacific America and Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Special perks available for JANM members! Be sure to check in at the front desk to get a member sticker so you can take advantage of the perks highlighted below....

  • Perseverance at The Japan Foundation, Sydney (Chippendale, AUSTRALIA)

    Sep 28, 2016 - Nov 12, 2016

    TRAVELING EXHIBITION The Japan Foundation, Sydney Chippendale, AUSTRALIA Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World is a groundbreaking photographic exhibition that explores the master craftsmanship of traditional Japanese tattoos and their enduring influence on modern tattoo practices. Even as Japanese-style tattooing has moved into the mainstream, it remains an enigmatic and misund...

  • Film Screening and Panel Discussion—"The Empty Chair"

    Apr 02, 2016

    In 1942, Alaska native John Tanaka was going to be the valedictorian of his high school graduating class, but was scheduled to be incarcerated by the U.S. government before the ceremony could take place. In response, the Juneau school board voted to hold a special early graduation ceremony for him. When the official ceremony was held for the class of ’42, they set aside an empty chair on the platform to acknowledge...

  • InSight: LAB Writers Group Presents: "Why No Mouth?"

    May 26, 2015

    FREE This group of Asian American theater writers led by traci kato-kiriyama presents Why No Mouth?, a reading and discussion of Hello Kitty–inspired writings produced in their monthly workshop. The works are geared toward theater and look at themes of consumerism, relationships, and need. Members of the group, who experiment with writing in live time and through an Asian-American lens, have included Greg Watan...

  • American Tapestry

    Nov 13, 2010 - Apr 17, 2011

    A set of marbles found in the barren desert. The candid diary of a 19-year-old soldier. A haunting memento from the World Trade Center on 9/11. The Japanese American National Museum has a treasure of ordinary, yet extraordinary stories in its unique and innovative collection. Celebrating its 25th Anniversary year, the Museum is pleased to present AMERICAN TAPESTRY: 25 Stories from the Collection, a selection of...

  • " Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens: Hikaru Iwasaki and the WRA's Photographic Section, 1943-1945"

    Nov 21, 2009

    In Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi gathers a unique collection of photographs by War Relocation Authority photographer Hikaru Iwasaki, the only full-time WRA photographer from the period still living. This book explores the WRA's use of photography in its mission to encourage "loyal" Japanese Americans to return to society before the end of the war, and also to convince Euro-Amer...

  • Songs for a New World

    Oct 23, 2009 - Oct 25, 2009

    October 23-25 8 PM shows on Friday/Saturday, 2 PM on Sunday $25 general admission $20 seniors, students and groups of 10 or more YES AND…PRODUCTIONS proudly presents Jason Robert Brown’s SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD. With a small, passionate cast and a driving, exquisitely crafted score, SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD is about one moment---or rather, isolated moments in the lives of many characters---in a variety of eras. ...

  • George Nakashima Furniture and Designs to be Presented in Major Exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum

    Jul 26, 2004

    The largest exhibition of works in over a decade by furniture designer and architect George Nakashima will be on view at the Japanese American National Museum from September 12, 2004 through January 2, 2005. George Nakashima: Nature, Form & Spirit features rare examples of Nakashima’s furniture and designs created from 1943 until his death in 1990. Approximately 50 Nakashima pieces, including benches, tables, chair...

  • Music for Alice

    Mar 26, 2004

    As a girl, Alice loved to dance, but the rhythms of her life offered little opportunity for a foxtrot, much less a waltz. World War II erupted soon after she was married, and Alice and her husband—along with many other Japanese Americans—were forced to leave their home and report to an assembly center. Undaunted, Alice and Mark learned to make the most of every circumstance, from their stall in the old stockyard in...