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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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  • "Transpacific Borderlands" Art Workshop—Paper Flowers from the Camp Archives

    Dec 02, 2017

    Japanese Americans living in the World War II American concentration camps did not have access to fresh cut flowers. Instead, they used patterns from sources like the Woolworth’s catalog to make paper flowers. Camp excavations have revealed that these makeshift flowers, with wires for stems, were placed in glass jars and laid on top of caskets at funerals. Join Transpacific Borderlands artist Shizu Saldamando ...

  • Members Only Exhibition Tour: "Only the Oaks Remain"

    Jan 28, 2017

    Join a representative from the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition for an informative tour of the Only the Oaks Remain: The Story of Tuna Canyon Detention Station special display. Limited to 20 members; reservations are required. RSVP to memberevents@janm.org or 213.830.5646.

  • "Canefield Songs: Holehole Bushi" Advance Screening and Panel Discussion

    Jul 18, 2015

    The Japanese immigrants who worked on Hawai‘i’s sugar plantations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sang as they worked, creating a Japanese-American equivalent of "the blues." Called holehole (Hawaiian for dried cane leaves) bushi (Japanese for melody or tune), the songs are a record of the workers’ joys, sorrows, and challenges, providing a fascinating window onto early plantation life. In the ...

  • "Infinity & Chashu Ramen" by Kerwin Berk

    Jan 18, 2014

    Showtimes: 4PM & 7PM The universe unfolds a little differently in Japantown. It operates in a way you couldn’t possibly comprehend. But there is a method to its madness and for the most part it runs as smoothly as a Tokyo train station. However, every once in a great while, it needs a little help. Meet Tenshi. He’s an obnoxious 400-year-old spirit from old Japan who has a foul mouth and a propensity for pett...

  • NATIONAL MUSEUM POSTPONES ASIAN/FUSION FOOD TRUCK EVENT

    Jul 26, 2011

    "The Battle of the Asian and Fusion Food Trucks" event, originally scheduled to be part of the National Museum’s 13th Annual Summer Festival on the Courtyard on Saturday, August 13, at the Japanese American National Museum, has been postponed. The free Summer Festival on the Courtyard will go on as scheduled, highlighted by the Los Angeles Tea Festival by Chado, hands-on arts and crafts and a ticketed concert at 2...

  • Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center Retrospective

    Aug 01, 2009

    *Free Join us for an enlightening conversation between filmmakers Justin Lin, Robert Nakamura, Karen Ishizuka and John Esaki on the past, present and future of Asian American film. They will show clips and discuss the history of the Asian American film movement, their work at JANM's Watase Media Arts Center, their filmmaking careers, and the future of Asian American film. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS ROBERT NAKAMURA is a ...

  • 'BRILLIANT BEATS' THEME FOR TARGET FREE FAMILY SATURDAY NOV. 8

    Oct 31, 2008

    The Japanese American National Museum continues its highly successful public program series, Target Free Family Saturday, with the theme of "Brilliant Beats" for November 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program, which is free to the general public, thanks to Target, will include fun family activities, including hands-on arts and crafts and drumming. Highlighting the day of activities will be two opportunities to be ...

  • Eastside Revue: 1932-2002, A Musical Homage to Boyle Heights

    Oct 12, 2002

    Free concert in conjunction with the exhibition Boyle Heights: The Power of Place Join us for a special concert celebrating over half a century of musical history with legendary artists of the past and present who have placed their community and their music on top of the world's musical map. The rich and glorious tradition of Boyle Heights' music is a metaphor and microcosm of the American dream for an autonomous ...

  • Capturing History: Incarceration Narratives in Fiction and Nonfiction

    May 15, 1997

    Two generations of writers have struggled to recover and present stories of the Japanese American incarceration; their work in history and in fiction has been at the core of the movement for redress. A panel of distinguished novelists and historians of the incarceration experience share their work, discuss their sources for materials, and address questions of how they used or interpreted these materials. Join us fo...

  • Celebrating Kona through Mele (song) and Hula (dance)

    Feb 16, 1997

    Kona Coffee Story Exhibit Series Family Activity Featuring: Ainahau O Kaleponi Hawaiian Civic Club The first of a series of monthly ohana (family) and nakeiki (children) activities organized by Ainahau O Kaleponi Hawaiian Civic Club to complement the Kona Coffee Story exhibition. Learn the dances and songs of Kona. Hear the stories of the Island of Hawai'i, the home of Pele the fire goddess who resides in...