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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 Magazine Museum Day Live!

    Sep 24, 2016

    Free admission to JANM all day! In the spirit of the Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission every day, JANM is offering FREE admission all day as part of the annual Museum Day Live! event.

  • "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 ...

  • Japanese Tattoo Live Demonstrations & Lectures

    Mar 08, 2014

    Celebrate the opening of Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World with live tattooing and lectures led by the artists featured in the exhibition. LIVE TATTOO DEMONSTRATIONS ARATANI CENTRAL HALL Featured artists from the exhibition will be tattooing live, up-close-and-personal, showcasing various forms of Japanese tattooing, including tebori, a traditional Japanese hand tattooing form. Featuri...

  • "A Flicker in Eternity" by Sharon Yamato, Ann Kaneko, and Joanne Oppenheim

    Jun 01, 2013

    Screenings will be held at 2PM and 3PM.: This documentary tells the true World War II story of Stanley Hayami, a talented young teenager caught between his dreams of becoming an artist and his duty to his country. Based on Stanley’s diary and letters archived at the Japanese American National Museum, this coming-of-age tale chronicles Stanley’s life behind barbed wire and as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat...

  • Graze Little Tokyo Walk

    Jan 07, 2012

    A food centric cultural exploration of the hidden corners of Little Tokyo. This walk provides opportunities to sample local Asian food from lotus root to pounded rice while learning about the history of the neighborhood. $15 Members, $20 non-members, includes admission. Wear comfortable walking shoes.

  • An Intergenerational Book Pairing: "Making Home from War "and "My Dog Teny"

    Mar 12, 2011

    Making Home from War, edited by Brian Komei Dempster is the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning From Our Side of the Fence. Written by 13 Japanese American elders who gathered regularly at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, it is a collection of stories about their exodus from concentration camps into a world that in a few short years had drastically changed. My Dog Teny writte...

  • "Giant Robot Biennale 2: 15 Years" Closing Party

    Jan 21, 2010

    To close out the hugely successful group art show and 15 year celebration of Giant Robot magazine, JANM will be open for extended hours on Thursday, January 21. Admission will be free, and many of the participating artists and key members of the Giant Robot family will be in attendance as part of this special gathering. Expect refreshments, a musical guest, The Binges and DJ Puffs, and other surprises.

  • American Inquisition: The Hunt for Japanese American Disloyalty in World War II

    Dec 01, 2007

    by Eric L. Muller Ever the astute researcher and engaging writer, University of North Carolina Professor of Law, Eric Muller, has written a thought provoking book that tells the story of the government bureaucracy that existed between 1943 and 1945, adjudicating which Americans of Japanese ancestry were "loyal" and which were "disloyal." Light reception to follow.

  • "Born Free and Equal"

    May 19, 2002

    Born Free and Equal, a collection of photographs taken by renowned photographer Ansel Adams at the Manzanar concentration camp, was recently re-released in a new and complete edition in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. Join us as Archie Miyatake, son of renowned photographer Toyo Miyatake, Sue Kunitomi Embrey, board member of the National Japanese American Historical Soci...

  • Dear Miss Breed

    Jan 14, 1997 - Apr 13, 1997

    "Dear Miss Breed..." the letters begin. Over 250 of them in all, these faded and creased remnants of history tell the story of young Japanese Americans incarcerated in America's World War II concentration camps and illustrate how the commitment of a single person can profoundly touch the lives of so many people. A selection of these letters to Miss Breed are featured in this virtual exhibition. In order to fully util...