Our story is an American story. Our founders promised that the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) would stand as a beacon of civil rights to ensure that what happened to Japanese Americans in 1942 would never happen to any other group. Therefore, we are embarking on the largest campaign in our history to secure our future and transform our physical and digital presence, our exhibitions, and our programming.
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Japanese American National Museum
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janm
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Tracing the Kuroshio ocean current, which connects the coastlines of Japan and California, reveals an interconnected history of migration, industry, art and culture. A number of early migrants specifically from Wakayama and Chiba, many of whom came from a fishing background, made Monterey along California’s Central Coast their adopted home as a result of being able to continue with this trade. Despite being thousands of miles apart, connections abound. Join researchers, curators, filmmakers, and descendants as they trace the interesting threads that connect these places.
JANM is honored to announce that it has received a $20 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Photo by Paloma Dooley.
Discover Nikkei's Nima Voices series uplifts its community members through brief and insightful conversations. Every interview highlights unique perspectives from Nima living all over the world and their stories are found in Discover Nikkei’s rich archive.
Join us for screening of Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement, a powerful documentary chronicling the life and legacy of artist and activist Nobuko Miyamoto on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at Aichi Gakuin University in Nagoya! Dr. Ikumi Yamagisawa will provide commentary during the program.
Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo.
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles is now accepting applications for the 2026 Toshizo Watanabe Democracy Fellowship.
JANM’s exhibition, Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community is now extended through Sunday, December 14, 2025! If you love all things related to cars and Southern California car culture, then this is for you.
During the summer, JANM launched the start of a new chapter with its Pavilion groundbreaking ceremony that featured renovation plans for the Museum’s public galleries and self-guided tours of the new core exhibition, In the Future We Call Now: Realities of Racism, Dreams of Democracy, education space, and the Manabi and Sumi Hirasaki National Resource Center (HNRC).