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.
On December 21, 2022, longtime JANM Volunteer Frank Kikuchi passed away in his sleep.
Born in Seattle on October 21, 1924, he was incarcerated at the Manzanar concentration camp. After the war, Frank relocated to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights and started a family with his wife Tama. They had five children together and were married for 56 years until Tama died in 2004.
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will open its new exhibition, Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. The exhibition will explore the experiences of Japanese American youth who asserted their place as young Americans confronting the injustice of being imprisoned in World War II concentration camps and embarking on the universal journey into adolescence.
In Person tickets to this program include admission to JANM for Saturday, March 4, 2023. Pricing reflects general museum admission pricing. Learn more about visiting JANM at janm.org/visit.
JANM Members at the Sustaining level members and above are invited to a VIP reception and tour of Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps before it opens to the public.
Invitations will be mailed out in February.
Not a Member at the Director’s Circle and above? Join or renew today, or contact membership@janm.org to upgrade your membership.
All JANM Members were invited to preview Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps before it opened to the public.
For press inquiries, email mediarelations@janm.org or call 213.625.0414.
(Password Access Only—contact mediarelations@janm.org for access.)
Public Programming for Don’t Fence Me In will focus on immersing audiences into the experience of being a young person in US concentration camps during World War II and the challenges of coming of age in a challenging environment.
Programs are free for museum members and included with admission for visitors, unless otherwise noted.
To see a complete listing of the JANM’s programs, check out our Events Calendar.
Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps explores the experiences of Japanese American youth who asserted their place as young Americans confronting the injustice of being imprisoned in concentration camps during World War II and embarking on the universal journey into adolescence.
In addition to the artwork and artifacts, the exhibition included several media components—a film by Norman Yonemoto, and video footage of performances by Linda Nishio and the musical Chop Suey.
Videos were created for each featured artist that included interviews with the artists, their friends, and family. Watch them in the playlist below or purchase the DVD.
View bios below for each of the artists featured in Drawing the Line. Watch artist profile videos created for the exhibition.
Featured Artists:
• GIDRA
• Matsumi Kanemitsu
• Nobuko Miyamoto
• Robert A. Nakamura
• Linda Nishio
• Ben Sakoguchi
• Larry Shinoda
• Qris Yamashita
• Bruce Yonemoto
• Norman Yonemoto