JAMsj E-News
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
February 2012
In This Issue
Valor with Honor Film Screening
Government of Japan Honors Jimi Yamaichi
San Jose Day of Remembrance
JAMsj Girl's Day
No-No Boy
JAMsj at the Salinas Day of Remembrance
JAMsj Calendar of Events
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120,000 Tassel Tapestry
The 120,000 Tassel Tapestry is now on display at JAMsj in the special exhibit area. The exhibit honors Japanese American soldiers from WW II. The tapestry was created by Leila Meyerratken and her 8th grade students from Lafayette,Indiana.

Purchase the JAMsj  Signature Wines. Each bottle carries a special label created by local artist, Jack Matsuoka.  Each purchase benefits JAMsj!. Place your order now!

Japan beneft
"One Year After: A Benefit Concert for the Children of Tohoku, Japan" will be held on March 10, 2012
at the Old Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA. Click here for more information.

 Valor with Honor

Film Screening 


Valor with Honor poster
  

 

Valor with Honor 

Film Screening 

 

              February 19, 2012        

       2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

     Japanese American Museum of San Jose

          535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA 95112

 

JAMsj and the Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS) present a special screening of the film, Valor with Honor, an independent documentary film based on more than 35 interviews of Japanese American veterans who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII. This small segregated unit of 3,500 men is the most decorated American unit for its size and length of service. By the end of WWII, the 442nd would be awarded with 7 Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of Honor, more than 500 Silver Stars, and more than 9,000 Purple Hearts.

  

The 85-minute documentary film by Burt Takeuchi describes the harrowing stories of the 442nd's battles in Italy; the rescue of the Lost Battalion in France; the assault up Mount Folgorito; and the holocaust at Dachau, Germany, at the close of WWII. The film concludes with the vets' bittersweet return home to America. The entire film is woven through with emotional stories told by the veterans themselves.

Admission is free, but reservations are required as space as limited. To reserve a space, email [email protected]  or  [email protected], or call (408) 294-3138 or (408) 867-4525. 

DVDs will be sold at the event. For more information about the film, visit director Burt Takeuchi's  Valor with Honor web site.

         
Government of Japan Honors Jimi Yamaichi
Jimi Yamaichi Dinner
Conferment Ceremony
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays

Jimi Yamaichi

February 24, 2012
The Fairmont Hotel San Jose, Regency Ballroom
170 South Market Street,
San Jose, CA 95113

Please join the community on February 24, 2012, when the Government of Japan presents the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays to JAMsj curator, Jimi Yamaichi. The Order will be presented by Hiroshi Inomata, Consul General of Japan.



Order of the Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
6:00 No-Host Cocktail Reception
7:00 Conferment Ceremony

7:30 Dinner and Program



$100 per person
. Please make checks payable to Nikkei Matsuri. Write "Jimi's Dinner" on the memo line.

Send payment to:

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
Attn: Jimi's Dinner
640 N. 5th Street
San Jose, CA 95112

R.S.V.P. by February 18, 2012

Questions: [email protected], (408) 867-4525

 

San Jose Day of Remembrance
2010 San Jose Day of Remembrance
The San Jose Day of Remembrance brings multiple communities together to build trust, respect, and understanding on the anniversary of Executive Order 9066.  Photo courtesy of Andy Frazer

32nd Annual San Jose 

Day of Remembrance

 

Civil Liberties Under Siege

 

February 19, 2012

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin

640 N. Fifth Street

San Jose, CA 95112  

 

 

 

 

Please do not contact the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin for information on the event. Visit www.sjnoc.org for more information.  

 

      

The 32nd Annual  San Jose Day of Remembrance event, Civil Liberties Under Siege, will take place on February 19, 2012, at the San Jose Buddhist Church Buddhist Church Betsuin. This year's event will mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066  which led to the forced incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent.  

 

Paul DeWittPaul DeWitt, a JAMsj board member and a former Alameda County Teacher of the Year, with help from JAMsj exhibit design manager, Glenn Tsutsumi, has created a special exhibit display that will be shown at the Day of Remembrance event. One panel of the exhibit will focus on the executive order, the subsequent evacuation, and the numerous constitutional and civil liberties that were violated.  Another panel will describe the little known and often avoided stories of resistance to the internment. 

 

"People do not want to talk about so-called negative things," Paul said. "People have always wanted to present what they believe is a positive image of Japanese American history to the public. Even Japanese Americans do not want to talk about resistance and may not even know about it. "

 

 

Paul believes that there are many lessons that can be extracted from the events of seventy years ago. "Executive Order 9066 and the Day of Remembrance event serve as continual reminders of the violation of rights and racism confronted by Japanese Americans," Paul said. "Other minorities, such as Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals, are often the subjects of racism and discrimination even today.  We should have learned from the internment of Japanese Americans."

 

_____________________________________________________________________________ 

The  Nihonmachi Outreach Committee hosts the San Jose Day of Remembrance event. This year's program features Karen Korematsu, a cofounder of the  Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education and daughter of civil rights icon, Fred Korematsu; Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Representative Mike Honda.

 

 

 

JAMsj Girl's Day
Hinamatsuri Exhibit
JAMsj curator Jimi Yamaichi and Rich Saito admire the Hinamatsuri dolls from the 2011 JAMsj Girl's Day event.

Hinamatsuri
(Girl's Day)

   

              March 3, 2012        

       12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

     Japanese American Museum of San Jose  

 535 N. Fifth Street  

San Jose, CA 95112 





The Japanese Doll Festival  (Hinamatsuri), or Girls' Day, is a festival celebrated by families who have girls, wishing their daughters good health and growth. Traditionally, beautiful dolls representing the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians were handcrafted especially for the occasion. The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period, when people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits.

Come b
ring you children to the special Girl's Day celebration at JAMsj. There will be doll exhibits and wonderful craft projects for both boys and girls.

The craft making session is free for members and $5 for nonmembers.

JAMsj Hinamatsuri Celebration
Boys and girls are welcome to participate in craft making projects

JAMsj/Yu-Ai Kai Book Club
No-no Boy Cover
No-No Boy 

By John Okada 


March 2, 2012
1:00 pm 
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112


 

 

 

"No-No Boy" reaches into the inner conflict and personal struggle of the main character, IchiroYamada, who is haunted by his decision to refuse service in the U.S. military. Yamada made this difficult decision in the midst of a tumultuous period, during which his own government removed his constitutional rights and imprisoned him in an internment camp. The novel delves into Yamada's personal battle to live with himself and to find his place in the community.

 

The title of the book refers to Japanese Americans who answered no to questions 27 and 28 of the highly controversial loyalty questionnaire that was administered to incarcerated Japanese Americans in 1943. The questionnaire contained two problematic questions: whether or not the internee would be willing to serve in the American armed forces and whether or not the internee would swear unqualified allegiance to the United States. Those who answered those two questions in the negative were labeled "No-No" and were deemed disloyal. "No-Nos" were segregated and imprisoned in a separate, high-security camp. Many of them were ostracized from the Japanese American community.

 

The reasons why some internees answered "No-No" are complex and varied. Some people feared that they would be permanently separated from their Japanese parents if they answered the questions differently from their parents. Some people qualified their answers (e.g. "yes, I will serve, but only if my constitutional rights are restored") or refused to answer the questions. People who qualified their answers or refused to answer the questions were also considered to be "No-No."

  

The book club meets the first Friday of every other month and is always open to new members. Selections are chosen collaboratively at the end of each meeting and align with the JAMsj mission: the celebration of Japanese American art, history, and culture. Books are readily available at San Jose public libraries, online book retailers, and the JAMsj museum store. If you have questions, please contact Aggie Idemoto at (408) 268-4440 or [email protected]

  

 

JAMsj at the Salinas Day of Remembrance
Salinas Rodeo Grounds

Salinas Day of Remembrance

February 26, 2012
1:30 p.m
Steinbeck Institute of Art and Culture
940 N. Main Street
Salinas, CA 93906


Rodeo Roundup, a presentation by the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, will be featured at the Salinas Day of Remembrance on Sunday, February 26,  at the Steinbeck Institute of Art and Culture (please note that this is a different venue from the Steinbeck National Museum). The host organization, the Gilroy Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, promises a meaningful learning experience about a grim chapter in U.S. History.

 

After Executive Order 9066 was issued, the Salinas Rodeo Grounds was established by the government as a "holding ground" before people were deported to Poston, Arizona, one of ten War Relocation Authority detention camps.

Bilingual storyteller, Megumi, will open the program by spinning tales to provide background information. The main event, a panel discussion, will feature Sus Ikeda, Jack Matsuoka, Bob Oka, and Aki (Awaya) Okuno, who will recount first hand experiences at the center. JAMsj president, Aggie Idemoto, will be the discussion moderator. A mini-exhibit describing the life and times during incarceration at the assembly center will be displayed at the event.

 
The program will begin at the California Historical Monument and Memorial Garden,
located next to the Salinas Rodeo Grounds on the area formally known as the Salinas
Community Center or Sherwood Gardens, and will then proceed to the Santa Lucia
Room of the Steinbeck Institute of Arts and Culture adjacent to the monument.

This annual observance is sponsored by the five JACL chapters of the Greater Monterey Bay area: Gilroy, Monterey Peninsula, San Benito County, Salinas Valley and Watsonville-Santa Cruz.

For more information, please contact Lily Kawafuchi, of the Gilroy JACL at (408) 710-5079.

JAMsj Calendar of Events

JAMsj Logo

Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj)
535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA 95112
Tel: (408) 294-3138
Email: [email protected]
www.jamsj.org