The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) offers an extensive collection of art and objects detailing Japanese American history and culture. Additionally, the museum proudly runs a unique museum store, where visitors can select a keepsake item from their visit. There is a wide variety of merchandise for everyone from kids to obachans.

For example, distinctive jewelry by local designers, including Cynthia Sasaki and Juri Kameda, is also available at the museum store.  These creations are wearable art, representative of both the Japanese American culture and the artist's personal spirit. Those who have met Juri would understand this sentiment.

The museum store also carries an array of fun gifts such as Momiji dolls, Hello Kitty figurines, key chains, iPhone cases, ninja coffee mugs, furoshiki wine bags, handmade cards or bookmarks created by our dedicated JAMsj volunteers, and the original JAMsj design T-shirts.

If you cannot visit the museum store in person, you can order a bottle of JAMsj wine online. This Napa Valley wine comes in bottles decorated with collectible Jack Matsuoka drawings. To purchase, visit the Torchlight Cellars Website. 

So please stop by the museum store next time you come to JAMsj. You may find the perfect gift for that someone special or for yourself. There's something for everyone in the family, including children's books and toys, hats and t-shirts, and award-winning books and documentaries. You'll find all of these items and more at the JAMsj museum store!

Tohoku Insights 2013:  

Live conversations with Japan     

Saturday, March 29, 2013
6:00 - 9:00 p.m. 

   Japanese American Museum of San Jose

Second Floor 

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112 

  

Tohoku Insights, 2013: Live Conversations with Japan, produced by Design2Market, will bring together activists in the Tohoku rebuilding and relief effort in Japan with the local San Jose community in an online conference call that will be streamed live over the Internet. Due to the extent of the damage from the earthquake, tsunami , and nuclear disaster, the government is estimating it will take more than a decade to rebuild the Tohoku region. 

 

Online calls from Tohoku will include insights and updates from Takashi Yamamoto, president of Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center; Miho Kazama of Think the Earth; Hatsuno Sano of Carnation Club; Maco Nishida, volunteer; and a special guest.

  

Following the calls, a panel discussion will be held to discuss how the local community can get involved in the relief efforts. Panelists include Hiroshi Inomata, Consul General of Japan; Ed Shikada, Assistant City Manager, City of San Jose; and community activists Steve Yamaguma and Taku Namikawa.

  

This event will be streamed live over the internet at: http://www.coreography.com/s/sj starting at 6:15 p.m.

Cost:  Free.
Space is limited for this event. Please RSVP by emailing PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or calling (408) 294-3138.

For more information, contact Kathy at (408) 298-4303, or go to the event website.                                      

      

                   

Imagine visiting one of the WWII Wartime Relocation Authority concentration camps, looking at what is today a barren landscape but being able to see on a handheld device a computer-generated image of what used to be In the very spot that you are looking at. Not only that, but imagine being able to hear the voice of a former internee describing what life was like when people were imprisoned there.

We are excited to announce that CyArk, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the digital preservation of cultural heritage sites, will be at JAMsj on March 16, presenting the results of its 2011 grant program to digitally preserve and virtually reconstruct the confinement sites of Manzanar, Topaz, and Tule Lake. CyArk has used the latest in 3D technology to capture the historic remains of the three sites. Working in partnership with the National Park Service and independent researchers, CyArk used historic information and its own recently captured 3D data to develop comprehensive historic models of the three camps. Each camp was digitally reconstructed to include the unique elements of each site, including gardens and other landscape features.

  

CyArk's presentation will explain the process used to develop the models, including an explanation of the latest technology used in the project. The presentation will feature a live demonstration of the models and various interpretive elements soon available to the public. It will also demonstrate how to access the robust database of information developed during the project.

  

Example of CyArk cgi video (Merritt Park at Manzanar)

 

CyArk is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. CyArk's mission is the digital preservation of the world's important monuments and sites. It works to ensure that these tangible testaments to human history will not be lost to future generations.

Cost: Entry is free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).

 Seating is limited, so please email PublicPrograms@JAMsj.org or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve your spot today. 

Artist Cody Gramstad. Photo courtesy of Tule Lake Project.

Filmmaker Michelle Ikemoto will discuss her award-winning animated short film,

Tule Lake, at JAMsj on March 30, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.

Model sheet for body of Sakae, artist: Joanna Johnen. Photo courtesy of Tule Lake Project.

Based on true events, this film is a story of perseverance and is told from the perspective of a Japanese American internee held in the Tule Lake incarceration camp during World War II.

In addition to sharing the story of her film, Ikemoto will give a presentation on the anime film-making process. She will also show some examples of the paper and pencil work that served as the basis for creating the film. In addition, she will share how she personally connected to the subject through memories shared by her grandmother, who was detained at the Tule Lake incarceration camp. 

 

Ikemoto is a film student at San Jose State University. Her film has won several awards and recognitions, including selection by the San Jose International Short Film Festival, CSU Media Arts Festival awards, CreaTiVe Awards, and a nomination at the Annual Annie Awards.

 

Film stills. Photo courtesy of Tule Lake Project.

 

      

Images courtesy of Tule Lake Project.

  

For more details about the film and to see a trailer, visit the Tule Lake blog. 

Cost: Entry is free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).

To RSVP, contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call (408) 294-3138.    

Photo courtesy of May Matsuzaki

Koi streamers hung along 5th Street lead you to JAMsj during the Nikkei Matsuri Festival.  Photo courtesy of May Matsuzaki.

Brightly dyed carp streamers will soon be fluttering above houses in Japan and many Japanese American homes during the celebration of Kodomo No Hi. In keeping with this tradition, koi streamers will be hung along 5th Street, leading you to JAMsj during the Nikkei Matsuri Festival.

 

Kodomo No Hi, otherwise known as Children's Day, is a nationally observed holiday in Japan, traditionally celebrated on May 5.

 

JAMsj will be celebrating Kodomo No Hi with various craft-making workshops. Children can learn how to make kabuto (samurai helmets), koinobori (carp streamers), and other crafts at this popular event.

 

 

Hello Kitty with guests.    Photo courtesy of May Matsuzaki.

Hello Kitty will also be making a special appearance at the museum and at JAMsj's festival booth. For a small fee, we'll give you a special Hello Kitty crown or

Photo courtesy of May Matsuzaki.

fan and take a special photo with Hello Kitty. 

 

We'll also raffle off a special JAMsj gift basket. 

Cost: Entry is free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).  An additional materials fee may apply.      

For more information, please email PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138.

Photo courtesy of Prospect Park Books.

JAMsj will present another compelling book talk, this time with author Naomi Hirahara. She will discuss her latest book, Strawberry Yellow, on May 4, 2013, at 1:00 p.m at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj). This book is Naomi's fifth book in her Edgar-winning detective series. This series features a curmudgeon of a Japanese-American gardener and unwitting detective, Mas Arai. He is a memorable protagonist unlike any other: a Hiroshima survivor, gardener, widower, gambler, grandfather, and solver of crimes. In Strawberry Yellow, he returns to the California strawberry farms of his youth and encounters not only family intrigue but also danger and eventually murder.

Author Noami Hirahara.  Photo courtesy of Prospect Park Books.

Hirahara was born in Pasadena, California. Her father Isamu (known as

"Sam"), was also born in California, but was taken to Hiroshima, Japan, as an infant. He was only miles away from the epicenter of the atomic bomb blast in 1945, yet managed to survive. Naomi's mother Mayumi (known as"May") was born in Hiroshima and lost her father in the blast. Shortly after the end of World War II, Sam returned to Los Angeles and eventually established himself in the gardening and landscaping trade.

For more details about Naomi Hirahara and her books, visit http://www.naomihirahara.com/ . 

  

 

Cost: Entry is free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).       

To RSVP, contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138.