JAMsj E-News
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
June 2013
In This Issue
Presentation and Workshop: Fashionable Folds
Poetry Reading: Honoring Ourselves Through Our Writing
Guest Speaker: Masao Suzuki, Success Story?...Japanese Immigrant Economic Success Before World War II
Nisei Soldiers Film Series
Discover Nikkei
Calendar of Events
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
JAMsj Home Page
JAMsj Blog
JAMsj Youth Page
JAMsj on Twitter

Find us on facebook

Book Club
Issei Women:  Echoes from Another Frontier

by Eileen Sunada Sarasohn


Saturday, July 6, 2013
1:00 p.m.


Japanese American Museum San Jose  

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112

Our July book club selection chronicles the lives of eleven women whose lives were dramatically changed when they immigrated to America from Meiji-era Japan at the turn of the century. The stories of these women, representative of the 50,000 women who immigrated, express the strength and values they learned in Japan, which are later shared with their children and grandchildren.

The book club 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 may be purchased at the JAMsj museum store. If you have questions, please contact Aggie Idemoto at (408) 268-4440 or [email protected].

 

  

  

 

Presentation and Workshop
  Fashionable Folds
with Linda Mihara
 
Saturday, June 1, 2013

Japanese American Museum San Jose  

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose,
CA  95112

 

Take a look inside the world of acclaimed, origami artist Linda Tomoko Mihara as she presents some of her exciting works in wearable origami fashion.

 

Linda Tomoko Mihara.

Photo courtesy of Linda Mihara
********************************************

Part I: Presentation 

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

 

Join us as Mihara shares some of her exciting new projects and forges origami-folding frontiers in fashion. Although best known for her three-dimensional roko-an sculptures (multiple cranes folded from a single sheet of paper), her latest passion is exploring the art of wearable origami fashion. Mihara has worked on several wearable creations, including her "Star Tesselated Dress and Shoes" which was part of last year's popular Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum. This exhibit opens in June at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, California.
Tesselated Vest  

Blue Wave Dress
Star Tesselated Dress and High Heels
 













Mihara will be bringing several of her art pieces to show at this event, including both award-winning works of art and newer pieces that have never been shown in public before.

 

Open to all ages. Audience members who choose not to participate in the afternoon workshop are welcome to stay and observe (space permitting).

 

 ************************************************************************

Part II: Workshop, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  

Interested in exploring this new frontier? Sign up for this hands-on workshop and join Mihara as she demonstrates a wet-fold technique that can be used to give paper a beautiful texture suitable for fashion. Participants will create a swatch that can either be made into a scarf or transformed into a more elaborate wearable creation.

 

Must be 17 or older. Workshop is limited to a maximum of 30 participants. It is recommended that workshop participants also attend the morning presentation. Participants are welcome to bring their own lunch and chat with Mihara during the break between the morning and afternoon programs.

 
************************************************************************
Mihara has been a guest origami lecturer and teacher at many events, but this is her first time speaking about origami fashion.   Her works are part of several museum collections, including the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, California, and Hangar7 in Salzburg, Austria.

A professional origami artist and designer, Linda specializes in origami for TV commercials and international events. Her clients include Mitsubishi Motors, Chanel, Hermes, Visa, the Washington Post, Pixar, and Disney.   She has just completed origami work for a commercial for McDonald's, scheduled to air soon. More information on Mihara, including examples of her work, can be found on her website (origamihara.com).

Cost: Presentation is free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).
Workshop is an additional $15. A small materials fee may also apply.

  

Please email [email protected] or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve your spot today.

Poetry Reading
  Honoring Ourselves Through Our Writing

 Saturday, June 8, 2013
1:00 p.m.


Japanese American Museum San Jose  

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112

 

A Poetry Reading by three generations of Japanese Americans will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2013, 1:00 p.m. at JAMsj.

 

The Issei generation poems will include readings from the works of Kenichi Takemoto, Jack Yasutake and Poets Behind Barbed Wire.

 

Nisei poetry will be represented by special guest, Mitsuye Yamada. Yamada is a poet and founder of Multi-Cultural Women Writers; a visiting Professor at UCLA; an Artist-in-Residence, San Diego State University; and the recipient of the Writer's Residency Award from Yaddo; and is a Vesta Award Winner.

 

The program will also feature readings by Sansei poets Roger Abe, Stefanie Kaku and Ann Muto, author of the book Open Passage. Each of these poets will share their poems and the meaning behind them.
Mitsuye Yamada, Roger Abe, Stefanie Kaku and Ann Muto
The event will include an "Open Mic" in which audience members will be invited to read their own poetry.


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

 

Please email [email protected] or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve your spot today.

 

Guest Speaker
Success Story?
Japanese Immigrant Economic Success
Before World War II

With Special Guest
Masao Suzuki,
Professor of Economics, Skyline College

 Saturday, June 15, 2013
1:00 p.m.


Japanese American Museum San Jose  

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112


During the 1960s, when the Civil Rights movement was demanding redress for the historic racial inequality in the United States, Japanese and other Asian Americans were often portrayed as "model minorities" who overcame discrimination through their own efforts. Some scholars who supported this view tried to explain differences in ethnic economic achievement by invoking "cultural differences."

 

One challenge to this "model minority" perspective came from scholars who wrote about the historic discrimination faced by Asian Americans.

Masao Suzuki 
Photo by Andy Frazer

This talk will take another approach, showing how Japanese Americans underwent a process of selective immigration, return migration, and family formation.  The Nisei were the result of this triple selection process because their parents were more educated and had a higher occupational status, compared to both Japanese immigrants and Japanese in Japan.

 

 Masao Suzuki is professor of economics at Skyline College.  He has a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford, where he wrote his dissertation on Japanese American economic achievement, 1900 to 1942.  He lives in San Jose with his wife and daughter  and is a long-time activist with the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee and the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression.

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

Please email [email protected] or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve your spot.

Nisei Soldiers Film Series
 

Japanese American Museum San Jose  

535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112


In celebration of the Congressional Gold Medal's tour stop in the Bay Area (June 29 to August 4, DeYoung Museum), JAMsj is pleased to present a film series honoring our Nisei soldiers.

 

 ****************************************************

Beyond Barbed Wire

Sunday, June 23, 2013

1:00 p.m.

 

This 1997 documentary, narrated by Pat Morita, outlines the battlefield accomplishments of the 100th, 442nd, and MIS. Their stories are full of unnerving bravery and unbelievable loyalty. The film also probes emotional questions from both the wives and grown-up children of these soldiers. In the end, the movie is less about war than it is about the strength of the human spirit. 

 

The film will be followed by Q&A with filmmakers Steve Rosen and Terri DeBono. 

 

Steve Rosen - director - editor.
(Photo courtesy of
Terri de Bono)
Terri de Bono - writer - producer.
(Photo courtesy of
Terri de Bono)
Director/producer Terri DeBono has worked closely
with her partner, Steve Rosen, cinematographer, director and editor, for 20 years. Together they have produced commercials, corporate videos, and social-issue documentaries which have premiered nationally on PBS. Their PBS-aired documentaries include Beyond Barbed Wire, narrated by Pat Morita; Accidental Hero: Room 408, winner of numerous best documentary awards; and The Roots of California Photography, narrated by Jack Lemmon, featuring photographers Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.

 

 ****************************************************** 

  A Flicker in Eternity

Saturday, July 20, 2013

1:00 p.m.

 

This film is the coming-of-age tale of Stanley Hayami, a talented young teenager caught between his dream of becoming a writer/artist and duty to his country. Based on Hayami's own diary, this documentary is the firsthand account of a 15-year-old thrust into the turmoil of WWII and is a poignant reminder of the indignity of incarceration 
Sharon Yamato
and the tragedy of war. Through Hayami's endearing cartoons and witty observations, this film chronicles his life behind barbed wire and as a soldier in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It is based on his diary and letters, which are archived at the Japanese American National Museum, and Joanne Oppenheim's Stanley Hayami, Nisei Son. 
 

The film will be followed by Q&A with filmmaker Sharon Yamato. 

 

 ******************************************************

MIS: Human Secret Weapon

Sunday, July 28, 2013

1:00 p.m.

 

  This film explores an untold chapter in Japanese American history and encourages the audience to think about the values of peace. It describes how the MIS contributed to both America's victory and to Japan's recovery after WWII ended. This film is the third and final installment of Junichi Suzuki's trilogy centered on Japanese American participation during the war. Previous films include Toyo's Camera in 2008 and 442 in 2010.

 

********************************************************************   

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

 

Please email [email protected] or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve your spot.   

Discover Nikkei
 
Nikkei Chronicles - Connecting Global Communities Through Stories

By Vicky Murakami-Tsuda, Communications Production Manager, Japanese American National Museum

 

Discover Nikkei is the Japanese American National Museum's community-based website that celebrates cultural diversity and explores both global and local identities. Launched in 2005, the project connects generations and communities by sharing stories and perspectives of the Nikkei.

 

Nikkei Chronicles logo designed by Jay Horinouchi

The site averages about 35,000 unique visitors per month. Articles,

photos, videos, and other content are contributed regularly by a global community of participating partners, other organizations, and individuals throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Japan. We're excited to have JAMsj as our newest official partnering organization.

 
In 2012, we launched an annual, themed story project.  The inaugural project, Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture, yielded 49 diverse stories about the role and influence of food in Nikkei families and communities. Favorite stories were selected in each of Discover Nikkei's four site languages-English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese-and have since been translated. Some are being republished in print and web publications in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Peru.
 
Nikkei Chronicles logo designed
by Jay Horinouchi
Discover Nikkei invites the JAMsj community to submit stories for this year's theme:
Nikkei+ ~Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race~.

For many Nikkei communities and families around the world, it is common to use both chopsticks and forks; mix Japanese words with Spanish; or celebrate the New Year's Eve countdown with champagne while celebrating oshogatsu with ozoni.

Share your thoughts and stories on how Nikkei perceive and experience being multiracial, multinational, multilingual, or multigenerational.

All stories that meet project guidelines will be published as part of the Nikkei+ series. Submissions will be accepted from now until September 30, 2013, at 6 p.m. (PST).

For submission guidelines, visit http://5dn.org/nikkei-plus.

Calendar of Events


June 1, 2013:  Fashionable Folds with Linda Mihara
June 8, 2013:  Honoring Ourselves Through Our Writing
June 15, 2013:  Success Story?  Japanese Immigrant Economic Success Before World War II
June 23, 2013:  Nisei Soldiers Film Series:  Beyond Barbed Wire
July 6, 2013:  Book Club -  Issei Women:  Echoes from Another Frontier
July 13, 2013:  Emerging Research in Japanese American Studies
July 20, 2013:  Nisei Soldiers Film Series:   A Flicker in Eternity
July 28, 2013:  Nisei Soldiers Film Series:  MIS -- Human Secret Weapon

For more information about our public programs, please contact [email protected]

  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