JAMsj E-News
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
November 2014
In This Issue
Film Screening: Under the Blood Red Sun
JAMsj Winter Boutique
Heart Mountain Town Hall Event
Film Screening: The Legacy of Heart Mountain
Book Launch: SJ Japantown -- A Journey
Book Club: From Internment, to Korea, to Solitude
Calendar of Events
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Quick Links
Notices
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Though most of our events are held at JAMsj, this month is unique. Event venues are listed in the articles below.

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Film Screening
  
Under the Blood Red Sun
(film screening with Q&A session via Skype) 

   

Saturday, November 1, 2014 
3:30 p.m.

Wesley United Methodist Church  
566 N. Fifth Street 
San Jose, CA  95112 

 

The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is pleased to present Under the Blood Red Sun, a new dramatic feature film based on the popular novel by Graham Salisbury. The film release coincides with Random House's publication of the 20th anniversary edition of the book.

 

Set on the island of Oahu in 1941, during the days following Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Under the Blood Red Sun is a story of courage, loyalty, and the enduring friendship between two teenage boys. Thirteen-year old Tomikazu (Tomi) Nakaji and his best friend Billy Davis are playing baseball when, overhead, they see the blood-red sun emblem on amber fighter planes, signaling Japan's surprise attack on nearby Pearl Harbor. Tomi's father and grandfather, both Japanese Americans, are arrested and taken away. His mother loses her job because she is Japanese. Frightened and ashamed of his ancestral land, Tomi is quickly forced to become the man of the family.

Dana Satler Hankins

 

Directed by Tim Savage, the film is produced by Dana Satler Hankins and features an award-winning cast, including Kyler Ki Sakamoto, Kalama Epstein, Dann Seki, Autumn Ogawa, Wil Kahele, and Chris Tashima.

 

Chris Tashima
Following the screening, producer Dana Satler Hankins (Honolulu) and actor Chris Tashima (Los Angeles) will participate in a Q&A session via Skype. 

 

 

There is no cost for this event (but donations are appreciated).

 

Contact [email protected] or call (408) 294-3138 to reserve a spot.

Shop to Support JAMsj
 


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Members:  9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Non-Members:  10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
640 N. 5th Street
San Jose, CA  95112 

 

The annual JAMsj Winter Boutique will take place on Saturday, November 8. Admission is free! Museum members can start their shopping an hour earlier, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The general public can enter at 10:00 a.m. The boutique closes at 4:00 p.m. 

 

A Great Way to Help JAMsj 

 

A percentage of every purchase goes toward the museum at this annual fundraising event. You can select from a variety of Japanese-inspired artwork, including crafts, clothing, accessories, hand-crafted jewelry, washi designs, and stationery.

 

Authors and Autographs

 

The following authors will be present to autograph copies of their latest books:

 

     Lora Nakamura, author of Bonsai Babe 

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

     Kim Oshiro, author, and Jean Yee, illustrator, of Simon the Skinny 

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

    Tom Graves, author of Twice Heros

2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

 

Food and Silent Auction

 

Even if you're not a shopper, you will still be able to enjoy a variety of refreshments, as well as participate in the silent auction. Browse and bid on a variety of restaurant and merchant gift certificates, gift baskets, and other holiday gifts!  Everyone can place a bid!

 

Put the date on your calendar:  November 8. Don't miss this fun event

 

 

There is no cost for this event.   

  

Partnerships
 
Heart Mountain Town Hall Event

 
Saturday, November 22, 2014 
2:30 p.m.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin (Gymnasium)
640 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112  

The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (HMWF), in partnership with the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj), is bringing its leadership to San Jose for a special town hall event. The HMWF manages the WWII Heart Mountain Japanese American confinement site located in northwest Wyoming. This site is a national historic landmark featuring an interpretive center, original camp structures, a military honor roll built by incarcerees, and a walking tour. With many former Heart Mountain incarcerees now living in the San Jose area, HMWF Executive Director Brian Liesinger believes that it is important to continue to reach out to San Jose community members in order to better share their stories at the interpretive center in Wyoming.

 

JAMsj has strong connections with Heart Mountain. Three of the four co-founders- Eiichi Sakauye, Ken Iwagaki, and Jimi Yamaichi- were incarcerated there. In fact all three have served on the HMWF board at one time or another. Many other JAMsj members were also held at Heart Mountain during WWII. 

  

 

There is no cost for this event.

 

The November 22 events are open to the public, but an RSVP is required. Please respond to HMWF at [email protected]

  

Free Film Screening
 
The Legacy of Heart Mountain
 
Saturday, November 22, 2014
4:00 p.m.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin (Gymnasium)
640 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112 

Co-produced by ABC7 Los Angeles Eyewitness News anchor David Ono and award-winning TV editor and videographer Jeff MacIntyre, this outstanding production captures the heart of the people who lived in the Heart Mountain concentration camp during WWII. The original film recently received several awards, including three Emmy Awards, a Unity Award, and an Edward R. Murrow Award.

 

This special screening features an expanded version of the film that includes a segment on former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and his longtime friendship with Al Simpson. Home movies by Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) co-founder Eiichi Sakauye are also featured in this film.

 

Jimi Yamaichi
David Ono

This free screening is presented by the Heart Mountain Wyoming

Foundation (WMWF), in partnership with JAMsj. A panel discussion featuring co-producer David Ono, members of the cast, and Jimi Yamaichi will follow.    

 

 

There is no cost for this event.

  

The November 22 events are open to the public, but an RSVP is required. Please respond to HMWF at [email protected].

Special Event
 
Historic S.J. Japantown Book Launch
 
Saturday, November 29, 2014
1:00 p.m.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin (Gymnasium)
640 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112 

Join us at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin for the Japanese American Museum of San Jose's (JAMsj) official launch of San Jose Japantown: A Journey. Fifteen years in the making, this definitive book includes more than 400 full-color pages of research, personal anecdotes taken from more than 120 interviews, and more than 500 hundred photos. The authors share the unique and colorful history of San Jose Japantown from the 1880s through 2010. 

   

For this important debut, we are proud to have Mike Inouye as emcee and guest speaker Judge Paul Bernal (official historian for San Jose). The authors Curt Fukuda and Ralph Pearce will be available to talk about the extensive process of bringing this book to completion and to sign your copy of the book.

 

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the book-launch event. If you have already pre-ordered your copy, we anticipate delivery and distribution the first week of November. If you have not ordered a copy, you can go to www.JAMsj.org, fill out the order form, and mail it in. A copy of the book is now on display at the JAMsj museum store. Stop by and feel free to peruse the stories and photos that define San Jose Japantown's rich history.

 

This is a community event so bring your family and friends to enjoy reminiscing about our Japanese American heritage while enjoying refreshments.

 

In conjunction with this event, JAMsj will have a special exhibit highlighting moments in history covered in the book.

 

Visit www.jamsj.org for more details as we get closer to the event day.

 

 

There is no cost for this event. 
 
Book Club
 
From Internment, to Korea, to Solitude
   
Saturday, January 3, 2015
1:00 p.m.

Japanese American Museum of San Jose
535 N. Fifth Street
San Jose, CA  95112 
 

Book Club will not meet in December. The next meeting will be in January, where Robert Wada's book From Internment, to Korea, to Solitude will be discussed. This book is a memoir of Robert M. Wada, a nisei child of a WWII Japanese American internment camp and later a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War. Wada's memoirs carry us into the world of WWII JA internment camps, discrimination, and tragedies that befall him as a young Marine fighting for his country in the Korean War. This is a story about struggle and loss of hope, followed by new purpose and faith.

 

Books will be available soon at the JAMsj museum store.

 

The Book Club meets at 1:00 p.m. the first Saturday of every other month at JAMsj. Meetings are open to the general public, and books are available for purchase at the museum store. Questions? Contact Book Club facilitator, Aggie Idemoto at [email protected] or (408) 294-3138.

 

 

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

 

No RSVP required.

 

Calendar of Events


November 8, 2014:    JAMsj Winter Boutique
November 22, 2014:  Heart Mountain Town Hall Event
November 22, 2014:  Heart Mountain Film Screening
November 29, 2014:  SJ Japantown Book: A Journey
January 3, 2014:       Book Club:  From Internment, to Korea, to Solitude

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