Register for the free event here!

Join JAMsj and San Jose JACL for “Jammin’ with JAMsj”, a lively evening exploring the sounds and stories of Japantown in the lush and serene surroundings of the Issei Memorial Building Garden. Enjoy engaging conversations about music’s role in our community and experience live performances and a jam session by talented local artists.

Register here for this free event!

In partnership with Kansha History and the Asian Cultural Experience of Salinas (ACES), JAMsj invites you to join us for “Roots to Renewal: Planting Our Stories”, a free public program where attendees can learn about the farming history of the Santa Clara Valley and California, explore their own family’s agricultural roots with Amanda Mei Kim of the Kansha History Project (sign up for this included in the registration link below!), and become informed on contemporary farming in the Bay Area.

Tickets can be purchased here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here!

Join us at JAMsj as we close out summer with chilled sake and cold beer, refreshing soft drinks, delicious small bites from local Japantown establishments, live entertainment, and a lively, selective raffle, all in a festive setting and for a good cause!

Sign up through this link.

Join JAMsj for our second "Impactathon", involving food, conversation, and collaborative learning with local students from the UCSC Everett Program.

Both showings are SOLD OUT. If you would like to be on the Wait List, please register here.

Japantown Returnings is a theatrical staged reading, accompanied by live music, that invites audiences on an evocative journey through time—beginning in present-day San Jose Japantown and traveling back through five pivotal moments in the community’s history. From its early roots in the Heinlenville Chinatown of the 1890s, to the forced incarceration and post-WWII resettlement of Japanese Americans, to the activism and redress efforts of the 1970s and 1980s, each scene reveals the enduring strength, identity, and spirit of one of the last three remaining Japantowns in the United States. Tickets are available here: https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/46z18l

Discover how personal, family, and community stories can be shaped into meaningful heirlooms. Through books, exhibits, zines, and memoir writing, panelists from different generations share how they gave form to memory. Gain inspiration and practical ideas for beginning—or continuing—your own storytelling journey. Meet the creators and explore ways to preserve your own heirlooms and memories.

Sign up through this link.

Join JAMsj for our first ever "Impactathon", involving food, conversation, and collaborative learning with local students from the UCSC Everett Program.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available here.

Please join us at JAMsj to hear from local women leaders and activists Carolyn Morimoto, PJ Hirabayashi and Victoria Taketa in a personal conversation centered on their experiences growing up as Sansei (3rd generation Japanese American) women, finding their own path, and the connection between their activism and healing. This panel conversation will be moderated by JAMsj Executive Director Vanessa Hatakeyama, and will be followed by a 1 hour soundbath experience in the JAMsj Gallery, amongst the artifacts, as part of our 聞く(kiku) Healing Series. We invite you to open up with us, be bathed in healing sound, ground in the energetically rich Museum space to explore what is within.

Tickets for this event are free and can be reserved here.

Join us as we honor the life and works of Fred T. Korematsu and unpack the pivotal moments in civil rights history that followed. Panelists will discuss how the Redress Movement can guide us in the present and intergenerational perspectives on human rights advocacy.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Please join us at JAMsj for screening of Marlene Shigekawa's "The Blue Jay", followed by a brief conversation with Marlene, and a 45 minute soundbath experience in the JAMsj Gallery, amongst the artifacts, as part of our 聞く(kiku) Healing Series. We invite you to open up with us, be bathed in healing sound, ground in the energetically rich Museum space to explore what is within.

Register here to join: https://forms.gle/RPkNS9s8pUh1TFAT7

JAMsj is excited to offer the Full Moon Sound Journey, 11/16 from 7:00PM at the Akiyama Wellness Center, in partnership with Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center! The event is free and open to the public, and donations are welcome.

RSVP through this link.

Join us at JAMsj for a Meet & Greet with incoming Executive Director, Vanessa Hatakeyama on Monday, November 4 from 5:30PM at JAMsj.

You are warmly invited to join us at JAMsj as we dedicate our Barrack Exhibit to Jimi, one of our founders, and Eiko Yamaichi to honor their contributions to JAMsj and the Japantown Community. This event will feature a short program and remarks by community leaders and dignitaries, followed by a reception and open Gallery. Registration is recommended as space is limited.

Join us at JAMsj for a Panel Discussion in conjunction with the current Rotating Exhibit, “Never Again is Now,” where our panelists will engage in conversation and share ideas around community activism, allyship and solidarity. 

Register HERE

聞く (kiku) is the Japanese word meaning "to listen", but can also mean "to ask". 

Calling all Japanese Sake lovers! Taste samples of sake and be entertained while surrounded by the historical artifacts of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. Sake vendors will share their knowledge with you as you nibble on delicious Japanese delicacies which will be specially prepared for this event. More information and tickets can be purchased at: https://www.jamsj.org/sake-event-2024

Join us for our Exhibit Closing Reception for “Taken From Their Families”, featuring poetry readings and light refreshments! Register here: https://forms.gle/KuvhAjVwPgr8UTHB8

Tickets for Undokai are on sale now via Eventbrite or download the registration form and drop off (with payment) at JAMsj, Lotus Preschool or Yu-Ai Kai!

Come celebrate the Digital Archive & Curriculum Website Launch and learn more about the rich history and legacy of local AAPI Leaders and Activists.

JAMsj is proud to be partnering with Yu-Ai Kai to present a screening of "Wisdom Gone Wild", including a Q&A with filmmaker Rea Tajiri.

If you would like to reserve a spot, you may sign up at the Yu-Ai Kai reception desk or by emailing dives@yuakai.org, however registration is not required.

Don’t miss out on amazing deals at our annual Nikkei Treasures Parking Lot Sale!

Join us at JAMsj for the Exhibit Opening of “Taken From Their Families: Japanese American Incarceration on Angel Island During World War II”. Register through this link!

Please join us for this Sneak Preview of Kintsukuroi, a full-length film by local artist Kerwin Berk that depicts the devastating effect and aftermath of EO 9066 on two local Japanese American families.

Tickets and more information can be found here.

Join us in conversation with Author Elizabeth Partridge at JAMsj for this collaboration with the Commonwealth Club as we learn about the inspiration and process behind her creation of her book, “Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adam’s Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration”.

Join us for a showcase of over 40 local, talented artisans sharing their unique creations, including JAMsj Cardmaker Group’s crafts and Iris fold cards! The Japanese American Museum San Jose will be selling delicious menu items at the onsite Cafe!