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.
Register to bid here and view items here: https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/x45qxq
Fun and interesting treasures and experiences, like a farm-to-table dining experience at Hikari Farms, will be added throughout the auction, so be sure to check back often. This year we’ve added another fun and festive element: a chance to play Secret Santa for our staff! Select the category ‘Staff Wish List’ to see more and make this holiday season extra special by contributing directly to operational needs identified by JAMsj’s hard working staff!
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.
聞く (kiku) is the Japanese word meaning "to listen", but can also mean "to ask".
The Kiku Healing Series is a collaboration between JAMsj and local healers to introduce various methods of healing and wellness rooted in Japanese traditions. The 聞く(kiku) Healing series seeks to engage participants in discourse around healing as individuals and as a community, cultivating deep listening and curiosity about about what is around us and what is within us. Learn more and register here.
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.
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!
Join us for an evening of cultural exploration and heartfelt dialogue as we celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The event will take place at the Japanese American Museum with FREE museum admission in San Jose, sponsored by the City of San José’s Office of Cultural Affairs Abierto Grant.
Learn about the Japanese American Museum of San Jose and the contributions of Japanese Americans to their communities.
Are you ready!? It’s that time again for JAMsj Nikkei Treasures Sale!
See the vast selection of tea sets, vases, dinnerware, pictures, sake sets, Japanese dolls, clothing, and many other items. All proceeds will enable our museum to fulfill its mission of sharing Japanese American History.
Thanks to the generosity of our many museum and community members, we have received an abundance of gently used and some brand new items!
Location:
JAMsj Parking Lot
535 N 5th St
San Jose, CA 95112
Admission:
Free
Visit JAMsj current rotating exhibit.
Lots of people come to the neighborhood for food, shopping, or cultural events. But did you know that San Jose Japantown used to be called “Chinatown” and that its past includes a bustling Filipino business and social community on 6th Street? Come check out the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown on our limited-run walking tours!
Health/Sports Day originally held on October 10th is the anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Join JAMsj as we celebrate the Tokyo Olympics with a kid friendly version of Health, Sports and Culture Day.
Please join us for an afternoon of cultural demonstrations that brings Health, Sports and Culture together. There will be various performances by our own local young talent followed by relay races (Undokai) for the kids. So pack your Obento lunch, blanket/mat/shikimono and enjoy the afternoon. The JAMsj Museum will also be open with docents on hand for tours. RSVP is required and we will have a limit on the number of relay race participants of no more than 50 kids, with an age limit up to elementary school children (6th Grade).
11:30AM Start (Door Open at 11:00AM)
Lotus Preschool Singers
Genki Kids Dancers
Nakano sensei Judo Demonstration
SJ Kendo
SJ Jr Taiko Performing Ensemble
Relay Races for the Kids (May Change)
Hula Hoop
Water Relay
Emperor and Empress Dress Up Relay
Tamaire
Kami Shibai (Agricultural Area)
Event Cost: Free thanks to the generous support of: Jins Eyewear, Itoen Tea, San Jose Taiko and Lotus Preschool
RSVP Required: LINK
COVID-19 Policy: We will require all participants (2 years and older) to wear masks and show proof of vaccination at check in. By entering the museum or participating in a museum event, you acknowledge that you have reviewed and answered “no” to all these questions:
Within the past 10 days, have you been diagnosed with, or tested positive for, COVID-19?
Have you had close contact or live in the same household with someone who in the past 10 days has been in isolation for, or tested positive for, COVID-19?
Have you had any of the following in the last 24 hours?
A cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
A fever of 100.4° or higher
Chills, fatigue, or muscle and body aches
Headache or a sore throat
A persistent runny nose
Diarrhea
A sudden loss of taste or smell
If anyone is not feeling well or has been in contact with someone not feeling well we ask that you stay home.
