Shopjanmstore

The socks are George approved! They are exclusive to JANM and are available in medium and large sizes.

Usagi Yojimbo: 40th Anniversary Reader

By Stan Sakai.

A collection of fan-favorite short stories from the world of Usagi Yojimbo—a perfect introduction and celebration of the rabbit hero! Celebrating Usagi Yojimbo’s 40th anniversary, this value-priced collection includes eight fan-favorite and Stan Sakai-picked short stories in color starring the beloved rabbit ronin! Perfect for longtime fans and newcomers to the series, the Usagi Yojimbo: 40th Anniversary Reader collection includes the popular short story “Chanoyu” in color for the first time! Featuring Stan Sakai’s award-winning art and storytelling and expert hand lettering, with colors by Emi Fujii, Tom Luth, and Ronda Pattison.

Collects “A Mother’s Love,” “Blade of the Gods,” “The Way of the Samurai,” “Chanoyu,” “Cut the Plum,” “The Artist,” “Buntori,” and “Adachi”.

Thank you for your patience. The JANM Store will return to regular business hours tomorrow, Thursday, July 25.

The JANM Store will be closing at 1:00pm on Sunday, July 21, 2024 for a private event.

The store opening hours for the week of July 21 - July 27 is as follows:

Sunday - 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday - noon - to 5:00pm
Friday - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Online shopping is always available at janmstore.com

Thank you for your understanding and support!

The JANM Store will have abbreviated hours on Tuesday, July 2, from 2-5pm due to inventory. And CLOSED on July 4 for the holiday!

Operating hours for this week are as follows:

Tuesday: 2pm - 5pm (CLOSED TILL 2PM)
Wednesday: 11:00 am - 5pm
Thursday: CLOSED
Friday: 11:00 am - 5pm
Saturday: 11:00 am - 5pm
Sunday: 11:00 am - 5pm

Have a wonderful holiday and thank you for your understanding!

The Japanese American National Museum and the JANM Store will be closed tomorrow, June 19th, 2024, in observance of Juneteenth.

We will resume regular business hours on Thursday June, 20th.

We appreciate the support of JANM members and are thankful for your patronage through these interesting times! To show our gratitude we are offering 20% discount on qualified store purchases from May 10th-12th. You must place your orders between May 10th-12th to qualify for the 20% discount.

To receive the special 20% off discount online, enter the code: MADNESS when prompted for a discount code at checkout. If your membership is active and matches the email you provided when purchasing your membership, you will see your discounted savings automatically apply to your order!

You may also come and shop in person, or buy online for in-store pickup (as long as your order is placed on a qualifying day!) For more information about on-site pick-up click here.

(If the code does not work, email us at [email protected] with your name, membership number, and expiration date. We will make note of your active membership and send you a link to complete the discounted transaction.)

MEMBER
APPRECIATION
DAYS

JOIN OR RENEW NOW!

Link in bio!

NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT, will be premiering Saturday May 4th as part of the VC Film Fest programing. See link in bio for info and to purchase tickets.

About the film:
After decades of groundbreaking cultural work that unites communities and sets the bar for Asian American storytelling, Miyamoto reflects on a life that has bridged coasts, industries, families, and history. Featuring rare archival footage, NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT is a story of a changing community told through the singular life of one of its most beloved storytellers.

Filmmakers in attendance. Film program will be followed by Q&A.

Included in post:
Not Yo' Butterfly: My Long Song of Relocation, Race, Love, and Revolution
120,000 Stories (2-CD Set)
Both are available at the JANM Store and at janmstore.com

The accompanying exhibition catalog to Tatau: Marks of Polynesia, showcases the art and legacy of the over 2,000 year old Samoan tattoo tradition. Focusing on the preeminent Sulu‘ape family of tattoo masters, the catalog presents tatau as a culture, one that includes resistance to colonization and affirmation of identity—as well as a fine art. Contemporary Polynesian tattoo work photographed in Hawai‘i, Nevada, California and New Zealand has been included to show the global impact of this art form.

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story
Written by George Takei. Illustrated by Michelle Lee. 

Available for purchase at the JANM Store and at janmstore.com

JANM Book club event and signing on:
Sunday, Apr 21, 2024
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM PDT
See link in bio for tickets

Members Free, Adults $16, Seniors $9, Student and Youth $9; includes museum admission

About the Event
Join author, , and illustrator, Michelle Lee (), for a reading, conversation, and signing of their new children’s book, “My Lost Freedom,” a moving and true story about growing up in Japanese American concentration camps during World War II.

About The Book
In My Lost Freedom, George Takei looks back at his own memories of the Santa Anita racetrack, Rohwer concentration camp, and Tule Lake Segregation Center to help children today understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy in your own country. Featuring powerful watercolor paintings, this book tells the story of a family’s courage, a young boy’s resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself in the face of injustice.

Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice is available at the JANM Store and at janmstore.com

Book Launch Event on Saturday, April 20, 2 pm - 3:30 pm
Link in bio for more info.

About the Event

Editor Mae Ngai will be in conversation with contributor and filmmaker Renée Tajima-Peña about Corky Lee’s Asian America, a new book that presents an iconic photographer’s work and a sweeping, rich visual account of the Asian American Pacific Islander social justice movement.

About the Book

Corky Lee’s Asian America traces Lee’s decades-long quest for photographic justice, following Asian American social movements for recognition and rights alongside his artistic development as an activist social photographer. Featuring never-before-seen photographs alongside his best-known images, this book represents Lee’s mission to chronicle a history of inclusion, resistance, ethnic pride, and patriotism.

The Kagoshima 9066 Publishing team came to the J. T. Sata Exhibit today and stopped byfor a quick pic at the JANM Store.
Publisher Colleen Dunn Bates, right, now retired; Amy Inouye, book designer; and @ , co-author.

"Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama" chronicles the remarkable journey of one of history's most influential activists. From her roots as a Japanese American to her pivotal role in various civil rights movements, Kochiyama's story resonates with resilience and unwavering dedication. Through vivid storytelling and poignant reflections, this book captures the essence of Kochiyama's revolutionary spirit and enduring impact on social justice movements worldwide.

Yuri Kochiyama is the subject of the inaugural episode of the JANM's new podcast Japanese American. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Also pictured:

Passing it On: a Memoir (by Yuri Kochiyama)

Yuri Kochiyama Enameled Pin

New blog alert! Sophie, a self-professed cat lover and JANM Store staff member, has penned the latest installment featuring the DIY Koneko Fan Kit, available at the JANM Store and janmstore.com. Click the link in bio to read the full blog.

Kit contains a beautiful bamboo paper fan with a cat landscape design that can be colored in (preferably with watercolor markers*). Also comes with a storage box for the fan that can also be colored, and will protect your fan when carried in a backpack or purse. Fan measures 14"W x 8"H.

*Markers NOT included.

And since this is Caturday we also included pics of other fabulous cat themed items. 

DIY Koneko Fan Kit

Decorated DIY Koneko Fan (colored by Sophie)

Favorite Cats Tea Cup

Cat Shoyu Dish 

Yancha Maneki Neko Cosmetic Bag

Flying Wish Paper (maneki neko)

Tule Lake Stockade Diary

By Tatsuo Ryusei Inouye.

A rare wartime diary that sheds a light on Tatsuo Inouye’s fight for dignity during a three month long struggle in a freezing, chaotic high security stockade. He drew inner strength from his judo training and writing a detailed account of the food daily. Photos include images from the 1932 Olympic’s judo team, war years, and reunification of the broken family.

Artwork by daughter, Masako, is included. She was a delicate four-year-old whose healing finally began as she shaped her memories in clay seventy years later.

 

The annual Los Angeles Day of Remembrance commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Executive Order 9066 authorized the US military to forcibly remove persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast and set into motion their incarceration into concentration camps during World War II.

In this post:

"Remembrance" a Poster by Bob Matsumoto

Bob Matsumoto created this iconic poster as a way of honoring the families who were incarcerated in the ten concentration camps after the signing of the infamous Executive Order 9066.

Matsumoto, whose advertising work is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art, was incarcerated in Manzanar. The poster measures 20”x 20”, beautifully printed on heavy stock and suitable for framing. A wonderful way to honor your family.

Also pictured:

EO9066 Barbwire T-shirt

EO9066 Barbed Wire Cap

Remembrance Mug

JANM will also be hosting the 2024 Los Angeles Day of Remembrance Event on Saturday February 17 from 2 pm - 4 pm, RSVP link in bio.

In honor of this year's Los Angeles Day of Remembrance theme: Rooted in Resistance: Fighting for Justice during World War II, we would like to highlight books throughout the week.

No-No Boy

By John Okada. Foreword by Ruth Ozeki. Introduction by Lawson Fusao Inada and Frank Chin.

"No-No Boy has the honor of being the very first Japanese American novel," writes novelist Ruth Ozeki in her new foreword to John Okada's classic of Asian American literature. First published in 1956, No-No Boy was virtually ignored by a public eager to put World War II and the Japanese internment behind them. It was not until the mid-1970s that a new generation of Japanese American writers and scholars recognized the novel's importance and popularized it as one of literature's most powerful testaments to the Asian American experience.

No-No Boy tells the story of Ichiro Yamada, a fictional version of the real-life "no-no boys." Yamada answered "no" twice in a compulsory government questionnaire as to whether he would serve in the armed forces and swear loyalty to the United States. Unwilling to pledge himself to the country that interned him and his family, Ichiro earns two years in prison and the hostility of his family and community when he returns home to Seattle. As Ozeki writes, Ichiro's "obsessive, tormented" voice subverts Japanese postwar "model-minority" stereotypes, showing a fractured community and one man's "threnody of guilt, rage, and blame as he tries to negotiate his reentry into a shattered world."

I Would Meet You Anywhere: A Memoir

By Susan Kiyo Ito.

Growing up with adoptive nisei parents, Susan Kiyo Ito knew only that her birth mother was Japanese American and her father white. But finding and meeting her birth mother in her early twenties was only the beginning of her search for answers, history, and identity. Though the two share a physical likeness, an affinity for ice cream, and a relationship that sometimes even feels familial, there is an ever-present tension between them, as a decades-long tug-of-war pits her birth mother's desire for anonymity against Ito's need to know her origins, to see and be seen. Along the way, Ito grapples with her own reproductive choices, the legacy of the Japanese American incarceration experience during World War II, and the true meaning of family. An account of love, what it's like to feel neither here nor there, and one writer's quest for the missing pieces that might make her feel whole, I Would Meet You Anywhere is the stirring culmination of Ito's decision to embrace her right to know and tell her own story.

Angry Girl Follow Your Heart Keyring

Angry Little Asian Girl backs up her message with good advice--Follow your Heart--but take your brains with you! Made of fine, hard enamel with a 1" ring to keep your keys together. 2.5”x 1.25” (not including ring).

Ai Heart Kanji Stone.

Engraved with the kanji “ai” (love), this beautiful and enduring token of love will melt the stoniest of hearts! Made from natural stone, each 2" high heart is unique in color. Colors vary according to nature. We will choose for you.

Also pictured:

Match Love Card
Let's Get Ramen-tic Notecard

Bring your board and join us for a pop-up skate park on JANM’s plaza to celebrate the special edition skateboard deck designed by the Glen Kaino in collaboration with The Berrics.

Sunday, Feb 11, 2024
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST

RSVP link in bio.

Berrics X Glenn Kaino Skate Deck is available at the JANM Store (in store only).

Once an “off-brand skateboard kid,” Kaino’s experiences on the board helped shape his art career and worldview. Combining the artist’s childhood love for skateboarding with the influential imagery of Katsuhiro Otomo’s animated film Akira, this one-of-a-kind piece similarly combines Kaino’s past experience with the present and future, as explored in the exhibition, Glenn Kaino: Aki’s Market.

The Democracy Center at JANM has curated a selection of Gratitude Blooming merchandise, available at both the JANM Store and janmstore.com.

Pictured in this post: 

Fearless Gratitude Blooming 10 Notecard Set

Joy Gratitude Blooming 10 Notecard Set 

Curiosity Gratitude Blooming 10 Notecard Set and 

Healing Gratitude Blooming 10 Notecard Set 

Gratitude Blooming-Reflections Card Deck

Gratitude Gift Set (Deck, Journal, & Stand)

Tote Bag "Rooting for You"

Join the live recording of Empathy & Democracy, a unique live podcast and pop-up art series by the Democracy Center and Gratitude Blooming for the third episode, “Holding Space for Space Holders,” which delves into the essence of holding space—creating environments that nurture growth and introspection.

RSVP link in bio and space is limited to 35 participants.

Saturday, Feb 10, 2024 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM PST

Democracy Center at JANM
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

$20 General Admission / $10 JANM Members

JANM and the JANM Store will be closed Tuesday February 6, due to the atmospheric river storm.

Everyone stay safe out there and thank you for your understanding

January 30 is Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, the first day in the US named after an Asian American.

Available from the JANM Store and at janmstire.com:

Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice

By Lorraine Bannai.

Fred Korematsu's decision to resist F.D.R.'s Executive Order 9066, which provided authority for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, was initially the case of a young man following his heart: he wanted to remain in California with his white fiancée. However, he quickly came to realize that it was more than just a personal choice; it was a matter of basic human rights.

After refusing to leave for incarceration when ordered, Korematsu was eventually arrested and convicted of a federal crime before being sent to the internment camp at Topaz, Utah.

He appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, which, in one of the most infamous cases in American legal history, upheld the wartime orders. Forty years later, in the early 1980s, a team of young attorneys resurrected Korematsu's case. This time, Korematsu was victorious, and his conviction was overturned, helping to pave the way for Japanese American redress.

Also pictured in post:
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

🇺🇸

Celebrating Ruth Asawa's Birthday! 🎉✨ Today marks the birthday of the renowned American sculptor, Ruth Asawa. Born on January 24, 1926, Asawa left an indelible mark on the art world with her unique wire sculptures. Known for her innovative and intricate work, she transformed simple materials into captivating pieces of art. Asawa's contributions to the world of sculpture and her advocacy for arts education continue to inspire and influence generations. Happy birthday, Ruth Asawa! 🎂🎨

Pictured:

Everything She Touched--The Life of Ruth Asawa

By Marilyn Chase.

This is the story of a woman who wielded imagination and hope in the  face of intolerance and who transformed everything she touched into art.  In this compelling biography, author Marilyn Chase brings Asawa's story  to vivid life. She draws on Asawa's extensive archives and weaves  together many voices—family, friends, teachers, and critics—to offer a  complex and fascinating portrait of the artist.

Born in  California in 1926, Ruth Asawa grew from a farmer's daughter to a  celebrated sculptor. She survived adolescence in the World War II  Japanese-American internment camps and attended the groundbreaking art  school at Black Mountain College. Asawa then went on to develop her  signature hanging-wire sculptures, create iconic urban installations,  revolutionize arts education in her adopted hometown of San Francisco,  fight through lupus, and defy convention to nurture a multiracial  family.

Ruth Asawa forged an unconventional path in everything she did—whether  raising a multiracial family of six children, founding a high school  dedicated to the arts, or pursuing her own practice independent of the  New York art market. Her beloved fountains are now San Francisco  icons, and her signature hanging-wire sculptures grace the MoMA, de  Young, Getty, Whitney, and many more museums and galleries across America.

Also pictured: 
Sculpture of Ruth Asawa
Masters of Modern Design (DVD)

Frolicking animals from the 12th century scroll known as the Choju-giga (literal translation: "animal caricatures"),are considered one of the oldest examples of manga.

A clever take-off on the famous Choju-Giga animal scrolls, frogs and rabbits play golf, ping-pong and baseball on these 100% cotton, 19 x 19 inch furoshiki. Perfect for wrapping a gift or bento for your favorite golf, ping-pong or baseball fan.

Cute details on the Furoshikis make them great bandanas and neckerchiefs too!

Pictured:
Choju-Giga Golf Furoshiki
Choju-Giga Ping Pong Furoshiki
Choju-Giga Baseball Furoshiki

Wishing everyone a safe and happy season.
Our holiday hours are as follows:
Thursday noon - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 3pm (Closing early on Christmas Eve!)

Closed Monday
Resuming regular hours on Tuesday December 26.

JANM Store will be closed Wednesday 11/22/23 and Thursday 11/23/23 in preparation of Member Appreciation Days weekend!

Everyone have a safe and wonderful holiday.

See you for M.A.D.ness weekend!!!

New Blog Post Alert! The latest blog features Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. Visit our What's In Store Blog by clicking the link in bio.

Pictured in this post:
Usagi Yojimbo Origins, Vol. 4: Lone Goat and Kid
Usagi Yojimbo X JANM Tenugui
Plushy Chibi Usagi
Year of the Chibi Usagi T-shirt - Adult

Available along with other Usagi Yojimbo and Chibi Usagi merchandise at the JANM Store and at janmstore.com

The Japanese American National Museum and the JANM Store will be closed on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023. We will resume regular hours on Wednesday. In the meantime feel free to visit our online store at janmstore.com.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!