Japanese American Museum of San Jose facts for kids
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| Established | 1987 |
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| Location | Japantown, San Jose, California |
| Type | History and culture of Japanese Americans |
The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is a special place in San Jose. It's located right in the middle of Japantown. This museum works to collect, save, and share the amazing art, history, and culture of Japanese Americans. It especially focuses on the history of Japanese Americans living in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
The Museum's Story
The Japanese American Museum of San Jose, or JAMsj, officially started in November 1987. Its beginnings came from a big research project that happened between 1984 and 1986. This project looked into the lives of Japanese American farmers in the Santa Clara Valley.
How the Museum Began
During the farming project, researchers gathered many family stories, old photographs, personal diaries, and other important papers. This information helped create special learning materials about Japanese American history. These materials were even used in schools in the San Jose Unified and East Side Union High School Districts.
The museum also held workshops to help people learn how to research their own family histories. The documents and photos collected during these workshops were used in a well-known book called Japanese Legacy: Farming and Community Life in California's Santa Clara Valley (1985).
Changes Over Time
The museum first opened in the historic Issei Memorial Building. This building used to be the Kuwabara Hospital. The Japanese American Citizens League, San Jose Chapter, gave a lot of help and support to get the museum started there.
In 2002, the museum's name changed. It went from Japanese American Resource Center/Museum (JARC/M) to Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj). This new name better showed that the museum focused on collecting and keeping historical records.
JAMsj is now located in the former home of Dr. Tokio Ishikawa. This building is just two doors south on North Fifth Street from its original spot. The first JAMsj building was taken down in 2008. The new museum officially re-opened its doors in October 2010.
See also
