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 is located at 535 N. Fifth Street, right in the heart of Japantown. The museum's main goal is to collect, keep safe, and share the art, history, and culture of Japanese Americans. It especially focuses on the stories from the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
History of the Museum
The JAMsj first opened its doors in November 1987. It started because of 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 Started
The farming project gathered many important things. These included family stories, old photographs, personal diaries, and other documents. This research helped create special learning materials about Japanese American history. These materials were used in schools like the San Jose Unified and East Side Union High School District.
JAMsj also held workshops to help people create their own family histories. The information and photos from these workshops were used in a book called Japanese Legacy: Farming and Community Life in California's Santa Clara Valley. This book won awards and was written by Timothy J. Lukes, Ph.D., and Gary Y. Okihiro, Ph.D.
Museum Locations and Name Change
The museum first began in the historic Issei Memorial Building. This building used to be the Kuwabara Hospital. The Japanese American Citizens League, San Jose Chapter, helped a lot 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 focuses on keeping historical records.
JAMsj then moved to a new spot. It is now in what used to be the home of Tokio Ishikawa, M.D. This new location is just two doors south on North Fifth Street from its original spot.
The very first JAMsj building was taken down in 2008. The new museum building officially opened its doors in October 2010.
See Also
