Voices of the Volunteers: The Building Blocks of the Japanese American National Museum

“Working as a volunteer guide at the Japanese American National Museum is such an interesting experience. I’ve taken a class about the history of Japanese Americans, but there’s no manual for my work. So I have to study constantly,” says Yasuyuki Suzuki.

Yasuyuki is one of the volunteer guides at the Japanese American National Museum who give tours around the exhibitions in Japanese. He learned the explanations of the exhibitions by accompanying the Nisei volunteer guides who gave tours in English. For Japanese visitors, some content is difficult to understand, so he tells them historical events in Japan from the …

Over the years, Ken Hamamura has assumed various roles at the Japanese American National Museum. As a donor, staff member, and volunteer, he learned the importance of preserving and sharing our stories and artifacts to create a legacy for future generations.

Inspired by the Museum’s ongoing mission, Ken started to focus on his family history and hopes to build an enduring legacy for his daughter and grandsons. For some time now, the retired Sansei with Kibei parents has been researching and documenting his family’s history, delving into archived records, collecting photographs, and traveling to places that are meaningful to the …

“After I retired in 1993 as assistant to the president of a large nonprofit organization, I began my second career as a volunteer,” says Mary Karatsu. Indeed, she has been a prominent figure among community-based organizations like the Japanese American National Museum for many years, armed with determination and no small amount of charm.

Her early inspiration came from a Caucasian lady who took her under her wing and taught her what it meant to serve others. “She was such an influence in my life,” says Mary. “I wanted to be like her when I grew up.”

For 28 years, …

“I am not a museum type of person,” says Bob Uragami. He had his first encounter with the Japanese American National Museum in 1991 when it was looking for artifacts for its first exhibition, Issei Pioneers: Hawaii and the Mainland, 1885–1924.

Bob submitted a Japanese letter, dated about 1916, which had belonged to his mother. The museum translated it for him. It was a letter from his father, who was living in the U.S., to his future bride. “Contrary to what you have heard, there is no money tree,” he had written. Life in America was tough.

Both of …

Kimio Tajima was an American-born Nisei, but he died a Japanese soldier, while at war in New Guinea. He was 28 years old. His son, Kihachiro, was only ten months old when Kimio was drafted. Kihachiro grew up being called a war orphan, not remembering his father’s face.

When he was in elementary school, he asked his mother, “Why am I a war orphan?” She told him, “Your father died in war as a Japanese soldier, but he was born in the U.S.” Through her stories, Kihachiro began to adore his late father whom he had never met and dreamt …