Japanese American National Museum Store Online
The award-winning Museum Store of the Japanese American National Museum features distinctive Asian American merchandise for all occasions and generations. Their unique product line represents the essence of the Japanese American experience, while also promoting an appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity. All proceeds from the Museum Store support Museum programs and exhibitions.
The articles in this series were originally written for the Japanese American National Museum’s online store [janmstore.com] to give a deeper understanding of the authors, artists, and traditions featured in the store.
Stories from this series
Japanese American Baseball
April 11, 2007 • Vicky K. Murakami-Tsuda
Baseball, the quintessential American sport, has enjoyed immense popularity in Japan, as witnessed by the country’s recent championship at the inaugural World Baseball Classic. But did you know the role Japanese Americans played as early ambassadors of the sport? The game in its modern form was invented by Alexander Cartwright in 1845. Although a pick-up style game had been played by children in North America from the mid 1700s, prior to Cartwright, there were no formalized rules of play. The …
Pure Beauty: Rebecca King-O’Riain’s Look at Japanese American Beauty Pageants
March 30, 2007 • Leslie Yamaguchi
Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain has written a fascinating book, Pure Beauty, about Japanese American community beauty pageants, exploring how race, ethnicity, culture, and gender are linked in social practice. As revealed in her research, these beauty pageants reflect important conflicts within the Japanese American community over national citizenship, gender, and race and raise questions about the struggle to maintain racial and ethnic lines within the community. Dr. King-O’Riain has always felt a strong bond to her Japanese ancestry. Because her grandfather, …
The Extraordinary Journey of Shigeo Takayama
March 7, 2007 • Darryl Mori
“Now I stand in the twilight of my life,” Shigeo Takayama writes, in the introduction to his book. “It is time that I collect all the footprints on the path that I have walked these past eighty-eight years, and leave them in the form of writing.” Originally intended as a deeply personal oral history to share with his sons, who are more fluent in English than in Japanese, Takayama’s My Life: Living in Two Cultures releases a torrent of …
Hinamatsuri in the United States
March 2, 2007 • Susan Osa
Hinamatsuri literally translates as Doll Festival, but is often referred to as Girl’s Day. Celebrated annually on March 3, families pray for the happiness and prosperity of their girls, helping to ensure they grow up healthy and beautiful. On this day, families with young daughters celebrate this event by displaying hina-ningyo, special dolls for the occasion. The presentation of the dolls can be traced back to the Edo Era (1603-1876) when it was used as a way to ward off …
The Art of Gaman: Enduring the Seemingly Unbearable with Patience and Dignity
Dec. 1, 2006 • Sigrid Hudson
Looking through the pages of Delphine Hirasuna’s The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946, one is struck by the beauty and craftsmanship of the selected pieces. However, it is more than just the aesthetic quality that shines through. It is the amazing resourcefulness and resiliency of these individuals who, out of necessity and the first idle time of their lives, created objects both utilitarian and decorative. Although most often translated as “perseverance,” Hirasuna …
Gathering of Joy: A History of Japanese American Obon Festivals and Bon Odori
July 8, 2006 • Susan Osa
Obon is an annual Japanese Buddhist festival that commemorates the dead. It is based on a Buddhist text which describes how a devout monk dances with joy upon successfully releasing his deceased mother’s spirit from the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Today, participants dance to express their joy to be living happily and to honor loved ones who have passed away. Obon is also commonly known as the Festival of Lanterns, referring to the traditional lighting of the chochin (lanterns) at …