Where are you from?  Where are you REALLY from?

This is a question that many people hate to hear, but this question will have a different meaning after the presentation by Shigeru Kojima on March 8 at 7:00 p.m. at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj).  Kojima has devoted many years of study to this topic and is the curator and a research fellow of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Yokohama Japanese Overseas Migration Museum (JOMM). The JOMM is the largest museum in Japan devoted to the study of Japanese overseas migration.

For hundreds of years, Japan's 'closed door' policy led to isolation. In fact, it was not until the 1880s that Japanese were even allowed to leave. Why were Japanese from areas such as Kumamoto, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka and Hiroshima among the largest groups that left Japan? 

 Your appreciation of and curiosity about the Issei generation and other early pioneers will grow after learning how and why the first Japanese came to America through Kojima's research and exhibits at JOMM.

While there is no fee for this presentation, donations to JAMsj will be appreciated.
Please contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call (408) 294-3138 to reserve a spot.