Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Curious about JANM’s Virtual Visits? Wondering if a virtual visit will be appropriate for your students? The JANM Education Unit invites teachers and educators to join us for a peek into our virtual visit experience. Join us as we walk through our available virtual visits designed for students in grades 1-12 as well as adult/college/senior tours. Get a sense of what each program entails and how your students will be engaged in this program presented on March 10, 2021.
Learn more about JANM’s Educational programs and resources here:
janm.org/education
janm.org/visit/virtual
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Find more upcoming virtual programs: janm.org/events
Programs like this are made possible by the generous support of JANM's members and donors. Become a member (janm.org/membership) or consider making a tax-deductible gift so that we can continue to develop more educational resources like these:
janm.org/donatenow. Your support makes a difference. Thank you!
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Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
janm.org
Curious about JANM’s Virtual Visits? Wondering if a virtual visit will be appropriate for your students? The JANM Education Unit invites teachers and educators to join us for a peek into our virtual visit experience. Join us as we walk through our available virtual visits designed for students in grades 1-12 as well as adult/college/senior tours. Get a sense of what each program entails and how your students will be engaged in this program presented on March 10, 2021.
Learn more about JANM’s Educational programs and resources here:
janm.org/education
janm.org/visit/virtual
---
Find more upcoming virtual programs: janm.org/events
Programs like this are made possible by the generous support of JANM's members and donors. Become a member (janm.org/membership) or consider making a tax-deductible gift so that we can continue to develop more educational resources like these:
janm.org/donatenow. Your support makes a difference. Thank you!
---
Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
janm.org
![Barbara Kawakami: A Textured Life
“Barbara Kawakami: A Textured Life” (2010) is a portrait of Barbara Kawakami who─after growing up on a plantation and working for over three decades as a seamstress, and entering college for the first time at the age of 53─went on to uncover the lost history of Hawai`i’s early Japanese picture brides. The film was produced as part of the 2010 Japanese American National Museum exhibition, “Textured Lives: Japanese Immigrant Clothing from the Plantations of Hawai`i [https://janm.org/texturedlives]. Directed by Akira Boch. Produced by John Esaki.
─ JANM 30TH ANNIVERSARY DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL ─
Friday, July 29, 2022
5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (PDT)
Now at 100, she is still a noted author, historian, and storyteller who has dedicated much of her life to researching and sharing the untold stories of Issei women working on plantations in Hawai`i. Join us on Friday, July 29 at 5 p.m. (PDT) for a discussion and Q&A on Kawakami’s research, storytelling, and legacy with Fay Toyama (Educator and Barbara Kawakami’s daughter), John Esaki (Executive Producer), and Dr. Akemi Kikumura Yano (Former JANM President and curator).
More details: https://www.janm.org/events/2022-07-29/janm-30th-anniversary-digital-film-festival-barbara-kawakami-textured-life
Purchase the DVD, “Textured Lives: Stories from the Plantations of Hawai`i” at the JANM Store (includes bonus content): https://janmstore.com/products/textured-lives-stories-from-the-plantations-of-hawaii-dvd
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The JANM 30th Anniversary Digital Film Festival (JDFF) highlights works produced by the Emmy Award winning Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center through virtual screenings and live Q&A sessions with those involved with the films. This program is part of our 30th Anniversary Celebrations.
Programs like this are made possible by the generous support of JANM’s members and donors. Become a member (https://janm.org/membership) or consider making a tax-deductible gift so that we can continue to present more programs and exhibitions like these: https://janm.org/donatenow. Your support makes a difference. Thank you!
Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
https://janm.org
Stay connected with us!
Follow JANM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamuseum/
Follow JANM on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamuseum
Follow JANM on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamuseum Barbara Kawakami: A Textured Life](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jTjQ-EwrCcE/mqdefault.jpg)









![Writing Heroes with Naomi Hirahara & Sarah Kuhn
On March 26, 2022, award-winning Japanese American authors Naomi Hirahara (An Eternal Lei) and Sarah Kuhn (From Little Tokyo, With Love) discussed their recently released books that explore the power of young women and the significance of place. The event also included readings from the books audiobook narrators Chloe Madriaga and Emily Woo Zeller.
About An Eternal Lei by Naomi Hirahara:
[BUY IT NOW: https://janmstore.com/products/an-eternal-lei]
It’s the middle of the pandemic and Hawaii has been virtually closed to tourists. So when Leilani Santiago and her young sisters save a mysterious woman wearing an unusual lei from drowning in Waimea Bay in Kaua’i, questions abound. Who is she and where did she come from? Leilani suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when the lei is traced back to her best friend, the very pregnant Courtney Kahuakai, and her family’s flower business.
While the woman is in a medically-induced coma at a local hospital, Leilani sets out to discover her identity and her connections to the island. She is drawn deeper into the mystery, only to stumble into secrets that prove deadly. When Leilani’s investigation puts her family in danger, her survival and the safety of those dearest to her will depend on her sense of ingenuity and the strength of her island community.
About From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn:
[BUY IT NOW: https://janmstore.com/products/from-little-tokyo-with-love]
If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale—being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business—she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn’t quite fit the princess mold.
All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness—searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo’s hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe . . . finally finding a sense of belonging.
But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn’t so kind. Rika knows she’s setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don’t happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?
Programs like this are made possible by the generous support of JANM’s members and donors. Become a member (https://janm.org/membership) or consider making a tax-deductible gift so that we can continue to present more programs and exhibitions like these: https://janm.org/donatenow. Your support makes a difference. Thank you!
Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
https://janm.org
Stay connected with us!
Follow JANM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamuseum/
Follow JANM on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamuseum
Follow JANM on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamuseum Writing Heroes with Naomi Hirahara & Sarah Kuhn](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m_RZrCCjEQ8/mqdefault.jpg)