For this assignment, I decided to visit the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) located in the city of Los Angeles next to the Japanese Village Plaza. I choose the JANM because my interviewee is Japanese and the museum may help me understand more about the Japanese’s culture than just researching about their culture online. The JANM is an important landmark to the Japanese community because it serves to educate the population, provide entertainment, and expose about the Japanese culture to the common man. The architecture is certainly something to behold. The structure is nothing short of art with modern esthetics, reflecting light and a positive energy; the interior is spacious, airy, and reminds me of a zen oasis. They have a research
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Over 100,000 Japanese Americans who committed no crimes against the United States were bereft of their homes, property, livelihood, and freedom due to wartime hysteria, racism, and greed by people who would stand to gain from acquiring properties lost or sold at a loss by Japanese Americans. Many of the Japanese Americans had only 48 hours to get their possessions in order and could carry only one piece of luggage to concentration camps. I found The Wall of Suitcases and Trunks by Hirokazu KosakaI interesting. This art piece had dark suitcases in different shapes stacked up on top each other high like a mountain. The artist “recognizes that the most important things are sometimes the simplest” (Common Ground). I agree with how the artist portrays his thought because the Japanese Americans were not able to take much with them and sometimes the most important thing that you can bring with you could be as simple as a picture of your family. From there, the exhibit continues onto contemporary Japanese American history. There were many artifacts, photos, moving images, art, and oral histories from then, including personal belongings and even a structural part of an internment camp from Wyoming. There were boxes used to store raisins from Japanese American farms, wedding attire, tools used in pharmacology, and desks from Japanese American schools. Japanese Americans were getting acculturated to the American culture by learning English, participating in sports, joining clubs, etc. (Ritter, L.A., & Hoffman, N.A., 2010) Also, I saw the Remembrance Project (honoring late Japanese ancestors, who had to endure the harsh barrack treatments) and the The Heart Mountain Barracks (from Wyoming to Los Angeles) that the
Over 100,000 Japanese Americans who committed no crimes against the United States were bereft of their homes, property, livelihood, and freedom due to wartime hysteria, racism, and greed by people who would stand to gain from acquiring properties lost or sold at a loss by Japanese Americans. Many of the Japanese Americans had only 48 hours to get their possessions in order and could carry only one piece of luggage to concentration camps. I found The Wall of Suitcases and Trunks by Hirokazu KosakaI interesting. This art piece had dark suitcases in different shapes stacked up on top each other high like a mountain. The artist “recognizes that the most important things are sometimes the simplest” (Common Ground). I agree with how the artist portrays his thought because the Japanese Americans were not able to take much with them and sometimes the most important thing that you can bring with you could be as simple as a picture of your family. From there, the exhibit continues onto contemporary Japanese American history. There were many artifacts, photos, moving images, art, and oral histories from then, including personal belongings and even a structural part of an internment camp from Wyoming. There were boxes used to store raisins from Japanese American farms, wedding attire, tools used in pharmacology, and desks from Japanese American schools. Japanese Americans were getting acculturated to the American culture by learning English, participating in sports, joining clubs, etc. (Ritter, L.A., & Hoffman, N.A., 2010) Also, I saw the Remembrance Project (honoring late Japanese ancestors, who had to endure the harsh barrack treatments) and the The Heart Mountain Barracks (from Wyoming to Los Angeles) that the