Japanese American Museum of Oregon

06/10/2026

This year, the Honouliuli National Historic Site offered guided tours of the park for the first time. Public response to this announcement was so strong that all the 2026 tours have now been booked! You can see below for info on plans for 2027 tours and a call for more volunteers.

Honouliuli National Historic Site tells the story of incarceration, martial law, and prisoners of war in Hawaiʻi during World War II. The incarceration site, opened in 1943, was the largest and longest used incarceration site in Hawaiʻi where U.S. residents and citizens of Japanese and European ancestry were unjustly detained. The camp also held over 4,000 prisoners of war from Okinawa, Korea, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Learn more about their tours here: https://www.nps.gov/hono/planyourvisit/public-tour-information.htm

The Honouliuli NHS team has been overwhelmed by the amount of attention, support, and excitement the opening of tours brought the past couple days. The desire to visit the park by our community is not going unnoticed by us!

While we are sorry to announce that 2026 tours are full and understand there may be some disappointment, please stay tuned as we hope to announce the 2027 tour dates near the end of this year. We hope to increase the number of tours given in 2027 as our team of volunteers grow!

Waitlists are still open. Please check our website's Public Tour Information page to see updated approximate numbers of our waitlists: https://www.nps.gov/hono/planyourvisit/public-tour-information.htm

Even if you were unable to make it to a tour this year, we hope that we will see all of you at our many community events for the 80 Years of Closure Commemoration as well as table events in our community. Keep following our page to learn about these events and where our team will be around the island chain in 2026.

Mahalo nui loa for all the aloha, love, and support for our small park.

Photo courtesy of Hawaii's Plantation Village

06/09/2026

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is proud to announce Standing for Justice: The Japanese Americans Shaping Oregon, on view June 27-October 25, 2026.

While the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, we look to the Japanese Americans of Oregon who have embodied democratic ideals. These are Oregonians who stood up in the face of injustice to take action, helping to build a better world for all of us.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of the termination of Executive Order 9066. In reflecting on these milestones, what does democracy mean when it is denied, challenged, and ultimately restored?

In this exhibition, we look to the examples of Elisa Dozono, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Lynn Nakamoto, Bill Naito, Minoru Yasui, and Mari Watanabe, and many others, as well as the causes that the Japanese American community has rallied behind.

Celebrate these change makers with us through October 25!

Learn more about the exhibition and upcoming programming at at jamo.org/standing-for-justice.

Friends of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon are invited to join us for an exhibition reception on Friday, June 26, from 5-7pm. RSVP at jamo.org/standing-for-justice-reception/.

Standing for Justice is generously supported by The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation; the Lamb-Baldwin Foundation; a grant from the Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department; and the Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation.

06/06/2026

Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Evelyn Iritani will be coming to Portland June 13 to talk about her new book, Safe Passage! Join us at the new Japanese American Museum of Oregon Annex for her conversation with historian Linda Tamura.

The book tells the story of the exchange of civilians between Japan and the U.S. during World War II, when nearly 1500 allied civilians were trapped in Asia.

Faced with too few Japanese civilians to trade, the United States rounded up Japanese from Latin America, often against their will, while Japanese Americans held in U.S. camps and prisons were forced to choose between expulsion to a war zone or an uncertain future behind barbed wire.

We're so excited to host this renowned journalist and to learn more about this piece of the Japanese American World War II experience.

Evelyn Iritani – Safe Passage
In conversation with historian Linda Tamura
Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm
431 NW Flanders St., Portland
RSVP and learn more: jamo.org/safe-passage

Evelyn Iritani Author, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

06/05/2026

Incarcerated at Minidoka, Sh*tsuka and Shigeta Ouchida and their four children lived in a small barrack there that came equipped with just a stove, army cots, and a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The couple took up craft making to create a more cheerful living environment for their family. Some of the pieces they created, along with the supplies they used, are featured in the Japanese American Museum of Oregon’s current exhibition, Minidoka on Our Minds.

The carved white horse and rooster in the exhibition display Shigeta’s woodworking skills. While he focused mainly on carved wooden animals, his wife Sh*tsuka made jewelry from shells, ribbons, and bits of metal—you can see some of her shell brooches in the exhibition. After the war, the Ouchida’s did not continue making their crafts, but they did hold on to the crafts and tools they brough back from Minidoka. Hideo and his wife Rita donated the items to JAMO in 2022, when it became the largest single donation of camp art in the collection.

Don't miss your last chance to view these pieces in the Minidoka on Our Minds exhibition, on view now through June 14 at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. Learn more at jamo.org/Minidoka.

Images:
1. Shell brooches made by Sh*tsuka Ouchida.
2. White horse carved by Shigeta Ouchida.
3. and 4. Supplies and shells that were used by the Ouchidas while they were incarcerated at Minidoka.
All collection items gifted in memory of the Ouchida Family.
5. Rita Ouchida with her nephew Franklin Ouchida in the Minidoka on Our Minds exhibition at the end of May.

06/03/2026

This coming Sunday, stop by the Japanese American Museum of Oregon for free admission and art making!

Inspired by the woodblock prints made at Minidoka, come make your own using everyday, DIY materials. You can see the woodblock prints that are in the current exhibition, Minidoka on Our Minds. Then head back to the museum's library to make your own prints.

All ages welcome and encouraged!

Free First Sunday at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon
Sunday, June 7, 11am-4pm
411 NW Flanders St., Portland
Entrance on NW 4th Ave.

June Free Sunday is generously sponsored by Anne Naito-Campbell & Oregon Rises Above Hate.

Woodblock print images gift of the Komachi Family Collection.

06/02/2026

This event always sells out quickly, so don't wait to register! Register now: https://japanamericasocietyoforegon.wildapricot.org/event-6705737

Japanese Beer Garden brings the energy of a traditional summer street festival in Japan right here to Oregon! Enjoy delicious Japanese foods, paired with cold beer from Asahi Super Dry and Level Beer.

日本の夏祭りの雰囲気をそのまま再現した人気イベント、JASOビアガーデン！

焼きそばや餃子などの屋台メニューに加え、冷たいビール（Asahiスーパードライ・Level IPA）をご用意しております。日本の夏を感じながら、職場の同僚やご友人と楽しいひとときをお過ごしください。

当日券の販売はございません。
チケットは毎年完売となりますので、お早めのご購入をおすすめいたします。

06/02/2026

05/29/2026

Join us for a relaxing Saturday of crafting and culture!

Artist mai ide will be leading Intro to Sashiko at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon on June 6 from 10am-1pm. Don't miss her unique course where she teaches this traditional Japanese embroidery technique. As part of this class you will:

📚Learn about the history and cultural significance of sashiko
🪡Get hands-on practice with the stitches
🧵Make a coaster or patch using traditional sashiko techniques
✂️Receive a special sashiko kit so you can continue the practice at home

Sign up at jamo.org/sashiko

05/22/2026

Sadao Mizuno, who owned and ran Rose City Photo Studio, is best known for his documentation of people and events in Portland. Mizuno moved to the city from Japan at 21 years old in 1892. He opened the studio in the early 1900s and operated until 1942, when Executive Order 9066 was issued and he was forcibly removed to Minidoka.

Not just a photographer, Mizuno created a number of watercolor paintings of the landscape surrounding Minidoka while incarcerated. You can see some of these paintings on display at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon’s current exhibit Minidoka on Our Minds.

After Minidoka closed in 1945, he tried but was unable to return to Portland due to severe discrimination. Mizuno looked instead to Vanport, a wartime housing project located on the Columbia River just north of Portland. After the war, Vanport was home to thousands of people who faced housing discrimination in Portland. On May 30, 1948, the river flooded and devastated the city. Fifteen residents lost their lives, including 77-year-old Mizuno.

We invite you to learn more about the Vanport flood at the Vanport Mosaic Festival going on now through May 31. Learn more at https://www.vanportmosaic.org/vanport-mosaic-festival-2026.

You can also view Mizuno’s artwork at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon through June 14.

Image 1: Photo of Sadao Mizuno, photographer and date unknown. Gift of Sumiko and Sueo (Buddy) Ikata

Image 2 (detail) and 3: Minidoka sagebrush, Sadao Mizuno 1942-45. Gift of Wendy Haisuke

Image 4: Minidoka barracks, Sadao Mizuno 1942-45. Gift of Kazuko Inuzuka Hustead

05/21/2026

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is now a Smithsonian Affiliate!

JAMO joins the Smithsonian Affiliations network of 200+ cultural and educational organizations across the US, Puerto Rico, and Panama, and is the only Affiliate in Portland. The program grants access to the Smithsonian’s resources for exhibitions and education programming. We look forward to strengthening our ties to the national community of cultural and history institutions, as well as increasing our ability to share the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon with a broader audience.

Learn more in our blog post here: https://jamo.org/JAMO-Smithsonian-Affiliate