The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) invites visitors to a new pop-up exhibit, “Celebrating Little Tokyo at 140 Years,” on view in the Manabi and Sumi Hirasaki National Resource Center (HNRC) at the museum through Jan. 5, 2025.
JANM, alongside other Little Tokyo community organizations, is celebrating the anniversary with the theme “Celebrating Our Legacy. Persevering for Our Future.” The exhibit highlights Little Tokyo’s past with items from Koharu restaurant, the Nozaki beauty shop, the School of Modern Fashion, the Tanaka photography studio, and other local establishments over the decades.
Since its founding in 1884, Little Tokyo has been the heart of the Japanese American community in Southern California. It began as a refuge for Issei facing great discrimination and prejudice in the Los Angeles area and grew into a vibrant neighborhood filled with restaurants, theaters, churches, photography studios, language schools, banks, and businesses and organizations that supported daily life.
Today, Little Tokyo is the second-oldest ethnic neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and is one of four Japantowns in the U.S. It continues to be the center of Japanese culture in Los Angeles where public, traditional, and contemporary art; restaurants, cafes, and confectioneries; streetwear and kawaii fashion; bookshops and toy shops; businesses and community organizations; and more all flourish.
Despite Little Tokyo’s vibrancy, external pressures such as gentrification threaten the spirit and character of this historic neighborhood. To recognize this, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Little Tokyo as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places in May 2024. JANM was involved in the nomination as a member of Sustainable Little Tokyo.
Supporting the businesses and institutions that make Little Tokyo special now ensures that it continues to be the heart of Southern California’s Japanese American community in the future.
“Celebrating Little Tokyo at 140 Years” is on view in the HNRC on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is included in museum admission.
JANM is located at 100 N. Central Ave. (at First Street) in Little Tokyo. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.