7th Annual Japanese American Day of Remembrance

Join the Washington State History Museum on Thursday, May 16 from 3:30-8pm to commemorate the 7th Annual Japanese American Day of Remembrance. Admission is free and open to the public. 

This day commemorates Tacoma’s Japanese Americans’ forced eviction during World War II and places this event within a larger context. 

This community event will open with a resource fair attended by over a dozen organizations helping preserve Japanese American history in Washington. During the fair, artists Yoshi Nakagawa and Yuka Petz will conduct an interactive activity for guests to take home commemorative prints.

This event offers an interactive activity for guests to take home commemorative prints, photo courtesy Washington State History Museum

 

The resource fair will be followed by live traditional music performances by Fuji Taiko and Kabuki Academy. Guests can tour the newly updated “Remembrance” exhibition before a brief procession to Union Station to remember the Japanese American community that was forcibly removed from this site. 

The program will conclude with a “Scholarly Selections” panel discussion titled “Making the Invisible Visible: ‘Righting’ Asian American and Pacific Islander Histories,” moderated by public historian Tamiko Nimura.

The new permanent exhibition, Remembrance, explores the intergenerational impacts and legacy of the incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II as a result of Executive Order 9066. Many of the letters, photographs, ephemera, and objects on view were contributed by people in our community who were incarcerated or their descendants.  

Schedule of Events

3:30 to 5:30 PM – Resource Fair

5:30 to 6:00 PM – Live performances by Fuji Taiko and Kabuki Academy

6:00 to 6:30 PM – Procession from Remembrance gallery to Union Station

6:30 to 7:30 PM – Scholarly Selections panel conversation moderated by Tamiko Nimura

The Washington State History Museum is located at 1911 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. Mobility-accessible. Exterior ramps provide building access, elevators access all floors in the building, and wheelchairs are available at admissions. For more information, visit https://www.washingtonhistory.org/ or call (253) 272-3500.