Saturday, March 31, 2001

Limit: 30 people

This tour is NOT wheelchair accessible

As the cultural and historic heart of the Japanese community in Los Angeles, Little Tokyo offers vivid contrasts between the old and the new. This Los Angeles Conservancy walking tour includes a history of the area as well as background on the Japanese American community. Sites include the Japanese American Cultural Community Center's Irvine Gardens and Noguchi Plaza, the First Street North Historic District, and the interior of the Higashi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple (1976).

After our walking tour, we will visit the Japanese American National Museum. The Museum, now including a stunningly beautiful Pavilion Building designed by Gyo Obata (1999), was created to promote understanding and appreciation of America's ethnic and cultural diversity by preserving, interpreting, and sharing the experiences of Japanese Americans. Founded in 1985 and opened in 1992 in a former Buddhist temple (now known as the Historical Building), the Museum has already built a well-deserved reputation as an important resource and destination. The Museum's collection of more than 30,000 objects includes artifacts, paintings, works on paper, photography, film and video documentation, ephemera, textiles, and recorded life histories. These objects trace family and religious life, social activities, artistic expression and commerce throughout Japanese American history, including the immigration period from 1885 to 1924, the World War II concentration camp experience, the post-war community, and political activism. A Research Library supports the collections research. The Terasaki Garden Café offers light lunches and snacks. The Museum Store carries a wide range of Japanese American and Japanese books and gifts.

Exhibition highlights include compelling works documenting the widespread incarcerations during World War II, including part of an original barracks from one of the camps; congressional papers that culminated in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988; and the archives of the Buddhist Churches of America, which document the early history of Japanese immigration and settlement in the United States. The Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary is next door to JANM, which you may choose to visit at the conclusion of the tour. There are many excellent lunchtime choices close by in Little Tokyo.