Japanese American Museum of Oregon

10/23/2026

Happy Wildwood Day!

LAIKA Studios' film comes out today, but we're also celebrating this crow painted by Japanese American Museum of Oregon staffer Maya McDarragh!

In August, you may have noticed colorful crow statues popping up around downtown Portland, both a promo for LAIKA's new Wildwood film and a fundraiser for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Each crow is painted by a local artist.

Recently, Japanese American Museum of Oregon staff walked over to a very special crow that sits in front of Portland City Hall. Painted by JAMO staff member and artist Maya McDarragh, this crow is inspired and influenced by Portland’s Japanese American community!

Watch through the video to see elements of the Japanese American Historical Plaza, cherry blossoms, and Portland’s Nihonmachi. Images of Portland’s former Japantown are nestled amongst the cherry blossom petals.

LAIKA’s new film Wildwood is released in theaters on October 23, and the crows will be gone on October 31. Be sure to visit Maya's crow in-person before then and check out all the details she included!

Final photo courtesy Elle Hygge.

10/22/2026

Museum stores are a fantastic place to find that perfectly unusual, handmade gift. Every year, the Japanese American Museum of Oregon brings out even more jewelry, ceramics, cards, handmade ornaments, artwork, clothing, and housewares for the holidays starting at the end of November. The holidays are a great time to visit!

And this weekend (Oct. 24-25), the JAMO gift shop will have a clearance sale to prep for the holidays - look for deep discounts for all and special benefits for Friends of JAMO on this final weekend of the exhibition Standing for Justice: The Japanese Americans Shaping Oregon.

Portland Art Museum, the Bird Alliance, and other secret shopping strongholds.

10/22/2026

Here's a preview of just a few items in this weekend's clearance sale.

Come by this weekend for a sale in the Japanese American Museum of Oregon's gift shop: clearance items and discounts for all + double discount (20%) for Friends of JAMO!

And these are the final few days for Standing for Justice: The Japanese Americans Shaping Oregon. Be sure to catch this exhibition before it leaves us...the final day is October 25.

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is located at NW 4th and Flanders in Portland's historic Japantown. The sale runs Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 11am-4pm.

10/21/2026

10/20/2026

10/20/2026

Celebrate autumn and the completion of Tsuru Island’s renovation with this special experience in the Gresham Japanese Garden!

Autumn Illumination transforms Tsuru Island into a luminous landscape, revealing the garden’s beauty after dusk. Just like Yozakura, lights will accent the garden’s structures, allowing each element to emerge with quiet distinction.

Stroll Tsuru Island from sunset to 10pm. Admission is free of charge.

Gresham Japanese Garden
219A S Main Ave, Gresham, OR 97030
Located in Main City Park

10/19/2026

Happy Birthday to Minoru Yasui!

Born and raised in Hood River on October 19, 1916, Yasui is known for his actions during World War II when he broke the curfew placed on Japanese Americans. At his trial, the court upheld the curfew as legal, and Yasui spent nine months in solitary confinement for his efforts and was afterwards incarcerated at Minidoka.

Forty years later, in 1983, Yasui took his case back to court. Peggy Nagae, a third generation Japanese American from Boring, Oregon, acted as his lead attorney. Yasui’s conviction was vacated, but the court declined to address the claims of government wrongdoing.

He instructed his attorneys to appeal on the legality of the curfew, but Yasui passed away in 1986 before the matter was resolved. Nagae and her team attempted to file an appeal in his honor but were denied.

Learn more about Minoru Yasui, Peggy Nagae, and other changemakers from our state at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. The exhibition Standing for Justice is on view until October 25—be sure to get your tickets before it closes this Sunday! Visit jamo.org/standing-for-justice for more info.

Images
1: Standing for Justice exhibition at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon.
2. Painting of Min Yasui. Courtesy of Saya Tipton
3. Peggy Nagae, oral history interview, 2009. Courtesy Densho
4. Minoru Yasui as a young man. Courtesy Holly Yasui

Minoru Yasui Legacy

10/15/2026

Jim and Gene Akutsu were faced with an impossible choice from within the confines of the Minidoka concentration camp, fight for the country they called home or make a stand against this unconstitutional treatment by refusing the draft.

If you attended last weekend's Nisei Paradox performance in Portland, then you learned a lot about the trials of the Minidoka draft resisters...for those who want to learn more about these young people, or about Japanese American resistance to racism and injustice during World War II, be sure to check out Resisters of the Pacific Northwest: https://beyondbarbedwire.org/tours/resisters

This online guide is part of Beyond the Barbed Wire: Japanese American Stories of the Pacific Northwest, a digital storytelling project created by Friends of Minidoka.

Jim and Gene Akutsu are two of the Resisters highlighted in the online guide.

As Jim Akutsu put it in an interview with filmmaker Frank Abe in 1993, “Here we are in camp, and there they called for the volunteers, then also called they’re reinstating, you know, the selective service. And I just couldn’t see myself going along with that knowing what I did know. That we as a — what shall I say — evacuee, have no obligation for military service, and that was the main point. The main point was that I am an alien. I did not have any obligation.”

Both Akutsu brothers refused the draft, as did many others incarcerated alongside them at Minidoka. Between thirty and forty were tried and convicted at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise in front of Judge Chase Clark, who had clearly demonstrated his racism against Japanese Americans in his previous role as governor of Idaho. Those convicted were sentenced to federal prison.

Read more about the Akutsu brothers, as well as others who resisted World War II incarceration in Resisters of the Pacific Northwest!

Image 1: Jim and Gene Akutsu, c. 1940. Courtesy Frank Abe/Densho
Images 2-3: Screenshots of the Resisters of the Pacific Northwest online map and tour, which includes the story of Jim and Gene Akutsu, courtesy Beyond the Barbed Wire.

10/10/2026

Get inspired by these Oregon changemakers!

There are only a few weeks left of Standing for Justice: The Japanese Americans Shaping Oregon. Be sure to come by the museum by October 25 to check out this exhibition on Oregonians who have fought to uphold democracy and civil rights for all.

Learn more and get tickets here: https://jamo.org/standing-for-justice/

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm, and Sunday 11am-4pm. We are located in Portland's historic Japantown on the corner of NW 4th and Flanders.

10/09/2026

This class is filling up fast! Click the link in bio or go to jamo.org/sashiko-tea-towel to sign up.

Artist mai ide will be back at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon for a NEW Sashiko workshop on October 31. In this four-hour class, you will learn several Sashiko stitching patterns and create your own beautifully-stitched tea towel, or f***n.

Sashiko Tea Towel Workshop with mai ide
Saturday, October 31st, 10am – 2pm
Japanese American Museum of Oregon
411 NW Flanders St., Portland, OR 97209

Cost: $100 for Friends of JAMO / $130 for general public

Sashiko is not only a craft but a philosophy, and mai brings that depth of exploration to all of her workshops. In addition to the stitching technique, learn what this centuries‑old tradition reveals about Japanese life, consumption, resilience, and the power of repair in a throwaway world.