Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown

10/27/2023

Some members of the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown team visited the new Heinlenville Park today. We admired Kiki Wu's "Safe and Sound" AR installation, which was recently migrated from its temporary spot in front of the SJ Betsuin to its intended location on the former footprint of Heinlenville. Safe and sound indeed! Uglykiki

02/15/2023

Self portrait of the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown team at the Cool Cafe (Cantor Art Center, Stanford University).

01/07/2023

Sign up for walking tours of Hidden Histories augmented reality art! There are four tours scheduled in January, so sign up now!

Lots of people come to the neighborhood for food, shopping, or cultural events. But did you know that San Jose Japantown used to be called “Chinatown” and that its past includes a bustling Filipino business and social community on 6th Street? Come check out the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japan...

10/28/2022

Reverend Hiroshi Abiko, passed away on October 6, 2022.
Two years ago, Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown did a video about his time in Hiroshima as a boy after World War II.
In memory of Reverend Abiko, here is the video ...

Reverend Hiroshi Abiko served at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin from 1971 to 1983. He and Reverend Mike Morizono were two important figures in San Jose...

09/18/2022

Haiku is a short poetic art form that originated in Japan and has a deep connection to nature and the seasons. Did you know that there are many haiku societies in the United States with thousands of members? And, did you know that one of the societies began in San Jose Japantown?

Kiyoko and Kiyoshi Tokutomi began the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, exploring the writing of haiku in English. This is a look at their lives and the forming of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society.

Click the thumbnail at the end of this post to view the Hidden Histories YouTube video about the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society.

This video only scratches the surface of the history and the people of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society and haiku. To learn more, visit the Yuki Teikei website https://yths.org or their page https://www.facebook.com/yukiteikei.

Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown is an augmented reality art project of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose funded by the Immersive Technology in the Arts grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in collaboration with Microsoft with support from the California History Center Foundation, De Anza College, the Chinese Historical & Cultural Project, and the Filipino American National Historical Society - Santa Clara Valley. Project directors: Susan Hayase and Tom Izu. AR artistic advisor: Tamiko Thiel. Project managers: Sue Kanegawa Yuen, Maylea Saito and Sabrina Kwong. Supervising community artist: Corinne Takara Okada. Archivist and video creator: Curt Fukuda.

Haiku is a short poetic art form that originated in Japan and has a deep connection to nature and the seasons. Did you know that there are many haiku societi...

07/13/2022

Did you miss out on getting a copy of "San Jose Japantown - A Journey" the first time around? A reprint of the book will be available in September 2022. As the Japanese American Museum of San Jose is only printing 1,000 copies, pre-ordering is recommended.

The book is written by Hidden Histories documentarian Curt Fukuda and historian Ralph M. Pearce. It chronicles the Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and other ethnicities that contributed to the Japantown community. Essentially a reprint, the book also includes corrections to errors found in the first printing and a few additional photos and information.

The book project is produced by Jim Nagareda, former executive director of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose with Janice Oda (designer) and June Hayase (editor).

To pre-order a copy of the book, visit https://secure.givelively.org/event/japanese-american-museum-of-san-jose/san-jose-japantown-a-journey-book-pre-sale

View a Hidden Histories video promo of the book ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyjGgtDDWDo

Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown is an augmented reality art project of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose funded by the Immersive Technology in the Arts grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in collaboration with Microsoft with support from the California History Center Foundation, De Anza College, the Chinese Historical & Cultural Project, and the Filipino American National Historical Society - Santa Clara Valley. Project directors: Susan Hayase and Tom Izu. AR artistic advisor: Tamiko Thiel. Project manager: Sue Kanegawa Yuen. Supervising community artist: Corinne Takara Okada. Archivist and video creator: Curt Fukuda.

02/15/2022

As we approach the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 that set in motion the racist forced removal and mass incarceration of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans, it's time to stop and reflect.

Here is a community program that we produced last year on the "Hidden History of San Jose Day of Remembrance." It's important to remember that, even though DOR commemorations have become institutionalized in our local and dispersed JA communities, the origins of the Day of Remembrance are steeped in the grassroots movement to win redress/reparations for the WWII concentration camp experience.

This grassroots movement called on us to struggle to unite with the very fractured sectors of our community. It required us to meet people and their families and to find out what they were thinking, what their story was. It challenged us to change ourselves and each other. It also rewarded us with the development of friendships and relationships that have strengthened the community as a whole.

Each year in San Jose Japantown, “Day of Remembrance” commemorates the signing of E.O. 9066 and the WWII forced removal of Japanese Americans. It is a commun...

12/20/2021

Hidden Histories New January and February Walking Tours! - https://mailchi.mp/b4b3543bb1b3/new-guided-walking-tours-5621047

11/12/2021

Did you know that San Jose Japantown once had its own hospital? The historic Issei Memorial Building was originally built as the Kuwabara Hospital in 1910 by the Nishiura Brothers, who were farmers in Mountain View.

Discover the hidden stories of San Jose Japantown through the magic of Augmented Reality art provided by the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown project. You can visit on your own, or for a limited time, you can sign up for a guided tour with Hidden Histories team members.

Tours are available through December 11, 2021. Visit https://hiddenhistoriesjtown.org/ to sign up for a tour and download the mobile app to view the art. Space is limited so put in your reservation as soon as possible.

Did you know that San Jose Japantown once had its own hospital? The historic Issei Memorial Building was originally built as the Kuwabara Hospital in 1910 by...

10/22/2021

We are pleased to announce that we have received a grant from the City of San José's ABIERTO program to do walking tours of our exhibit during the months of November and December. Capacity is limited, so be sure to sign up!

Please click the link to complete this form.

09/24/2021

Hidden Histories is now featured in the Rotating Exhibit Area at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose! Our exhibition features historic videos of the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino communities that established Japantown. In addition, you’ll see artifacts from Heinlenville (San Jose Chinatown), videos of the Hidden Histories artists, and information about the augmented reality art installations.

Experience the immersive augmented reality art of the Hidden Histories project from the sidewalks of San Jose Japantown. In addition, you can visit the accom...