National Japanese American Historical Society

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage The National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) will use this grant to support planning for a special exhibition and a series of public programs commemorating the 100th anniversary of San Francisco's Japantown (1906 to 2006). Scheduled to open in January 2006, the exhibition, "Japantown: A Hundred Year History" (working title) will include photographs, films, historical artifacts, maps, documents, and oral histories that reveal the remarkable development of what was known before World War II as Nihonjinmachi (Japanese People's Town) in San Francisco's Western Addition/Fillmore District. From the early years of immigration to the present, the exhibition will tell the story of how this community was shaped by local and global events, from the 1906 earthquake to the internment of Japanese-American residents during World War II and Japantown's subsequent redevelopment after the war. The public programs that will accompany the exhibition will engage the broader community in lively, site-specific events, including walking tours, panel discussions, family events, and other activities that will celebrate the centennial and connect today's Japantown with key moments in American history.