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What’s Happening at the JCCH
Join Our Team!

The JCCH is seeking to hire a motivated, hard-working individual for each of the following positions:

•   
ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR

•   
ARCHIVES COORDINATOR

•   
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Duties, responsibilities, and application instructions will vary by position.

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2025 Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival

Celebrate
Setsubun with us at the 32nd Annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival. Learn about Japanese traditions like mamemaki (bean) throwing and join us for activities including oni (demon) origami, and a fukumame (fortune beans) challenge!

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Saturday, February 1, 2025
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
 

2025 Year of the Snake T-Shirts

In celebration of Lunar New Year, we are featuring our 2025 Year of the Snake t-shirts designed by
Sumofish (available online and in-store). Visit the JCCH Gift Shop to shop for t-shirts along with other New Year-themed items. Quantities are limited.

Gift Shop Hours
Wednesday - Saturday
•    9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Shop Now

*2-hour parking validation with a purchase at the JCCH Gift Shop. We recently emailed JCCH members a 10% off discount code. You may sign up or renew your membership at
bit.ly/jcchmember to receive the discount online.
 

JCCH Craft & Collectibles Fair

Join us next Saturday for the first
JCCH Craft & Collectibles Fair of 2025! Shop with local small business vendors that will offer Japanese and Japanese-inspired items, and enjoy complimentary admission to our Historical Gallery.

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Saturday, February 8, 2025
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
This fair will feature:

LET’S TALK...MATCHA!: Join Summer Shiigi, the owner of Daily Whisk Matcha, in the JCCH Courtyard for two talk story sessions (10:30 and 11:30 AM). Learn about matcha benefits, varieties, and daily drinking techniques, and enter our in-person prize giveaways. Limited products and iced drinks will be available for purchase. This program is supported by the Japan Foundation, New York.

JCCH POP-UP EVENT: Browse a selection of unique handcrafted ceramics made by eight local artists at Discover the Art of Handcrafted Japanese Tea Ceremony Ceramics. These items will be available for purchase at the JCCH Gift Shop for a limited time only. A portion of sale proceeds will benefit the JCCH!

JCCH FEATURED VENDOR: Welcome author Kelly Goto for a hello and signing of her new book, “Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience.” Learn about the legacy of her father, Sam Goto, who drew over 250 multi-paneled “Seattle Tomodachi” comic strips about the lives and stories of early Japanese settlers and their American-born offspring. A limited number of books will be available for purchase on site.
 
JCCH Featured Ikebana

Each week, our
ikebana volunteers generously donate an arrangement to display in our administrative office lobby. We hope you enjoy this special design by:

Dan LaBeff, Sogetsu
Theme: Chinese New Year

 
感謝 - With Gratitude

Pau Hanafuda

Over 40
hanafuda players joined us at Bamboo Tiger Shop by Beer Lab HI for Pau Hanafuda! Mahalo to the Japan Foundation, New York and Beer Lab HI for their support!
 
Community Announcements

When Dreams Are Interrupted

Purple Moon Dance Project and Jill Togawa present When Dreams Are Interrupted, a site-specific performance at Palolo Hongwanji that invites us to remember the Japanese community in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing in December 1941. The performances are free with a suggested donation of $15. Reservations are recommended.

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Saturday, February 22, 2025
Sunday, February 23, 2025
 
The Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness

Join the
UH Mānoa CJS Way of Tea Center and the Department of History for an event in UHM Bachman Hall 107 featuring a lecture by Dr. Genshitsu Sen, Urasenke Chado Tradition, 15th-generation Grand Master, Professor of Japanese Culture & History and Visiting Colleague.

Learn More

Monday, February 10, 2025

1:30 PM (Light refreshments provided at 3:00 PM)

 

PBS Hawaiʻi presents Proof of Loyalty: Kazuo Yamane and the Nisei Soldiers of Hawaii

This documentary film tells the story of
Kazuo Yamane, a Japanese American who played a crucial strategic role in World War II. PBS Hawaiʻi will air this film on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 8:30 PM, and Sunday, February 9, 2025, at 1:00 PM. Watch it online for two weeks beginning on the first air date.

Learn More

Image: PBS Hawai‘i
 

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The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH), a non-profit organization, strives to share the history, heritage and culture of the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawai‘i. Located at 2454 South Beretania Street in Mō‘ili‘ili, the Cultural Center features a Community and Historical Gallery, Resource Center, Kenshikan martial arts dōjō, Seikōan Japanese teahouse and Gift Shop. The Cultural Center presents various programs, festivals and exhibitions throughout the year.

Motto

Honoring our heritage. Embracing our diversity. Sharing our future.

Vision

We aspire to co-create a society where a deeper knowledge of one's heritage and a profound understanding of oneself will enable enlightened connections among all people.

Mission Statement

To be a vibrant resource, strengthening our diverse community by educating present and future generations in the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawai‘i. We do this through relevant programming, meaningful community service and innovative partnerships that enhance the understanding and celebration of our heritage, culture and love of the land. To guide us in this work we draw from the values found in our Japanese American traditions and the spirit of Aloha.

History

The seeds of thought and planning which had since developed into the solid concrete of Phase I and the working committees of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i were sown over two generations ago. Minds and hearts of Issei and Nisei (first and second generations) forebearers set themselves to the tasks of survival, later to national heroism, and later still to the responsibility of restoring the concept of cultural pride in themselves and their community. Emotions generated by the Kanyaku Imin (125 Years of Japanese In Hawai‘i) celebration in February of 1985 spurred the devotion of major Japanese groups in the community to initially conceptualize the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i.

In 1986, The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce (HJCC) initiated the Japan-Hawaii Cultural Center project, "The Dream," for the purpose of bringing together related organizations in Hawai‘i to work in a common effort to preserve the legacy and history of the pioneers who came to Hawaii from Japan, and whose sacrifices and contributions made it possible for the younger generations to become integral members of American society. It was planned to be a legacy where future members of our community could look back and be fully conscious of their roots. The Center would also foster relations by promoting harmony and mutual understanding between Japan, Hawai‘i, and the United States.

The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce was willing to accept the enormous responsibility of immortalizing and cultivating the legacy of the Japanese in Hawai‘i by making a commitment to plant and nourish the seedling. Many community organizations supported the creation of a Japanese cultural center, as indicated by a survey to assess the need and expectations for a center.

Courses of action plans were implemented to create Ad Hoc Committees composed of the various Japan related organizations, and to organize a fund-raising organization to raise funds from the community within the State of Hawai‘i as well as in Japan. Committees set in motion to carefully plan, develop, and research in establishing the Cultural Center. The inception of some committees were: Steering, Planning, Public Relations, Historical Research Program, Program, Membership and Property Management. A schedule of "Milestone" tasks for these committees were implemented to prepare for the tremendous work that lay ahead in the formation of the Cultural Center.

On May, 28, 1987, the birth of a new direction and a new step toward the dreams of our forefathers emerged as the Cultural Center was incorporated under the laws of the State of Hawai‘i as a non-profit corporation to develop, own, maintain, and operate a Japanese cultural center in Hawai‘i. As an independent entity, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i would play a most crucial role in perpetuating the cultural heritage we inherited from our Issei forefathers into the lifestyles and values of our children's children.

Revamped, Revved and Ready... the Cultural Center Boards and staff moves forward with great aspirations

The Board of Directors consists of 15 community leaders from O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i counties who lead the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i by establishing policies and strategic direction. Each Director either chairs and /or is a member of the Executive Committee, Governance Committee, Membership Development Committee, Fundraising Committee, Facilities & Operations Committee, and Budget & Finance Committee. The Board members are elected by the membership as a whole.

The Board of Governors currently has forty (40) members who advise and make recommendations to the Board of Directors, and oversee the implementation of programs and activities of the Cultural Center. The Board of Governors also assist and maintain the fiscal well-being of the Center by supporting its fundraising activities. The Board of Governors are appointed by the Board of Directors.

The staff of nine full-time and two part-time employees is led by the President & Executive Director who administers the day-to-day operations of the Cultural Center.

The Board of Directors, Board of Governors and the staff, and volunteers work in unison to carry out the many exciting plans at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. When put together these individuals, though all unique in their background, create a dynamic, capable and passionate group who are dedicated to the Cultural Center's mission of sharing the history, heritage and culture of the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawai‘i.

HOURS

Historical Gallery & Gift Shop: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Resource Center: By Appointment Only

Administrative Office: By Appointment Only


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