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What’s Happening at the JCCH
A Taste of Irasshai 2025

Handmade in Kailua,
Please Come Again creates fun flavors using the highest quality milk and cream along with real, natural, and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. During our ice cream tasting, we tried Shiso Mint Chip, Miso Salted Caramel, and Hojicha Cream.

This is one of the sixteen tasting statour guests will enjoy at
Irasshai: Eat, Drink, Kanpai! presented by Bank of Hawaiʻi. In just three weeks, we hope to welcome you at our annual fundraising event! We recommend purchasing your tickets soon. Limited quantities are available!

View Menu Preview and Buy Tickets

Friday, April 4, 2025
6:00 - 9:00 PM


 

Tanoshii Hawaiʻi

For one week,
keiki campers (ages 8-13) will experience hands-on learning about Japanese and local culture! Our summer program offers kids hands-on through music, arts, crafts, food, language, traditions, and history.

Learn More

Camp Dates: July 21 - 25, 2025

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: Sign up for a JCCH membership at
bit.ly/jcchmember to receive a discount code for $25 off registration.
 
Gift Shop Sale

Receive
50% off Girls’ Day dolls at the JCCH Gift Shop through Saturday, March 29, 2025.* Dolls are a traditional gift given by grandparents or parents, especially to celebrate a first Girls’ Day. The Gift Shop carries a variety of items that make wonderful gifts!

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

*2-hour parking validation with a JCCH Gift Shop purchase. Discount cannot be combined with other offers. All sales final. See store for full details and limitations.

 

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:

Barbara Tinius, Ikenobo
Style:
Rikka Shimputai
(new style
rikka)

This piece contrasts the strength of the two heliconia and their supporting materials.
 
感謝 - With Gratitude


JCCH Craft & Collectibles Fair x Hanami

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a springtime celebration last Saturday! This day was filled with tasty food, furry friends, and talented performers. We are keeping our
Hanami decorations up in the JCCH courtyard for a few more days. You are welcome to stop by and take photos!

Save the date for the next craft fair on
Saturday, April 12, 2025, from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM.
 

The Genki Ala Wai Project

JCCH staff members attended the
Honolulu Festival on Friday to volunteer with The Genki Ala Wai Project. We assisted in an activity during the Hawaiʻi school educational tours where students learned how to help the restoration of the Ala Wai Canal ecosystem.

Tourism Day at the Capitol

On Friday, we were invited to join
Tourism Day. This was a great opportunity to share our nonprofit organization’s mission and goals with legislators and visitors alongside other organizations that shape Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry.
 
Community Announcements
Celebrating 130 years of Kabuki in Hawaiʻi and THE Centennial of UH English Language Kabuki

Congratulations to
Dr. Julie Iezzi (Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance), winner of the Sumie Jones Prize for Project Leadership in Japan-centered Humanities at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Association for Asian Studies. Her work shares the history of kabuki, a form of classical Japanese theater, in Hawaiʻi and its evolution to English-language kabuki.
 

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Copyright (C) 2025 Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi. All rights reserved.


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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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