One of the major projects that JAMsj will be working on in the next three years is the renovation of the Kawakami House that stands next to the museum on North Fifth Street in San Jose Japantown. This year is the start of the transformation of this historical building into an architecture that will support the JAMsj mission, and the future activities of various Asian American communities.
The Kawakami House on North Fifth Street next to JAMsj
The JAMsj Blog will be posting articles on the Kawakami House Project on a regular basis to share with our readers the progress of this exciting project and behind the scenes stories.
In this first post of the series, we wanted to start off with a little history of the Kawakami House and how JAMsj plans to utilize it.
The Kawakami House is historically significant. When Kohachi and Fuji Kawakami wanted to purchase the house in 1919 as first-generation immigrants, they did not have the rights to do so. So they decided to buy the property under their one-year-old son’s name. This way, George Kawakami, a U.S. born U.S. citizen, became one of the first, if not the very first Japanese American to be a homeowner.
The family continued to live in the house until they were forced to relocate to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. They left the house in care of a lawyer who was able to keep it in their name. They leased the house while they were incarcerated, and they were able to come back to live there after the war.
“Through all the turmoil, the house was still there, still in their name and it represents a big part of the history and what Japanese Americans in California went through” says Aaron Ushiro, a member of the JAMsj Board of Directors, and an architect who will be spearheading the renovation project. “We want to use it for the museum’s activities - something that supports our vision, which is building bridges of understanding through inspiration, innovation, and inclusion.”
JAMsj plans to establish the new building to do three things. First of all, the storytelling of Japanese American and Asian American history. Secondly, to become a community hub for Japanese Americans and all Asian American communities. And lastly, to be able to lease the venue for corporate events so that it will generate additional revenue for JAMsj to support other museum activities.
The Kawakami House from the back
The building will need to undergo a major makeover. The good news is that JAMsj has been able to receive some generous donations to kick start this project. Thank you!
Check back next month as we talk to Aaron to get more details on what to expect in the coming months.
By Norri Kageki
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