Natsumatsuri at JANM

Natsumatsuri was held at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). It was held the same weekend as Nisei Week, which meant that you could enjoy Nisei Week’s activities (ex. Karate exhibition and tournament) in addition to Natsumatsuri. With so many things to do in one area that is Little Tokyo, I of course didn’t stay put at JANM’s Natsumatsuri but here is what I did get to enjoy:

Performances were held outside, ranging from taiko drumming to shamisen jazz music. So, for those that weren’t interested in going inside the museum, you could easily opt to enjoy the outdoor performances. Nearby was an LA Art Book Fair event which I am clueless about but thought it was kind of cool how they had yet another event going on here in Downtown LA. Like I mentioned earlier, a lot was going on and I liked that.

There were festivities inside the museum for little ones which I didn’t bother with. There were also demonstrations on taiko drumming indoors which I also skipped out on simply because I wanted to browse the museum as is. The museum entrance was for free and I wanted to take advantage of this.

There was some exhibit going on with a long line that was recommended to me by a staff member but I just skipped out on it. I think I now regret doing that. I opted to watch a video format of the exhibit instead which was very brief and very weird. I guess I didn’t like the dark theater ambiance along with the super bright video that was borderline strange. I think I need to research what that was about and come back here to write a blurb on what it was that I saw.

Anyway, this wasn’t my first time inside the museum so I was able to quickly go through the museum. There was a “Do Not Fence Me In” exhibit which was new to me. It was a relatively small exhibit but I liked seeing various small things from back in the day. A lot of the items on display gave you an idea of what a Japanese American student from back in those days did. I couldn’t relate but it was nice to see the various activities a student may have gotten involved in back then. I admit that I had a moment when I realized that many people experienced relocation not just once en route to the concentration camps but it seems that they were relocated again after their time in concentration camps. Not a history expert but that seems to have been the case. As if relocating to the middle of nowhere and inside a camp wasn’t already enough.

They had a mini book sale inside the museum which I quickly looked at but didn’t see anything of interest, unfortunately. Plus, I had already bought a book elsewhere in front of the JACCC and could do without hauling around another book or two. LOL

It was a relatively hot day until their final Natsumatsuri performance came about. That was when the wind gave plentiful breeze and I was able to stay relatively cool as I enjoyed a portion of Yu-ki Project’s shamisen jazz performance. A bonus was when a JANM staff member distributed yakult drinks to the audience. It was nice but only made me hungry in the process. LOL

There were seats to enjoy the performances but I believe these seats were reserved for museum members or “VIP” ticket holders. I believe a lot of people weren’t aware of this and just went ahead to take advantage of the seating. It made sense since there were a decent amount of empty seats around as Natsumatsuri winded down.

Natsumatsuri may have ended but I had other things to see and do while still in Little Tokyo.