Japanese American Museum of Oregon

Sadao Mizuno, who owned and ran Rose City Photo Studio, is best known for his documentation of people and events in Portland. Mizuno moved to the city from Japan at 21 years old in 1892. He opened the studio in the early 1900s and operated until 1942, when Executive Order 9066 was issued and he was forcibly removed to Minidoka.

Not just a photographer, Mizuno created a number of watercolor paintings of the landscape surrounding Minidoka while incarcerated. You can see some of these paintings on display at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon’s current exhibit Minidoka on Our Minds.

After Minidoka closed in 1945, he tried but was unable to return to Portland due to severe discrimination. Mizuno looked instead to Vanport, a wartime housing project located on the Columbia River just north of Portland. After the war, Vanport was home to thousands of people who faced housing discrimination in Portland. On May 30, 1948, the river flooded and devastated the city. Fifteen residents lost their lives, including 77-year-old Mizuno.

We invite you to learn more about the Vanport flood at the Vanport Mosaic Festival going on now through May 31. Learn more at https://www.vanportmosaic.org/vanport-mosaic-festival-2026.

You can also view Mizuno’s artwork at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon through June 14.

Image 1: Photo of Sadao Mizuno, photographer and date unknown. Gift of Sumiko and Sueo (Buddy) Ikata

Image 2 (detail) and 3: Minidoka sagebrush, Sadao Mizuno 1942-45. Gift of Wendy Haisuke

Image 4: Minidoka barracks, Sadao Mizuno 1942-45. Gift of Kazuko Inuzuka Hustead

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is now a Smithsonian Affiliate!

JAMO joins the Smithsonian Affiliations network of 200+ cultural and educational organizations across the US, Puerto Rico, and Panama, and is the only Affiliate in Portland. The program grants access to the Smithsonian’s resources for exhibitions and education programming. We look forward to strengthening our ties to the national community of cultural and history institutions, as well as increasing our ability to share the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon with a broader audience.

Learn more in our blog post here: https://jamo.org/JAMO-Smithsonian-Affiliate

Sashiko is back at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon!

This workshop is for all crafters, sewers, upcyclers, and those who are craft-curious!

Artist mai ide will be teaching Intro to Sashiko at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon on June 6 from 10am-1pm. Don't miss her unique course where she teaches this traditional Japanese embroidery technique along with the cultural significance of the practice.

You will walk away with a project as well as a Sashiko kit so you can continue sewing at home.

Learn more and sign up: jamo.org/sashiko

Sashiko is an embroidery technique that comes from a need to mend and make clothes last longer: a form of upcycling that connects with tradition. mai also brings in the meditative side of the technique to her workshops, with an intentionally relaxed pace.

Sashiko Into Workshop with mai ide
Saturday, June 6th, 10am – 1pm
Japanese American Museum of Oregon
411 NW Flanders St., Portland, OR 97209

People of the Drum is back! Mark your calendars for June 7, 11am-1:30-m, next to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for a free concert with performances and workshops by Mexica Tiahui, Oregon Korean Performing Arts, Alex Addy & Woshishijee, and Portland Taiko:

It's back!!! If you've been here awhile, you're familiar with our annual family-friendly outdoor summer concert People of the Drum. We started this event almost 15 years ago and have hosted so many amazing local drummers! We took a brief hiatus in 2025, but this year we are partnering with in a new location.

📍 Outside the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
🗓 Sunday, June 7
⏰ 11:00 AM–1:30 PM
🎟 Free event — RSVP appreciated, but not required!

Find the RSVP link in our bio or sign up here: https://www.orsymphony.org/people-of-the-drum

Stay tuned to learn more about the featured groups for 2026!

Thank you so much, Kurt Ikeda, for writing about your experience at Minoru Yasui Day this year, and for bringing your poetry to Portland!

Check out Kurt's Pacific Citizen article about this annual event that honors the legacy of Min Yasui, a local Oregon hero who defied curfew orders for Japanese Americans during World War II and went on to a long career as a civil rights attorney:

https://www.pacificcitizen.org/honoring-a-legacy-of-courage/

Image courtesy The Minoru Yasui Legacy Project

Want free tickets to Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)'s Pasifika and Asian American Community Science Night?

Message Japanese American Museum of Oregon with "OMSI Tickets" or comment "OMSI Tickets" below, and we'll DM you a coupon code for free tickets to this event!

On Friday, May 22, from 6-9pm, join community members and OMSI for the fourth-annual Pasifika and Asian American Community Science Night. This event welcomes visitors of all ages for a night of museum exploring, science demonstrations, vendor tables, and cultural entertainment – all in celebration of the local Pasifika and Asian American community. All are welcome!

Use the coupon code at checkout here: https://omsi.edu/events/pasifika-and-asian-american-community-science-night/

Be sure to reenter the coupon code and hit "apply" for each ticket you are purchasing.

Learn more about our partners at the Portland Chinatown Museum and their plans for updating their permanent exhibition!

As America marks 250 years, rich Chinese history lives on at Portland Chinatown Museum, which plans major exhibit changes • Oregon ArtsWatch A new book, "Portland's Chinatowns," will accompany planned exhibit update/redesign — funded by a gifts campaign — that will represent Chinese life through the 1980s.

This weekend in Portland! Hear from Frank Abe and Kelly Goto on the intersections of graphic arts and the Japanese American experience.

Lines of Resistance with Frank Abe, Kelly Goto, and Lori Matsukawa
Saturday May 16, 1PM
220 NW 2nd Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Free entry
RSVP https://jamo.org/event/lines-of-resistance/

Sam Goto drew over 250 Seattle Tomodachi comic strips for The North American Post, detailing the lives of early Japanese immigrants to the Pacific Northwest and their children. His daughter Kelly Goto recently produced the definitive collection of Seattle Tomodachi in the book Seattle Samurai.

We Hereby Refuse, a graphic novel written by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura, details the stories of three Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during WWII and their acts of resistance.

Kelly Goto and Frank Abe will be in Portland this Saturday, May 16, at 1PM at the 220 PDX Building in a discussion moderated by Lori Matsukawa. Come meet the authors and learn about the graphic approach to telling the Japanese American story.

Come see us at with Portland JACL at the Portland Timbers AAPI night this Saturday, May 9! The Japanese American Museum of Oregon will be there tabling with the Portland JACL before the game. Portland Taiko, DJ Anjali, and Filipino American Friendship Club of Oregon - FAFC will be performing.

Learn more:

Learn about the special AAPI Night Celebration Scarf and unique performances for May 9 | PTFC The evening features performances by Portland Taiko, DJ Anjali and more, plus a limited-edition AAPI Celebration scarf designed by Filipino and Mexican American artist Pedro Ponce

Learn more about JAMO's Japanese American History in Oregon Traveling Trunks project, which just won an Oregon Heritage Excellence Award:

2026 Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards - Japanese American Museum of Oregon Traveling Trunks project Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding heritage efforts. Learn more by visiting https://www.ore...