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What’s Happening at the JCCH



Gyotaku Workshop with Naoki Hayashi

Learn the Japanese art of fish printing at our JCCH-exclusive workshop! With hands-on guided instruction, each participant will make their own original
gyotaku print to take home. Registration is required to attend. Spaces are limited.

Register Here

Saturday, August 1, 2026
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
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:

Karen Kirk, Sogetsu
Tanabata with a wish for peace




 
感謝 - With Gratitude








Mōʻiliʻili Summer Fest

Last Saturday, we celebrated community and culture at Honolulu’s largest bon dance! Mahalo to everyone who stopped by the JCCH booth for
Tanabata wish-making, hachimaki and uchiwa stamping, and shopping with the JCCH Gift Shop. A heartfelt thank you to our volunteers, whose generosity and hard work brought the evening to life.

We’ve compiled a list of local
bon odori 盆踊り(bon dance) events from now through October. Plan a fun evening out with your friends and family!

View Hawaiʻi’s 2026 Bon Dance Schedule

*All dates and times are subject to change. Please confirm details with individual temples before attending. Mahalo to Derrick Iwata and Bon Dance Hawaii & Japanese & Okinawan Culture (Facebook) for compiling the list.
 
Community Announcements




Honouliuli National Historic Site Screening at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Theater

As part of the park’s
80th commemoration of the camp's closing, join acclaimed actor, director, producer, and social advocate Daniel Dae Kim as he shares his memories and experiences from the Hawaii Five-0 episode that featured Honouliuli Internment Camp. A Q&A session with JCCH President Emerita Carole Hayashino will follow the screening. Due to limited seating, RSVP is required by emailing hono_superintendent@nps.gov.

Learn More

Sunday, July 12, 2026 | 5:45 PM

IMAGE: Tyler Mills | National Park Service
 




Free Public Forum

Join author and concentration camp survivor
Dr. Kenichi Yabusaki at TOHO NO HIKARI HAWAIʻI for a free public forum where he will speak about the impact of gaman on his life and how he has gained an understanding of the “significance of insignificance.

Learn More

Saturday, August 15, 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM




Seeking Japanese American Participants For Research

Jennifer Doi, a doctoral student at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, is conducting a study to examine aspects of intergenerational trauma amongst Japanese Americans, many of whom are from families that lived through WWII incarceration. This survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes.

View Survey
 
Meet Our Corporate and Tane Members




Mahalo to our members for believing in our mission and giving back to the community! Learn about our Corporate and Tane membership programs at bit.ly/jcchmember.
 

 




JCCH x Reyn Spooner Aloha Doraemon Launch Event

In partnership with
Reyn Spooner, we are joining a special in-store launch event hosted at Ala Moana Center to celebrate the new Aloha Doraemon print, a design that supports the JCCH. This print is available in men’s, women’s, and kids’ styles. A portion of all in-store sales made at the launch event will be donated to the JCCH. All merchandise will count towards this donation, so it’s the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe and shop for gifts!

Learn More

Friday, July 17, 2026 | 4:00 - 7:00 PM
 




Let’s Make Guava Cream Cheese Pie!

Muriel’s Mainichi Cooking presented by Hawaiʻi Gas is a JCCH video series inspired by Muriel Miura’s mainichi まいにち (everyday) recipes. Widely recognized as the face of The Gas Company (now known as Hawaiʻi Gas), Muriel gained popularity through classes, demonstrations, conferences, cooking shows, pamphlets, and cookbooks.

Watch Episode 12

All Season 1 episodes are now posted! Watch our recipe videos on Instagram or visit our website.

View Recipe
 
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:

Caroline Abe, Sogetsu




 
感謝 - With Gratitude




Book Reading and Signing Event

Last Saturday, the
JCCH Gift Shop welcomed guests and their families to meet Brandi-Ann Uyemura, the author of I Am a Bon Dancer. Mahalo to Brandi for sharing her bon dance memories and the inspiration behind her new children’s book, which will be available for purchase at the JCCH booth at the Mōʻiliʻili Summer Fest this Saturday.
 
Community Announcements
UHM Online Courses

The
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Outreach College is offering two online courses via Zoom designed to make reading Japanese fun, approachable, and totally doable. Seats are limited. Enroll online:

•   
Kanji Made Fun & Easy: Introduction

•   
Master Hiragana & Katakana

Saturday, July 18, 2026 - Saturday, August 22, 2026
 




Kupuna Aikido Safe Falling Classes

Kupuna Aikido is planning to open registration for its next session at the JCCH Kenshikan Dōjō soon. These classes are designed to help participants learn safe falling techniques, improve balance and confidence, and reduce the risk of injury from falls. Classes will be held every Tuesday from August 25 - October 20, 2026 (8 weeks, excluding September 22), at 9:30 and 10:30 AM. Join their mailing list and check their website for information about classes and registration.

Learn More
 





Pidgin Poetry with Lee A. Tonouchi

Hawai‘i Poet Laureate Lee A. Tonouchi wrote "Hod Work" to try to capture his grandfaddah’s voice, the voice of a loved one he lost. Watch him recite this poem in our YouTube Shorts video. If you’d like to share your talk story poetry, send your voice poem to hpl@hihumanities.org.

Watch Video

Support more educational content like this to keep Japanese culture and traditions alive! Become a JCCH member today:
bit.ly/jcchmember.
 

Support the JCCH























Copyright (C) 2026 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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