Generations Transform the Issei Memorial Building

LOCATION: Issei Memorial Building, 565 North 5th Street

DESCRIPTION: The Issei Memorial Building (IMB) has been a landmark in Japantown since 1910. The San Jose Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is the steward of the IMB and maintains the legacy of this living monument. The four images that will surround you in this AR depict various facets from the IMB’s history: Kuwabara Hospital, San Jose Taiko, hostel for released incarcerees, and J-Town Community TV.

SAMPLE:

ARTIST’S STATEMENT: My goal is to infuse pride and understanding about this important site and San Jose Japantown history through focusing on the groups that have called it home and their activities.

I incorporated images created with transparent washes of watercolor in the style of Artist William Kentridge — to express the fluid and transformative nature of the Issei Memorial Building. Animation, sound, video, and hand painted text bring the augmented reality to life.

The building is unique in that it continues to transform by being the location for generations of important groups that keep the community evolving and responding to current issues that affect its residents and others touched by injustice and prejudice in our country. The Issei Memorial Building has a rich legacy of over 110 years, starting as the Kuwabara Hospital in 1910, becoming the JACL post WWII hostel and resource center for families returning from the Concentration Camps in the 1940s. In 1960s Asians for Community Action became active in cultural and historical resurgence of Japantown. In the 1970s, the building became the home of the San Jose Taiko group. 1983 the building was renamed the Issei Memorial Building and designated a historical site.

Though it may be an unassuming building, it exudes historical relevance and the spirit of San Jose Japantown. It is an important site to be included in the Hidden Histories Project

ARTIST PROFILE:

Na Omi Judy Shintani’s exhibitions include Triton and Euphrat Museums of Art, University of Pittsburgh, Santa Fe Art Institute, Presidio Trust. She is the curator for the Tanforan Assembly Center permanent exhibition at the San Bruno BART station. Na Omi earned her BS in Graphic Design at SJSU and MA in Transformative Art at JFKU.