California Museum Announces the Return of Popular Exhibit “Kokoro: The Story of Sacramento’s Lost Japantown”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — December 4, 2025: The California Museum is pleased to announce the return of Kokoro: The Story of Sacramento’s Lost Japantown, an exhibition that first appeared at the California Museum in 2017 and remains one of our most beloved and impactful.

Featuring rare family photographs drawn from the personal collections of community members, the exhibit documents the memories at the core of a once-thriving downtown community devastated first by forced removal during WWII and again by redevelopment in the 1950s. Returning visitors can once again walk through the history and heart of this vanished neighborhood, while those experiencing it for the first time will discover a vital chapter of our city’s past—now enriched with additional images and artifacts from family collections.

“Kokoro and our permanent exhibit Uprooted: An American Story together tell a story of loss and resilience in the Japanese American community,” said Amanda Meeker, Executive Director of the California Museum. “From the forced removal and incarceration during World War II to the later destruction of Sacramento’s Japantown through redevelopment, these are painful but essential chapters in California’s history.”

The exhibit’s return aligns with an unprecedented season of programming and storytelling on the Japanese American incarceration during WWII. In January 2026, the Museum will host Behind Barbed Wire: A Time of Remembrance Event featuring testimonies from incarceration camp survivors and their descendants. This special all-ages event is adapted from the Museum’s popular annual Time of Remembrance student field trip program (2026 sessions: January 26–March 20). Then, from February 14–19, the Museum will host the Ireichō: Book of Names, a monumental record of all 125,284 incarcerated Japanese Americans. This rare installation gives the public an opportunity to view the book and add a personal stamp of remembrance (reservations to stamp are now full). Together with Kokoro and Uprooted, these programs offer a powerful, multi-faceted look at Sacramento’s lost Japantown and the broader story of injustice, resilience, and redress experienced by the Japanese American community.

The exhibition will be on view in the Museum’s rotating gallery and is included with general admission. For more information, visit CaliforniaMuseum.org/Japantown

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM:
The California Museum—home of the California Hall of Fame—focuses on the state’s rich history, its diversity and its unique influence on the world of ideas, innovation, art and culture. Through interactive experiences, the Museum inspires visitors to make a mark on history. Located at 1020 O Street in the March Fong Eu Secretary of State complex, the Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $8-$10. Plan a visit at californiamuseum.org

For a downloadable press kit, including images and image credits, CLICK HERE.

Interviews available by request, please contact dwood@californiamuseum.org