NJAHS presents Oshogatsu Festival Posters Exhibit – Curated by Rich Tokeshi

San Francisco’s Japantown Art & Media (JAM) Workshop was a community art non-profit organization that operated from 1977 through 1999. Many of JAM’s screen-printed posters were devoted to announcing Japanese community events, which included the annual Oshogatsu Festival, where people gathered – and continue to gather – to participate in traditional Japanese New Year celebrations, including mochi- pounding, amateur sumo tournaments, cultural performances, and arts and craft booths featuring Asian zodiac themed shirts.

Mochi is shown in many of these posters as it symbolizes the wish for a long life during Oshogatsu. Over the years as the Asian Zodiac cycles a new animal is used as the primary theme for each festival, and for many years the dominant theme for its respective poster.

These colorful and bold screen-printed works of art express the innovative individual styles of their creators.