Organizational History

NJAHS was founded in 1980 in San Francisco as “Go For Broke, Inc.,” whose purpose was to promote the history and accomplishments of Japanese American veterans of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service who distinguished themselves during World War II.

As the organization evolved its changed its name in 1983 to the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) –a membership-supported institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, authentic interpretation and sharing of historical information of the Japanese American experience for the diverse, broader national and global community.

Key accomplishments in the past 30 years have included:

• Serving as a principal consultant and contributor of over 2,000 artifacts to a “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the United States Constitution”, a national exhibit for the U.S. Constitution’s bicentennial. On display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History for fifteen years, the exhibit was seen by millions of visitors.

• Collaborating with its museum partner, the Oakland Museum, NJAHS created the award-wining national travelling exhibition, “Strength & Diversity: Japanese American Women, 1885-1990.”  The exhibit won accolades from the American Association of State and Local History -Award of Merit, and Award of Excellence from the Smithsonian Institution for museum scholarship and the discovery of original objects.

• Numerous groundbreaking exhibits including: Latent August: The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”  through history, memory, and art; “Diamonds in the Rough: Japanese Americans in Baseball,” “MANGA: Century of Social Commentary by Japanese Artists in America”; “The Enemy Alien Files: Hidden Stories of World War II, Something from Nothing, Art & Handcrafted Objects from America’s Concentration Camps.”

• Establishing the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center (2013) in the Presidio of San Francisco, with partners- the National Park Service/Golden Gate Recreation Area and The Presidio Trust.