We’re delighted to invite our members to the opening reception of Okaeri (Welcome Home): The Nisei Legacy at Shofuso, a site-based multimedia exhibit telling the story of the Nisei (second-generation), American-born persons of Japanese descent, and their unique connection and contributions to Shofuso.

Utilizing audio and projection of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1957 installation of Shofuso, the exhibit will allow visitors to hear the stories of the Japanese American community in their own words, through oral history recordings that have been compiled from archival interviews taken with the local Nisei in 1994 and a dozen new oral history recordings captured earlier this year.

The exhibit explores topics related to the forced removal and wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, resettlement to Philadelphia in the postwar era, the role that arts and culture have played in local Japanese American activist movements, and the untold labor that has gone into preserving this Philadelphia landmark.

The Okaeri exhibit was made possible with financial support from The Japanese American Community Foundation,The George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award, and UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. Additional funding was provided by the Japanese American Citizens League. The exhibit will be on display throughout the rest of the 2023 season at Shofuso, and is included in the regular site admission fee.