A Collaboration Between the Japanese American Museum of Oregon and the Architectural Heritage Center Has Received a $25,000 Award

The two organizations are teaming up to chronicle the history of Japanese Americans in Portland during the 20th century.

The Yabuki Laundry located near NW 2nd and Couch, Portland, Ore., in 1940; Mary Yabuki (front), Shizuta Yabuki, Ayako Yabuki, Kazumasa (Jim) Yabuki (back left to right). ( Jimmy K. Yabuki & Grace Y. Yabuki, Japanese American Museum of Oregon.)
By Bennett Campbell Ferguson

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon and the Architectural Heritage Center have received a $25,000 award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The award will benefit a collaborative project chronicling the history of Japanese Americans in Portland during the 20th century.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Architectural Heritage Center on this project,” said Mark Takiguchi, interim deputy director of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, in an emailed newsletter. “This resource will be an integral part of our Remembering and Reimagining Nihonmachi (Japantown) Program, which highlights the rich history and stories of an erased Portland community alongside current efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.”

The project will combine an interactive digital storytelling map with walking tours, which will highlight underrecognized commercial, civic and cultural sites associated with the Japanese community.

“We’re undertaking this project with our partners at JAMO to share understanding of the past and present Japanese American community in Portland and reveal the layers of heritage and history in just one building,” added Stephanie Whitlock, executive director of the Architectural Heritage Center. “These digital and in-person tours will show how experiences and concepts like emigration, citizenship and discrimination impacted the built landscape of a community and give shape to what we see—or don’t see—today.”

A $2.5 million grant program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 made the grant possible. It is one of 80 given to organizations helping to preserve historic places to tell stories of underrepresented groups.

“The Telling the Full History Preservation Fund represents the largest number of grants given through a single program at the National Trust,” said Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer. “These 80 projects are driven by many dedicated volunteers, staff, and experts, all seeking to expand how we compose the American narrative. We are grateful for the work that they do on the ground and in their communities to reveal, remember, celebrate, and illuminate these stories through these extraordinary places.”

Related: A Japan-Portland Fact Sheet



Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.