Museum to Explore Hawaii’s Multicultural ‘Mixed Plate’

Hawaii comes to Los Angeles for the opening weekend of the Japanese American National Museum’s new exhibition “From Bento to Mixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Multicultural Hawai’i.”

The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 3, explores the evolution of Japanese American identity in Hawaii through personal artifacts, family photos and first-person video accounts of the “mixed plate” experience.

In celebration of the exhibition opening, the museum will present an exploration of Japanese American identity in multicultural Hawaii through performance, dance and art from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday.

Included in the weekend activities are “Mai Na Kupuna Mai” (“From Our Ancestors to This Time Now”), a welcoming ceremony with dances performed by the Ainahau o Kaleponi Hawaiian Civic Club; a discussion with the exhibition team; and a walk-through with Stephan Doi, exhibition designer, and Arnold Hiura, exhibit curator.

There will also be a “Dances of Okinawa” presentation by the Okinawa Assn. of America Geino-bu Performing Arts, a performance piece by Leilani Chan and a spring concert with Glenn Horiuchi, Lillian Nakano and the Japanese American National Museum’s Shamisen Ensemble, with special guest William Roper.

The Japanese American National Museum is at 369 E. 1st St. in Little Tokyo. Museum hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Adults $4; students and seniors $3; children 5 and under and museum members free. Information: (213) 625-0414.