Celebration of Wakako Yamauchi’s Life at JANM

The life and accomplishments of Wakako Yamauchi (1924-2018) will be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1:30 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. central Ave. in Little Tokyo.

Wakako Yamauchi in 1944

The celebration will take place in Aratani Central Hall. There will be brief remarks, as well as an opportunity for those who wish to share their own memories with the group. Light refreshments will be served.

An Imperial Valley native who was incarcerated at Poston, Ariz., during WWII, Yamauchi was a noted playwright best known for such works as “And the Soul Shall Dance” and “12-1-A.” She was also a poet, short-story writer and painter whose works have been published in “Songs My Mother Taught Me” (1994) and “Rosebud and Other Stories” (2010).

She was one of three female artists profiled in “Words, Weavings and Songs,” a 2002 documentary produced by JANM’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center, and donated her papers to the museum in 1999 and 2007.

Yamauchi, who lived in Gardena, passed away on Aug. 16. She would have turned 94 on Oct. 24.

The museum is open to the public at 11 a.m., so feel free to visit the galleries before and after the program. General admission rates will apply. For more information on the museum, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.