SHARON FUJIMOTO-JOHNSON
AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR
museum exhibit
On temporary display at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose: my grandfather's shell collection that inspired SHELL SONG.
KA-HŌ 家宝 heirloom: the family treasures that connect us
MUSEUM EXHIBIT
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
April 24 - October 26, 2025
The Japanese word for heirloom (ka-hō) is composed of the kanji characters for FAMILY and TREASURE. Whether precious artifacts or stories, family treasures can bridge generations, connecting the threads of our story with those of our ancestors and the generations to follow.
When I was a young girl, I inherited the seashells my grandfather had collected in an incarceration camp in Hawai’i during World War II. Along with the tanka poetry and handwritten autobiography of my grandmother, these shells carried a story that became my family heirloom.
What is your family heirloom? This exhibit invites you to identify, preserve, and share the stories of your own family heirlooms.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KA-HŌ 家宝 Heirloom: The Family Treasures That Connect us
SAN JOSE, CA (April 24, 2025) - The Japanese word for heirloom (KA-HŌ 家宝) is composed of the kanji characters for FAMILY and TREASURE. Whether precious artifacts or stories, family treasures can bridge generations, connecting the threads of our story with those of our ancestors and the generations to follow.
The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is enthused to present 家宝 ka-hō: THE FAMILY TREASURES THAT CONNECT US, by author and illustrator Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson. When Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson was a young girl, she inherited the seashells her grandfather had collected in an incarceration camp in Hawai’i during World War II. Along with the tanka poetry and handwritten autobiography of her grandmother, these shells carried a story that became her family heirloom. Now Sharon has added her own voice to her family’s story: a children’s book titled SHELL SONG, her own poems, and on public display for the first time, her family artifacts in 家宝 ka-hō: THE FAMILY TREASURES THAT CONNECT US.
Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson is a fourth generation Japanese American and children's book author-illustrator. Her children's books include THE MOCHI MAKERS, a celebration of family and tradition, and SHELL SONG, which is inspired by the shells Sharon's grandfather collected in a Japanese American incarceration camp in Hawai'i during World War II. This shell collection is showcased in the exhibit 家宝 ka-hō HEIRLOOM.
This exhibit invites you to identify, preserve, and share the stories of your own family heirlooms and can be viewed from April 24th, 2025 through October 26, 2025.
Media Contact:
Chisa Matsunaga
Education Programs Manager
Exhibit & Collection Manager
chisa@jamsj.org | 408.294.3138
Photo credit: Valley Images Photography