Exhibit explores the life of local Japanese American activist
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Northwest activist, furniture maker and newspaper columnist is being remembered in a new exhibit that opened Saturday at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon (JAMO) in Portland’s old town neighborhood.
Titled “Craft, Community and Care: The Art and Legacy of Bob Shimabukuro,” this exhibit shows how Shimabukuro touched many lives with his work.
“Bob was a very multi-talented and thoughtful person who lived by his beliefs,” said Lucy Capehart, JAMO’s Director of Exhibitions and Collections. “And I hope people will come away with thinking that they can make a difference in the world.”
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Bob passed away in Seattle in 2021 and the museum worked closely with his wife and children to make this the first public, in-person celebration of his life and work.
“This exhibit was a strong collaboration with the family,” Capehart added. “They really helped curate it, the whole thing from the beginning to the end. So that’s something that we are a community museum and we want people to know that we share other stories.”
The Okinawan-American grew up in Maui and moved to Portland in 1963 to attend Reed
College. It was here where he got his start in woodworking, often making things for a purpose. He made a music stand for his brother-in-law, a chair for his wife that was small enough for her, things like that. Everything in his woodworking had a purpose and a meaning behind it.
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In 1979, he designed and built the interior of Tanuki, a yakitori restaurant in Portland, where he’d go on to become a chef and co-owner.
Bob was also known for his leadership in the region’s Japanese American Redress Movement by helping internment survivors prepare their testimonies. He even wrote a book about it. Then in the mid-80’s, Bob became a journalist in Los Angeles.
A move to Seattle brought his return to the northwest to care for his brother, Sam, who battled AIDS and passed away in 1988. In light of his brother’s passing, Bob co-founded the nonprofit Asian Pacific AIDS Council.
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“He was an activist, a writer and editor and a woodworker, but he was really known for his changing things and he just, if something was wrong, he would gather together folks and make a change,” said Capehart. “I mean, I want people to come away thinking that they too can do something for their community.”
The exhibit opening coincides with Portland’s annual Day of Remembrance, which honors the 125,000 Japanese-Americans who were unjustly incarcerated in the U.S. during World War II.
Bob was one of the organizers of the very first one that happened at the Expo Center back in 1979.
The exhibit featuring his work will stay open through April 14 at JAMO.
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