CRUISING J-TOWN: BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE NIKKEI CAR CULTURE

Reaching back 100 years, curator Oliver Wang has amassed a breathtaking exhibit of Japanese American car culture. This Japanese American National Museum exhibit will be at the Mullin Gallery in the South Campus of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, July 31-December 13, 2025.

A few familiar names and topics, but many unfamiliar: Fred Jiro Fujioka’s $18 million car empire (in pre-WWII dollars); Larry Shinoda’s celebrated work designing the 1963 Corvette; Indy 500-winning mechanic and engine-builder Takeo “Chickie” Hirashima; the impact of Bob Hirohata’s Barris brothers' customized 1951 Mercury; the early import tuners in 1970s Gardena and their modified Datsun 510s; the explosion of import tuners in 1980s San Gabriel Valley; and the subsequent emergence of American drifting in San Gabriel Valley.