The Japanese American National Museum, or JANM, sits at the heart of Little Tokyo. It was founded by Japanese-American veterans and community leaders and first opened in a former Buddhist temple, now known as the Historic Building. This site is deeply significant: during World War II, it served as an administrative center for registering Japanese Americans before their forced relocation, and afterward it provided temporary housing for those returning with nothing. The museum later expanded with a large, modern pavilion designed by architect Gyo Obata, symbolizing openness, transparency, and cultural dialogue. The campus also includes the Democracy Center, dedicated to civic engagement and the defense of democratic values. Today, the museum preserves more than 150,000 objects, documents, and personal testimonies tracing over 130 years of Japanese-American history. Its permanent exhibition, Common Ground, tells this story with a focus on the internment experience, featuring a recreated camp barrack and numerous firsthand accounts.