New Year’s Greeting from Yuji

New Year’s Greeting from Yuji

by | Dec 22, 2022 | Other News

Hi Everyone!

 

I hope everybody has had an amazing year! I want to take the time to really send love and thanks for all the support in the past couple of years.  I feel really lucky to be able to again offer Osechi Ryori boxes plus a few other items for New Year’s!
I was thrilled to share this year’s offering with Alan Charazo of KQED:
Place your orders at Tokyo Fish Market, 1220 San Pablo Av Berkeley, open 9 am to 5 pm.  Then, pick-up on January 1st at J-Sei, 1285 66th Street, Emeryville.
Please consider allowing me to celebrate with you!!!

Yuji

Oshogatsu Celebration 2023

Oshogatsu Celebration 2023

by | Dec 19, 2022 | Classes & Events, Other News

J-Sei Oshogatsu Celebration

Friday, January 27th (Hybrid: In-Person and Online)

“The year of The Rabbit is one where the sacrifices of the past are rewarded generously. All the seeds of effort we have sown shall finally bear fruit whose sweetness is determined by the purity of our heart’s intent.”   [Year of the Rabbit. Lifestyle Asia]

What are your intentions for the new year? Our hope and intention at J-Sei is to keep us all connected in community.

11 am – Join us for our Oshogatsu celebration in an intergenerational exchange with students from the American International Montessori School. Enjoy Japanese games with the children, create calligraphy to greet the new year, and learn odori together.

12 pm – Then, enjoy a classic celebratory dish of Chirashizushi, with friends at J-Sei or pick-up To-Go.

1 pm – Our J-Sei Oshogatsu Celebration will be a hybrid program – in-person and online. The program will feature “Silly Green Mask”, a new book by Judith Kajiwara, with illustrations by Felicia Hoshino. A special presentation by the American International Montessori School and odori by Keiko Allen and J-Sei Minyo no Odori.

RSVP to jill@j-sei.org  with “Oshogatsu” in the subject line. Please indicate if you plan to join us in-person or pick-up To-Go.  The suggested donation is $12.  You can pay using the online option below or bring cash or check on the day of pick-up.  Limited space available.

Silly Green Mask by Judith Kajiwara, with illustrations by Felicia Hoshino

Silly Green Mask had been sitting in a file cabinet for 40 years. It was recently found when its author, now a grandma, decided to recycle decades of papers from her files. Folded away were the yellow, tattered pages of a true story she’d written when she was a young single mother. She had once dreamed of making it into a children’s story book. But life got in the way and the dream was forgotten. Upon finding the story, a little bird tweeted, “It’s never too late to make your forgotten dream come true.” Having no clue how to start, she began visualizing her dream until it came to be.

Silly Green Mask is about a very imaginative 3-year-old girl and her younger sister. At pre-school, the girl draws a silly face on green construction paper. Her teacher cuts it out, fashions it into a mask with eye holes, and attaches a string. The mask becomes a source of fun and theater for the girl, instantly turning her into an animated, make-believe character.

Silly Green Mask is about love, family, innocence, imagination and the importance of choice.

The book will be available for $23.  Please let us know in advance if you would like your copy signed by the author.

Author Judith Kajiwara – Since growing up on a small farm in Livingston, California, Judith Kajiwara has been on a life-long spiritual quest to find truth, freedom and joy. Livingston is home to the Yamato Colony where many Issei (first generation Japanese) farmers settled in the late 1800s. As a Sansei (third generation Japanese American), church, community and culture established the foundation for her life. After high school, she attended UC Berkeley where she worked as a grassroots community organizer while earning her degree in psychology. In addition to writing, Judith continues to follow her passion for dance and healing. She is a seasoned Japanese Butoh solo performing artist, choreographer, dance teacher and Reiki energy healer.

Illustrator Felicia Hoshino – Born in San Francisco, California, Felicia Hoshino’s prize-winning illustrations can be found in children’s books such as Juna and Appa, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, and Sora and the Cloud. She enjoys sketch-booking, illustrating portraits, cooking with her husband, and seeing her growing son’s and daughter’s creativity shine.

J-Sei Holiday Schedule

by | Dec 19, 2022 | News

J-Sei Holiday Schedule

The J-Sei Nutrition and Programs will be closed for the holidays from December 24th to January 8th,  We are so grateful for the countless hours and sacrifice the volunteers and staff have given to keep things moving.  We appreciate this time to be with our families and refuel for the new year.

The J-Sei office and staff remain available by phone and email during this time.  We look forward to a fresh start on Monday, January 9th!

Assessing Your COVID-19 Risk

Assessing Your COVID-19 Risk

by | Dec 19, 2022 | COVID-19, News

Festive Holiday Wishes to You!

As we all try to stay cozy, complete our holiday shopping and ponder the new year, we are content in knowing that J-Sei will continue to create opportunities for mutual support, fun and expansion of experiences and thoughts.  We are all quite tired of analyzing our risk for COVID-19, but J-Sei will continue to update protocols to reflect public health guidelines to keep older adults, volunteers and staff safe.

During the past year, it has been encouraging to hold more in-person classes and events that build strong minds, bodies and social connection.  Holding our traditional Harvest Day and Holiday Marketplace in-person was so uplifting and we look forward to seeing more of you in 2023 – perhaps you will join us for our in-person Crab Feed or Flavors of Spring events.

On behalf of the J-Sei Board of Directors and staff, we wish you a peaceful, healthy and joyous holiday!

Diane Wong
Executive Director

How to Assess Your Risk

Excerpt from “COVID experts said “This is it.” then Omicron hit…” by Kellie Hwang, SF Chronicle, Dec 13, 2022

Wachter understands that “it’s exhausting to continuously reassess risk” and that some people have put the pandemic behind them and gone back to “living like it’s 2019.”

“If you’re up to date with your vaccines and boosters, including the new one, and you’re not at very high risk, that’s not an unreasonable call,” he said. “You have very little risk of a severe case, virtually no risk of death, and about a 5% risk of long COVID.”

UCSF infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong concurred that your COVID risk remains based on two factors: who you are, and the company you keep.

“In general, COVID continues to have more serious consequences in unboosted seniors (over 65), and those who are severely compromised and not up to date on vaccines,” he said. “For everyone else it generally has milder consequences, but symptoms can still not be fun or a walk in the park.”

Because Wachter is older and doesn’t want to risk long COVID, he said he continues to mask in crowded indoor spaces, and assesses his activities based on case rates. Anywhere below 10 cases per 100,000 means he’ll feel comfortable getting together in small groups without masks. With higher case rates, he’ll add safety precautions such as testing, and will forgo certain activities such as eating indoors.

Stanford’s Liu advised paying attention to public health guidance, which will vary based on the level of community risk.

“We still want people to live their lives, though,” she said. “Adjusting our behavior according to local conditions is similar to putting on a raincoat and bringing an umbrella when it’s raining and putting them away when the sun is shining.”

Read the SF Chronicle Dec 13, 2022 article

Get Free COVID-19 Test Kits

Protect yourself and loved ones this Winter.

Reserve online here.

Need help placing an order for your at-⁠home tests?
Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

J-Sei At The Movies – Jan 2023

J-Sei At The Movies – Jan 2023

by | Dec 19, 2022 | Classes & Events, Other News

J-Sei At The Movies

Friday, January 13, 6:30 pm (on Zoom)

You’re invited to join us to celebrate the new year!  We had a warm and cozy Anniversary celebration in December. From our Movie Night poll, we discovered that hearing from the young Asian Americans in the industry has been inspiring. And we still enjoy watching movies of all kinds, even using different streaming formats, and engaging in conversation with the filmmakers.

What will 2023 bring to our Movie Night venue? We hope to test out in-person viewing in the new year once again. What a joy it is to meet in community.

For the near-term, though, we remain in Zoom mode. Please join us on Friday, January 13, at 6:30pm for a Japanese classic movie watch party and discussion (movie tbd).

See you at the movies!

RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Jan movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.

J-Sei Movie Night Bento

For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji for pickup. Here are Chef Yuji’s delectable offerings for this month’s movie night:

  • Chinese chicken salad ($12) Green and red cabbage/napa cabbage, radish, red onions, scallion, cilantro, roasted chicken, crispy noodles, mandarin sesame dressing
  • Sake kasu salmon bento ($18) Den Sake kasu marinated salmon, cauliflower and broccoli roasted in garlic miso and koshihikari rice
  • Dungeness Crab set ($60)
    Bottom tier: Crab chirashi with ikura and kimi-oboro (crystalized egg yolk) over red vinegar sushi rice;
    Top tier: Crab miso potato korroke and cabbage with mandarin dressing

Click on the button below to place your order. Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, January 13th. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!

MY FRIEND YUJI

To order: When you click on the button above, it will take you directly to a pop-up order form on the My Friend Yuji webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click anywhere inside the box frame to open another pop-up and select the number of bento you want to order, then click on “Add item” to close the pop-up. Repeat with additional items to order. When you’ve finished selecting your bento, click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order and click “Continue to payment” to sign in and pay for your order.

Support J-Sei At the Movies

Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies is in its Sixth Year! We look forward to more creative programming with educational and inspiring Japanese and Japanese American films. We are especially grateful for the up close and personal chats with filmmakers as we learn so much from the exchange.

We love having a growing and enthusiastic audience. We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.