by Jill Shiraki | Sep 9, 2021 | Classes & Events
J-Sei’s Family Festival
Sunday, Sept 26 – Virtual Program
Take part in our intergenerational event in honor of Keiro no Hi, Respect for the Aged Day.
- Invite your elders, family, neighbors, and friends to participate with you!
- Don’t miss our local Asian flair Pop-Up [Details below].
- Pick-up your bento & enjoy a short visit from 11 am – 2 pm.
- Join us online for our Virtual Celebration at 3 pm.
Sunday, Sept 26th – 11 am – 2 pm
When you come for your pick-up, enjoy a short visit to get an extra treat from
Always Aloha Shaved Ice Co.
J-Sei Curry Rice with Hikari Farms Rakkyo – pickled Japanese scallions $8
Pick up a Hikari Farms condiment jar to enjoy at home.
Listen to smooth tunes by Sentimental Strummers.
See a weaving demo by Koko Baker.
FEATURED SPECIAL
J-Sei Curry Rice with Hikari Farms Rakkyo $8
(Order in advance or available at walk-up.)
HOW TO ORDER
Family Festival Pre-Order is now CLOSED.
Click on the button below to order, you can choose 1, 2, 3 bento or more of the noodle dishes from our local chefs at $18/bento. You can also order J-Sei Curry Rice with Hikari Farms Rakkyo at $8 for a quick bite. Indicate the quantity of items, select a pick-up, add up the cost, and follow the payment link.
Pick up between 11 am – 2 pm at J-Sei, 1285 66th Street, Emeryville (at Hollis St).
Virtual Family Festival – WATCH NOW!
Virtual FAMILY FEST – 3 pm
In celebration of J-Sei’s 50th Anniversary, the online program continues the theme of “Our Community, Our Legacies”.
Learn about Hikari Farms and a visit by chefs Yuji Ishikata and Brian Ishii.
Meet artists Kay Sekimachi and Lucy Arai as they chat about art and legacy, and the current exhibition “Geometries – Kay Sekimachi” at BAMPFA on view through October.
Hear from the great grandchildren of Issei writers from “Our Recollections”, translated essays produced by the East Bay Japanese for Action in 1986.
Enjoy performances by Minyo no Odori, J-Sei Sings, Daruma no Gakko, and Sentimental Strummers.
FAMILY FESTIVAL POP-UP MENU – Pre-order Sales is CLOSED
MY FRIEND YUJI
Influenced by memories of his grandmothers cooking and inspired by community, Chef Yuji offers inventive dishes and a fresh take on Japanese food for the soul.
Pork Tsukemen $18
Futomen Noodles, Bone Broth, Chashu, Bonito, Ajitsuke Tamago, Nori
OX + TIGER
Filipino Japanese inspired pop-up by Hitomi Wada and EJ Macayan that intertwine their heritage and cultivate flavors that express their experiences.
Mentaiko Pansit $18
Garlic Noodles, Spicy Cod Roe, Shiitake, Nori Sarsa, Annatto Crumb, Onsen Tamago
EL CHINO GRANDE
Christopher Yang and Marcelle Gonzales Yang offer a casual pop-up influenced by the street food of Taiwan and travels to Asia and Hawaii.
Taiwanese Beef Noodles $18
Red Braised Beef, Egg Noodles, Sichuan Chili XO, marinated Gailan
by Jill Shiraki | Sep 9, 2021 | Classes & Events
Fri, Oct 8, 1pm – Kay Sekimachi:Geometries – J-Sei group tour
Join us for a group visit to see “Kay Sekimachi: Geometries” exhibit at BAMPFA, the UC Berkeley Pacific Film Archive Museum. We will meet at BAMPFA, 2155 Center Street (at Oxford St), easily accessible by BART. The group ticket price is $8 Please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Kay Sekimachi tour” in the subject line.
“Kay Sekimachi: Geometries” includes more than fifty objects that highlight the artist’s material and formal innovations across her career. First recognized for her woven monofilament sculptures, made between 1964 and 1974, Sekimachi has since used linear, pliable elements—monofilament, thread, and paper, among other materials—to create experimental objects that fold together art and craft, found and made, and Japanese and American artistic traditions.
Born in San Francisco and growing up in Berkeley, Kay Sekimachi studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland from 1946 to 1949. In 1949 she took up weaving on the loom and became so adept at the labor-intensive process that she is often referred to as a “weaver’s weaver.” Today, almost fifty years after she began to work in fiber, Sekimachi is recognized as a pioneer in resurrecting it as a medium of artistic expression.
Sekimachi uses the loom to construct three-dimensional sculptural forms. In the early 1970s she used nylon monofilament to create hanging quadruple tubular woven forms to explore ideas of space, transparency, and movement. Inspired by her ancestral homeland of Japan, Sekimachi repeatedly returns to that ancient culture for ideas.
“Sekimachi eschews color in order to reinforce the sculptural qualities of her forms and emphasize the natural properties of her chosen materials. Enamored with antique Japanese paper, she has created a series of standing geometric postlike forms that suggest ancient totemic figures.” –Smithsonian American Art Museum
by Jill Shiraki | Sep 9, 2021 | Classes & Events, Other News
Sat, Nov 20, 10 am – Dementia in the AAPI Community presented by UCSF CARE
Note: Change in date from Oct 9th due to speaker availability.
Learn about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias amongst Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI). How prevalent is dementia in the AAPI community? What are the causes and how can we better address the needs? CARE (Collaborative Approach for Asian and Pacific Islanders Research and Education) is a program of UCSF. Their primary goal is to pave the way for the meaningful inclusion of AAPI in clinical and caregiving research across the lifespan. Find out how you can help support the work that benefits community care of our elders. RSVP on Eventbrite
“You took care of me, and now it’s my turn to take care of you. My name is June Yasuhara. I was born in San Jose where I have lived all my life. I am the primary caregiver to both my Japanese parents who have dementia. My mother, Eiko, who is 83 was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017. She is originally from Japan and came to the United States when she was a teen. My dad, James, is 87 and he was diagnosed with mixed dementia in early 2019. . .” [Continue to learn more.]
by Jill Shiraki | Sep 9, 2021 | Classes & Events
Sundays with author Alden Hayashi – Two Nails, One Love
Two Nails, One Love is a semi autobiographical novel about an estranged mother-son relationship that evolves and eventually heals as the son realizes just how much his life has been affected by his mother’s traumatic past. The novel covers broad themes of discrimination (both racial and LGBTQ), ethnic identity, and immigration. Join us for one or both conversations.
Sun, Oct 17, 4 pm – JA history talk hosted by Brian Niiya, Densho – RSVP for Oct 17 here.
Sun, Oct 24, 4 pm – LGBTQ talk hosted by Stan Yogi, Okaeri-LA – RSVP for Oct 24 here.
Alden Hayashi has worked for more than 30 years in the publishing industry. He has been a staff writer/editor at the Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, Scientific American, and several other magazines. He has now turned his focus to writing fiction. A short story —”Finding the Right Keiko“—was published in The Baltimore Review (Winter 2021), and his first novel—Two Nails, One Love—has recently been published by Black Rose Writing (Sept 2021).
The program is co-sponsored by You Know You Are Japanese American When (Facebook Group), J-Sei, Densho, and Okaeri-LA.
To purchase the book, please visit Eastwind Books.
by Jill Shiraki | Sep 4, 2021 | Classes & Events
Sun, Oct 17, 2-3:30 – Chiura Obata: Art and Life Inspired by Nature
Co-presented as part of Ashby Village Arts and Culture Series
World-renowned American artist and distinguished UC Berkeley professor, Chiura Obata (1885-1975), is considered by many today one of the foremost California landscape painters of the 20th century.
His seminal work depicting the High Sierra was created nearly 100 years in 1927, and was captured vividly in the book Obata’s Yosemite. Obata’s art and his philosophy of gratitude and reverence to “Dai Shizen”– Great Nature — continues to resonate with admirers both new and old. As people today search for inspiration and healing as stewards of our planet, a fresh look at Obata’s art and life afford lessons for everyone. “Paintings must give to others the kinds of feeling about Nature that Nature gives us. If we pass this along, not just to art lovers but to everybody, our friends, our community, our country, it is the best possible promise for peace in the future.”
His granddaughter Kimi Hill has consulted on numerous books and exhibitions about her grandfather, including a recent retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. As family historian Hill also edited the book Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment which tells the story of the Obata family, one of the thousands of Japanese-Americans stripped of their homes and livelihoods and incarcerated during WWII.
RSVP to info@ashbyvillage.org with “Chiura Obata” in the subject line.
Automated AI captioning will be available at this event.
