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Japanese Movie Night – Oct 2025
J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, Oct 10, 6:30 pm
J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films. Join our lively group as we learn about and discuss history and culture through film and occasionally engage with filmmakers and scholars too!
This month’s film that we will discuss is DEMON / 夜叉 (Yasha) from 1985, directed by Furuhata Yasuo. It stars action movie legend Takakura Ken as an ex-yakuza trying to live peacefully and anonymously as a fisherman in a remote village. But he becomes caught up in some of the old ways when he tries to save his friends and a young thug (“Beat” Takeshi) who are in trouble, all while being pulled in opposite directions by two women, played by Tanaka Yuko and Ishida Ayumi. Will his past catch up with him and unleash the demon hidden within? Beautifully filmed on location on the Japan Sea coast and in Osaka, this multi-layered movie was nominated for seven Japan Academy Awards and won for Best Editing.
To RSVP, email jill@j-sei.org with “Oct movie night” in the subject line. We’ll send you Zoom info and reminders beforehand.
See you at the movies!
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
Please check back to see if Chef Yuji will be offering bento options this month.
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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.
Japanese Movie Night – July 2025
J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, July 11, 6:30 pm
J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films!
This month’s program is by request from one of our long-time members. (Thank you Mari!) Please join us on Friday, July 11, to discuss an important Japanese film of the 1970s: SANDAKAN No. 8 / サンダカン八番娼館 望郷 (1974), directed by Kumai Kei and starring Takahashi Yoko, Kurihara Komaki, and in one of her final major roles, the great Tanaka Kinuyo. Based on Yamazaki Tomoko’s groundbreaking book about karayuki-san (Japanese girls trafficked abroad in the 1900s), this movie tells the true life story of one woman who as a girl was sold into servitude and forced to work in a brothel on the island of Borneo. It won multiple awards, including Best Actress (Tanaka) at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1975 Academy Awards. [Warning: Sensitive subject matter depicting some sexual violence and nudity.]
If you would like to join us, please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “July movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
Here is Chef Yuji’s movie night bento menu for this month! Choose from the selections and sides below and click on the button below to order.
Movie night 7/11
MENU OPTIONS: Meatball subs, vegetable sando,
german potato salad and auntie kiko’s sunomono
Meatball sub – $16
acme ciabatta roll, akaushi meatballs, slow cooked basil garlic tomato sauce, fontina and mozzarella cheese
Vegetarian sando – $16
acme torpedo roll, roasted broccoli di ciccio, squash, roasted corn aioli, beets, parmesan and fresh herbs
German potato salad – $10
1 pint parboiled banana fingerlings, bacon vinegar dressing, fresh dill and scallions and eggs with a side of homemade apple sauce
Aunty Kiko’s sunomono – $10
1 pint Japanese cucumber, peanut sesame su, fishcake and wakame
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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.
Japanese Movie Night – June 2025
J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, June 13, 6:30 pm
J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films!
Join us on Friday, June 13, to discuss a different kind of movie from the brilliant mind of filmmaker Ozu Yasujirō: his slice-of-life comedy GOOD MORNING / お早よう (1959), depicting a small community on the outskirts of Tokyo amidst a growing commercial, western-influenced landscape. Two young brothers, Minoru and Isamu, go on strike until their parents buy them a new TV; meanwhile, other households in the neighborhood deal with gossip and imagined slights, retirement and unemployment, romance and small talk. It’s a lighthearted but elegantly composed observation of contemporary Japanese life, filmed in brilliant color and full of good humor.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “June movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
Sorry, no obento this month! Please check again next month.
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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.
Japanese Movie Night – May 2025
J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, May 9, 6:30 pm
J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films!
Join us on Friday, May 9, to watch and discuss the final film in Yamada Yōji‘s award-winning Samurai Trilogy: LOVE AND HONOR / 武士の一分 (2006) starring megastar Kimura Takuya (Blade of the Immortal; La Grande Maison Tokyo) and, in her big-screen debut, Dan Rei (Kābee; Vivant) as a low-ranking samurai and his wife whose quiet life together is tragically upended. Winner for Best Cinematography, Lighting, and Supporting Actor (Sasano Takashi) at the Japan Academy Awards, this is the last of Yamada’s films in the samurai genre, graced with the filmmaker’s steadfast sense of humanism, period detail, and scenes of natural beauty.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “May movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
Chef Yuji is offering a choice of Makunouchi Bento and a special sushi dish for this month’s movie night bento!
Makunuochi Bento (fish) – $25
Onigiri, grilled saba, fried shrimp, spring pea potato salad, kyuri sunomono and simmered kabocha
Makunuochi Bento (chicken) – $25
Crispy chicken, soboro (ground chicken) over koshihikari, spring pea potato salad, kyuri sunomono and simmered kabocha
Makunuochi Bento (beef) – $25
Onigiri, braised shortrib, menchikatsu, spring pea potato salad, kyuri sunomono and simmered kabocha
Deep fried spicy tuna sushi – $20
Deep fried spicy tuna maki and tare
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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.