Film Documetary on Accept International

Film Documetary on Accept International

by | Aug 24, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

“Why Does the Japanese Man Engage Them?”

a film documentary on Yosuke Nagai, founder and executive director of Accept International

Sunday, November 8, 5 pm PST

J-Sei is pleases to co-sponsor, together with the Buddhist Church of Oakland, an on-line documentary screening of Why Does the Japanese Man Engage Them? – Understanding Realities of Armed Conflict Resolution.

For more than 15 years, Accept International has worked in conflict-affected countries and regions. The short documentary ,“Why does the Japanese man engage them?” follows their work with individuals engaged in armed conflict in Somalia. They will introduce the challenges they face, their approach, and their recent activities.

ABOUT ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL

Accept International is a Japan-based international NGO working in conflict zones such as Somalia and Yemen as well as in conflict-affected regions of Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia. They accept and empower individuals who have disengaged from non-state armed groups, supporting their rehabilitation, reintegration into society, and contributing to reconciliation and sustainable peace. In 2025, Accept International USA was established in Texas to expand their work from the United States.

Please join us on November 8 at 5 pm for this on line documentary screening of Accept International’s efforts to create a more peaceful world.  Following the screening, there will be a question and answer session, and Accept International staff will facilitate a discussion among participants and provide information to those interested in contributing to their efforts.

RSVP for ZOOM Link

Accept International works in Somalia, Yemen, Kenya, Indonesia, Colombia, Japan and beyond.  For more info, visit Accept International.

The 100th Seeds of Aloha, a new film by Steve Sue

The 100th Seeds of Aloha, a new film by Steve Sue

by | Aug 23, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

The 100th Seeds of Aloha

A special test screening, with live music, and Q&A with producer/director Steve Sue

Sunday, November 15, 1 pm

Be among the first to experience THE 100TH: Seeds of Aloha, a feature-length documentary honoring Hawaiʻi’s legendary 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The afternoon will include a welcome, a live music soundtrack performance by Music Director Harold Payne, a 110-minute screening of the film, and a Q&A with producer/director Steve Sue. Guests are invited to participate in the discussion and share their feedback to help refine the film before its official release.

Amid the chaos of World War II, the 100th Infantry Battalion – a unit predominately made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJAs) from Hawaiʻi – fought heroically to liberate Italy and France, earning the name “The Purple Heart Battalion.” Their losses were so dire that they were eventually combined with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team including the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (both also primarily AJA soldiers from Hawaiʻi) to become one of the most decorated units in US military history. But this isn’t just a tale of war – it’s a testament to soldiers who raised the bars on heroism and valor through applying the Spirit of Aloha, both during the War and for 80 years after.

Join us for an afternoon of film, live music, community, and remembrance as we honor the extraordinary legacy of the WWII Nisei veterans.

RSVP for screening.  Limited seating available.

Sunday Funday with a screening of “Meals That Made Us”

Sunday Funday with a screening of “Meals That Made Us”

by | Aug 10, 2026 | Classes & Events

Pre-order closes at 12 noon on 8/14.  Walk-ups available at event. Or try tasty bites from the Pop-Up Vendors.  See you on Sunday!

Sunday Funday

Sunday, August 16th

12 to 4 pm

Enjoy time outdoors for food, music, and fun with our multigenerational community.

FOOD VENDORS

Always Aloha Shave Ice Co

Bar Tanuki

Daruma Kiosk

Milk Cloud Bakery

Shared Cultures

Vinaka Island Mochi

Volcano Kimchi

ENTERTAINMENT

Mahjong with 13 Orphans

Lounge

Let’s Groove

Reserve tickets for the film screening of “Meals That Make Us”. You can pre-order or visit the vendors for good eats and gifts.

Meals That Made Us, a screening with Nisha

Sunday, August 16, 11 am or 2 pm

Meals That Made Us, directed/produced by Nisha Balaram is a three-part documentary short series exploring how Asian American chefs, farmers, and community leaders use food to reclaim heritage, reimagine identity, and build community across generations.

Set against the rich culinary backdrop of San Francisco and its surroundings, everyday people find meaning in unexpected places, whether it’s foraging as a connection to ancestral experiences, elevating institutional meals with cultural care, or creating third spaces that nourish bodies and hearts.

Moving between intimate interviews and sweeping cultural commentary, Meals That Made Us, funded by the Center for Asian Amercian Media (CAAM), shows that cooking and eating are evolving traditions that are both connections to the past and the groundwork for new communities. Yuji Ishikata, chef at J-Sei, is featured in this documentary.  Filmmaker Nisha Balaram and featured guests will join us. Celebrate with us!

Sunday Funday

PRE-ORDER MENU

by Casa de Kei, Ox & Tiger,

Hannah Tang, and Yuji Ishikata,

Tuna Poke Bowl  $20

Vegetarian Poke Bowl $12

Spicy Shrimp Maki $20

Salmon Skin Maki $20

Somen with Kurobuta Pork $20

Sea Stephanie Santa Barbara

Live Sea Urchin $28

Pre-Order Here

Join us for the community screening of

“Meals That Made Us”.

Reserve tickets for 11 am or 2 pm.

New screening added for 4 pm!

Donations welcome.

Reserve Your Ticket

Nisha Balaram is a documentary filmmaker who brings extensive experience as a producer and director, having worked with organizations such as PBS, the Center for Asian American Media, National Geographic Society, and APIAVote. Her work has been featured on PBS VOCES and PBS Vitals, High Country News, Disney+, and Mongabay.

Reiki Wellness at J-Sei

Reiki Wellness at J-Sei

by | Jul 9, 2026 | Classes & Events

Reiki means “universal life force energy” in Japanese. Through gentle hands-on
technique, Reiki has a profound effect on many forms of dis-ease. A treatment
removes toxic energy and substances from many levels of one’s being, be it
physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. It restores positive energy flow within
the body, enhancing the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

1st and 3rd Friday of the month beginning July 17

  • book your appointment at least 48 hours in advance
  • 20 minute sessions
    available appointments times: 10:30am, 11am, 11:30am, 12pm
  • nominal donation to j-sei

Please leave a message at 510-654-4000 x111 or email reikiclouds@gmail.com to book an appointment.

Questions: reikiclouds@gmail.com

America’s Last Concentration Camp: Crystal City

by | Jul 9, 2026 | Classes & Events, News

“One Fighting Irishman” Film Screening

Saturday, July 18, 1-4 pm – in-person is at capacity, please join us online. RSVP by clicking onthe button below.

Filmmaker Sharon Yamato will discuss her film on lawyer Wayne M. Collins and his defense of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake, as well as his representation of Japanese Latin Americans at the Crystal City Family Internment Camp. Collins’s son, Wayne M. Collins will also speak about his father’s work as well as his own efforts for Tule Lake renunciates. Also, joining the panel is Tule Lake Segregation Camp Survivor Hiroshi Shimizu and Crystal City Camp Survivor Japanese Peruvian Eloy Maoki.

ONE FIGHTING IRISHMAN, a 30-minute documentary, tells the story of the man who rescued more than 5,500 people from being deported to a country upon which many of them had never stepped foot.

This program is held in conjunction with “America’s Last WWII Concentration Camp: Crystal City”, the debut of a new traveling exhibit. Special Guest Diana Palacios, founder of the My Story Museum in Crystal City, Texas will attend. This will be the last event held in conjunction with the Crystal City exhibit at J-SEI.

Doors open at 12:30 pm.  Program begins at 1 pm.  Gallery open from 3 to 4 pm.

RSVP by clicking on the button below. Limited seating.

RSVP for 7/18

America’s Last Concentration Camp: Crystal City

Exhibit Dates: May 20 – July 22, 2026

J-Sei Gallery, 1285 66th Street, Emeryville

Gallery Hours: M Tu Th Fr 2-5 pm, or by appointment: 510-654-4000

About the Exhibit

The Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee will premiere its national traveling exhibit, based on their permanent exhibit at the My Story Museum in Crystal City, Texas. Additional interpretive panels will depict stories of the individual families who were incarcerated at Crystal City. Crystal City  Family Internment Camp, as it was called during the war, administered by the Department of Justice, held thousands of Japanese, Germans, and Italians in addition to Latin American residents of Axis nationalities.

Created as a family reunification center for immigrants arrested under the Alien Enemies Act in 1942, Crystal City remained open until 1948, long after WWII ended. Several hundred families were moved to Crystal City after their applications for reunification were approved. Several hundred families were moved to Crystal City after their applications for reunification were approved. In some cases, families waited a year or more to be reunited with their husband or father.

Crystal City was also used as a detention facility for individuals awaiting deportation in a prisoner of war exchange with Axis countries. The State Department devised a secret program called “Quiet Passages” to exchange prisoners held in DOJ prison camps for US civilians held behind enemy lines. Some prisoners went willingly, others were forcibly deported to Axis war zones. This included some children with US birthright citizenship whose parents were ineligible for naturalization, and Japanese Latin Americans who were kidnapped and brought to the US.

“By sharing our nation’s hidden histories and the powerful stories of survivors, we can begin to undo the historical amnesia that allows our government to harm children and families today,” said Crystal City Pilgrimage President Kaz Naganuma, whose family was forced to leave a flourishing laundry business in Peru and travel for three weeks by boat and train before being imprisoned in Texas.

PHOTO: George Kumemaro Uno teaches English to Japanese Peruvian imprisoned students at Crystal City. The students from Latin American countries only spoke Spanish and/or Japanese.

Newly Released Memoir

“Detour to Crystal City: Memories of a Japanese Latin American WWII Internment camp Survivor,” details the life of her Japanese immigrant family from their arrival and settlement in Peru to their forcible removal and incarceration in a Department of Justice Internment camp in Crystal City, Texas. Libia Hideko Maoki Yamamoto was a young girl when she and her family were forced from Peru to the Crystal City Internment Camp. Imprisoned with other families from Latin America, Libia vividly recounts her family’s experiences in Peru and in America’s Last Concentration Camp. 

Libia attended an adult writing class at J-SEI, facilitated by Grace Morizawa. She was already a born leader and spokesperson in the Japanese Latin American community. She served as co-founder, advisor, and treasurer for the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, the Campaign for Justice, Redress for JLAs Now! 

Exhibit Programs

May 23, 1-3 PM – Opening Program

June 20, 1-3 PM – From WWII Kidnapping to Reparations: The Japanese Latin American Experience Resonates Today

July 18, 1-3 PM – One Fighting Irishman: Wayne M. Collins

Opening Program

Saturday, May 23, 1 pm

The opening program will include a panel presentation with survivors Kaz Naganuma, Hiroshi Fukuda, Heidi Gurcke Donald and the showing of the short documentary, Then Becoming Now.

Then Becoming Now (2019, 24 min.), directed by Emiko Omori, follows the journey of three men who went from incarcerated children to social activists. Seventy-seven years ago Hiroshi “Shim” Shimizu, Kaz Naganuma, and Hiroshi Fukuda met as toddlers in the Crystal City Family Internment Camp. Today, their childhood experiences motivate them to join the protest of current immigration policies of detaining and separating families.

The gallery will be open until 4 pm for viewing of the exhibit.

America’s Last Concentration Camp at the My Story Museum in Crystal City, Texas opened in October, 2025.

From WWII Kidnapping to Reparations: The Japanese Latin American Experience Resonates Today

Saturday, June 20, 1-3pm

The Japanese Latin American wartime and redress experiences and their relevance in today’s fight against anti-immigrant persecution and anti-democracy authoritarianism will be explored with a panel discussion, including Grace Shimizu, Jeff Matsuoka, and Bekki Shibayama of the Campaign for Justice: Redress NOW for Japanese Latin Americans! and the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, and with the U.S. premiere of film clips produced by Casey Peek of Peek Media.

Finding Okinawan Roots

Finding Okinawan Roots

by | Jul 9, 2026 | Classes & Events

Finding Okinawan Roots!

Monday, July 27, 2 – 4 pm

Meet with staff from the Okinawa Prefectural Library’s ‘Finding Okinawan Roots!’ The project helps people of Okinawan descent trace their family history using its passport issuance records database and comprehensive Okinawan historical materials. The team will visit J-Sei on July 27th to introduce the project and offer research consultations for those interested in discovering their Okinawan roots.

If you have ancestors who emigrated from Okinawa between 1900 and 1944, the Okinawan Prefectural Library staff can research information in advance of their visit.  Please provide any information you have such as name, hometown, date of birth, and year of emigration.  Complete this research request by 7/17/26 for advance research to be conducted.

RSVP for presentation.