Classes & Events

J-Sei Returning Classes – on Wednesdays

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 13, 2022 | Classes & Events

IN-PERSON

We welcome back the Japanese classes and Mah Jongg Club to J-Sei with a new day set for Wednesday afternoons, to begin on August 3rd.

Japanese 1A (1-2 pm) & Japanese 1B (2:15-3:15 pm)

Learn the basics of Japanese conversation. Nobuko Satake taught Japanese language at El Cerrito High School and brings her experience and joy of teaching Japanese language and culture to J-Sei. With simple instruction and an engaging style, she encourages an ease in learning Japanese.

Mah Jongg Club (1-3 pm)

Over the past two years, the J-Sei Mah Jongg Club members have continued to keep their minds sharp and enjoy the camaraderie with an online weekly game. With hopes to renew friendships, Hiroshi Satake will offer hybrid Mah Jongg to encourage in-person community interaction and maintain an online experience for those who choose not to gather.

All individuals who are interested in participating are required to pre-register online and show a Proof of Vaccination and Booster. We require masks to be worn indoors at J-Sei and for participants to sign a daily COVID-19 health waiver upon entering the building. Thank you for helping us keep our J-Sei community safe. To register.

Fall Prevention: Introduction to Balance

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 13, 2022 | Classes & Events, Other News

Fall Prevention: Introduction to Balance (11 am – 12 noon)

Do you fear falling? Do you feel less than confident as you walk? This class is designed to strengthen your legs, hips & upper body. We use gait exercises to increase confidence during direction changes & standing. We do simple eye exercises to help with special awareness. The class is gentle and is a combination of sitting, standing & walking.

Susan Sullivan works as a fitness coach, Pilates & yoga instructor and has stayed limber dancing for over 50 years. Full session of 8 weeks (Sept 21 – Nov 9) is recommended. Suggested donation: $40-50. Priority is given to first-time participants.

All individuals who are interested in participating are required to pre-register online and show a Proof of Vaccination and Booster. We require masks to be worn indoors at J-Sei and for participants to sign a daily COVID-19 health waiver upon entering the building. Thank you for helping us keep our J-Sei community safe. To register.

Sansei Granddaughters – Group Tour

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 12, 2022 | Classes & Events

J-Sei Group Tour to Sansei Granddaughters Exhibit at Tanforan

Thursday August 11th, 11 am

Join us for a gallery tour with artist Shari Arai DeBoer. We will arrange to travel by BART or meet at the gallery for a group tour, enjoy lunch and conversation, For reservations, contact jill@j-sei.org with “sansei” in the subject line.

Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey features the work of five noted third generation (sansei) Japanese American artists who have dedicated their wide-ranging art careers to honor the legacy of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. The participating artists are Shari Arai DeBoer, Ellen Bepp, Reiko Fujii, Kathy Fujii-Oka, and Na Omi Judy Shintani. A new art exhibition called “Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey: From Remembrance to Resistance” is on display from Sunday, July 24 through Saturday, Sept. 3 at the AZ Gallery at the Shops at Tanforan, San Bruno, CA.

Korean Kitchen

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 7, 2022 | Classes & Events

Korean Kitchen (Hybrid)

Saturday, July 23rd, 11 am – 1 pm

Join us as we explore Korean home-cooking with Sunnie. In response to the enthusiastic interest from the K-Drama Club and the discussion of the tantalizing foods that frequent the screen, Sunnie will share home-cooking recipes for Deokbokki (Simmered Rice Cake), Bindaeduk (Mung Bean pancake) and Namul (Korean-seasoned vegetables) to get us started on adding new tastes of comfort into our repertoire.

Suggested donation: $15 in-person; $5 online. RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Korean Kitchen” in the subject line. Limited space in-person.

Celebrating actor/director Kinuyo Tanaka

by Kathy Hashimoto | Jul 7, 2022 | Classes & Events

J-Sei At the Movies: Watch Party with scholarly introduction & discussion

Saturday, July 9, 2022 – 6:30 pm on Zoom

Timed to coincide with an upcoming series on Japanese film legend Kinuyo Tanaka (1907-1977) at Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA), J-Sei Movie Night will host a program spotlighting Tanaka, who starred in 200+ films over her 50-year career, including classics by Mizoguchi, Ozu, and Naruse.

In addition to acting, Tanaka also was the second woman to direct a film in Japan. In all, she directed six films from 1953 to 1962, during Japan’s “golden age” of cinema. All six films are screening for the first time in American theaters thanks to 4K digital restorations. BAMPFA will present the six films, plus six additional films starring the versatile actor.

The film series “Forever Kinuyo Tanaka” will be showing at BAMPFA July 8 – Aug. 28, 2022. Click here for schedule and ticket information.

On Saturday, July 9, J-Sei will livestream a film starring Tanaka (not part of the PFA series). The film will be preceded by an introduction on Tanaka and women directors in Japan by Japanese media and gender studies scholar Colleen Laird, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia.

Please join us for this illuminating program honoring one of world cinema’s greatest stars.

RSVP with “July Movie Night” in the subject line.
We’ll send Zoom information prior to the July 9 event.
[Please note that July 9 is a Saturday.]

J-Sei Movie Night Bento

July 9 Bento

For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji for pickup on Saturday, July 9 in conjunction with Movie Night. Stay tuned for Chef Yuji’s mouth-watering offerings.

Curry Chicken Katsu: Chicken cutlet and vegetables with homemade chicken stock curry roux and fukujinzuke over koshihikari rice $18
Seafood Curry: Assortment of shrimp, scallop, mussels, clams, homemade seafood stock curry roux and fukujinzuke over koshihikari rice $24

Click on the button below to place your order.

Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, July 9th. 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. 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 recently celebrated its third anniversary! 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. You are the best! We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.

Watch Party: “Hiroshima Carp Theater”

by Kathy Hashimoto | May 26, 2022 | Classes & Events

J-Sei At the Movies: Watch Party with Japanese Filmmaker Hideyuki Tokigawa

Friday, June 10, 2022 – 6:30 pm on Zoom

J-Sei is honored and thrilled to welcome Japanese indie filmmaker Hideyuki Tokigawa and to livestream one of his films. He founded his production company, TimeRiver Pictures, in 2009 to make independent films, all of which are affectionately set in his birthplace of Hiroshima and center on actual places and events.

Director Tokigawa will join us on Zoom from Japan to talk about his 2018 feature comedy-drama, HIROSHIMA CARP THEATER, which we will livestream. We’ll follow the virtual screening with a discussion and Q&A. Do not miss this unique opportunity to see this indie gem, a cinematic love letter to Hiroshima, and the artist who made it!

RSVP with “June Movie Night” in the subject line.
We’ll send Zoom information prior to the June 10 event.

Hiroshima Carp Theater (2018) starring Yoshimi Tokui and Honoka Yahagi

Aimi’s grandfather operates a historic movie theater in Hiroshima. The day before its final closure, a mysterious man named Tokuzawa appears. He tells a tale of Hiroshima’s past – of a baseball team, the Carp, and of their rise during the 1950s from the ashes of wartime; of how they were penniless, but with the support of their dedicated citizens they not only survived, but thrived. Through his tales of the past, the mysterious storyteller helps Aimi and her grandfather devise a plan to try and resurrect their movie theater, while at the same time the modern-day Hiroshima Carp team is enjoying renewed success in the Japanese baseball league.

See the trailer on Vimeo.

About the Filmmaker

Japanese filmmaker Hideyuki Tokigawa began his career in Singapore working for Discovery Channel Asia as a producer/director. In 2001 he moved back to Tokyo to work at Walt Disney Television International, where he led the TV Production Unit as Senior Producer. He studied filmmaking at Vancouver Film School and continued to hone his craft under the guidance of acclaimed Japanese director Shunji Iwai, with whom he worked on the 2002 FIFA World Cup feature documentary. In 2009 Hideyuki founded TimeRiver Pictures to independently create feature documentaries, television commercials, music videos, and short films. He made his feature directorial debut in 2012 with RADIO LOVE, which received the Audience Choice Award at Cinema Verde and was distributed nationwide in Japan. In 2014 he wrote and directed CINEMA ANGEL, about the closing of a real-life movie theater that had existed for over 100 years; it won Best Director and Best Feature Film at the Montelupo Fiorentino Film Festival. In 2018, Hideyuki’s next project, HIROSHIMA CARP THEATER, a unique human drama related to baseball culture and the city of Hiroshima, screened at the Hiroshima International Film Festival and the Oniros Film Awards, where it received the Hiroshima Peace Award and the Best Feature Film Award, respectively. His most recent film is 2020’s DANCING IN HER DREAMS, based on the life of a strip club owner in Hiroshima, which enjoyed a successful festival run and was honored with a Jury Award at the Madrid International Film Festival.