by Jill Shiraki | Mar 23, 2023 | Classes & Events
Let’s Groove – Beginner/Intermediate (In-person)
Tuesdays, 11:30 am -12:30 pm
Instructor: Judith Kajiwara
After a long hiatus, we are excited to re-introduce Let’ Groove. Designed for all generations, this dance class will include warmups, simple patterns across the floor and learning a choreographed dance. If you’re looking for a fun and friendly mind-body-spirit workout, with great music, this class is for you. Please wear comfortable clothing and supportive athletic or dance shoes. Drop In: $10; or 10 classes for $80. To register, please email jill@j-sei.org
Judith Kajiwara is a life-long dance teacher and choreographer who has studied countless dance and martial art forms during her career. She currently divides her time between hip hop and Japanese Butoh. She discovered hip hop in 2001 and was so enthralled by this lively, youthful dance that she began teaching it in 2007.
Drop In: $10; or 10 classes for $80. To register, please email jill@j-sei.org
J-Sei Class Registration 2023
If this is your first time registering for a J-Sei Class in 2023, please click on the button below.
If you would like to pay online in advance, use the Donor Box on the right in blue.
If you have any questions, call us at 510-654-4000.
by Kathy Hashimoto | Mar 23, 2023 | Classes & Events
J-Sei Movie Night
Friday, June 21, 6:30 pm (on Zoom)
Everyone loves Japanese movies! Once a month on a Friday evening, J-Sei Movie Night members get together on Zoom to discuss a particular Japanese film. It could be a classic from the Golden Age of Japanese cinema or a B-movie with audience appeal, across a wide array of genres and historical periods and featuring international superstars along with relative unknowns. In our discussion, we try to identify cultural influences as well as universal themes. And of course we talk about whether or not we liked it! Our discussions are always lively and engaging as well as educational and informative. Special guests sometimes log on with us to further enhance our experience with insider knowledge and expertise.
Please join us on Friday, June 16, at 6:30pm for a Japanese movie watch party and discussion on Zoom. (Movie tba.) 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
For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji for pickup.
CHECK BACK HERE FOR THE MENU!
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 21. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
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.
by Kathy Hashimoto | Mar 1, 2023 | Classes & Events, Other News
J-Sei Movie Night: Watch Party and Discussion
Friday, March 10, 6:30 pm (on Zoom)
The Japanese film superstar Mifune Toshiro (1920–1997) is a legend, not only in Japan but throughout the world. Blessed with charisma and good looks that strike even casual movie goers, Mifune was able in his many varied roles to combine sensitivity and intelligence with a raw physicality, creating a screen presence matched by few. Over a 50-year film career and spanning nearly 200 films, Mifune has thrilled and continues to captivate generations of viewers.
Please join us on Friday, March 10, at 6:30pm for a Japanese movie watch party and discussion on Zoom. (Movie tba.) RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Mar movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
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:
Assorted Sushi Offering and Asari Miso Soup
- Spicy Hotate & Inari Sushi ($18) – Smoked Hokkaido scallop maki with tobiko, tenkasu, spicy mayo and negi + 3 pieces inari sushi
- Salmon Kawa & Inari Sushi ($16) – Smoked salmon skin roll with takuan, pickled gobo, shiso, cucumber + 3 pieces inari sushi
- Bara Chirashi ($65) – Zuke tuna trio (local Albacore, Akami & Toro bluefin from Mexico) / Kohada (gizzard shad) from Amakusa, Kumamoto / Sayori (half-beak) from Kesennuma, Miyagi / garnished with negi, ikura, goma and with shiso, wasabi, ginger, shoyu over Koshihikari rice
- Asari Miso Soup ($14) – 1 quart of miso soup made with a rich clam dashi and a mix of Sendai/Saikyo miso with clams, tofu and negi
Click on the button below to place your order. Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, March 10th. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
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.
by Jill Shiraki | Feb 27, 2023 | Classes & Events
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday, Noon – 5:00pm
Gallery Location: Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo, Berkeley, CA 94702
Kala Gallery is excited to present a retrospective exhibition Fossil of Language, featuring works by Yuzo Nakano, Artistic Director Emeritus and Co-founder of Kala Art Institute. The exhibition showcases Nakano’s work from the 1970s to the present, and celebrates his vision and contributions to Kala’s creative community and to the Bay Area art scene.
Nakano’s work traverses diverse media, including painting, printmaking, mixed media, music composition, multimedia performance, and digital media.
J-Sei Group Tour – Thurs, March 16, 1 pm
We are planning a docent-lead group tour and visit to Kala Art Institute on either a Thursday or Friday in early March. RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Kala” in the memo if you are interested. More information to come.
by Jill Shiraki | Feb 25, 2023 | Classes & Events
GENERATIONS/
The roots of making in the Asawa-Lanier family
J-Sei Group Visit
Fri, March 31st, 11:30 am
Ruth’s Table
3160 21st Street, San Francisco
RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with memo “Ruths Table”. The group will enjoy a gallery visit and hands-on activity and lunch outdoors on the patio.
“Learn something. Apply it. Pass it on so it is not forgotten.” – Ruth Asawa
Generation: The Roots of Making in the Asawa-Lanier Family, brings together four generations from a San Francisco family of makers. Inspired by world-renowned artist Ruth Asawa, the exhibition serves as an opportunity to honor Asawa’s life-long commitment to community-based art education and activism in the arts.
Generation is a tribute and a testament that Asawa’s values live on through generations – in the Asawa-Lanier family, in communities and organizations, like Ruth’s Table – that share her unwavering belief that creative engagement is essential and can impact the lives of people of all ages.
The exhibition brings together works in wire and lithography by Ruth Asawa; paintings, drawings, and birthday envelopes by Albert Lanier; paintings and a clay platter by Paul Lanier; textile, collage, and painting by Aiko Lanier Cuneo; origami portraits, paintings, and paper construction by Lilli Lanier; and paintings by Lucia Ruth Soriano. All of these artists have worked with one another on public commissions, as teaching artists in schools, and collaborated on pieces in this show.
The work exhibited in Generation spans 57 years from 1965 to 2022. Motifs rooted in interwoven patterns of line, repetition, and dynamic interactions between geometric shapes, color, and forms, appear in all artists’ works creating inherent conversation and visual connections carried through varying media. Together, they form a story of four generations of a family that is joined not only in relationship, but by the curiosity and love of materials, color, and pattern.
by Kathy Hashimoto | Feb 1, 2023 | Classes & Events, Other News
J-Sei Movie Night: A Japanese Love Story?
Friday, February 10, 6:30 pm (on Zoom)
It has become an annual J-Sei Movie Night tradition to celebrate February with a Japanese romantic movie. But is there actually such a thing as a Japanese love story with a happy ending? Does such a movie exist? Well, turns out this has proved to be a rather challenging and elusive quest, but we’ve tried to be diligent in our continuing hunt. Has our Valentine’s search finally been successful this year?!?
Join us and find out on Friday, February 10, at 6:30pm for a Japanese movie watch party and discussion on Zoom. (Movie tba.) RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Feb movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.
See you at the movies!
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:
-
Kimchi Tako Poke – 1/2 pint of kimchi tako, onions, negi and limu – $14
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Garlic Tuna Poke – 1/2 pint garlic tuna, sweet onions, negi and limu – $16
- Squid & Pork Hawaiian Plate – squid taro stewed, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon with koshihikari rice – $18
- Oxtail Nabe Kit – Oxtail dashi, assorted vegetables, chicken tsukune, wagyu A5 enoki rolls, pork belly cabbage rolls, hon hamachi, shirataki noodles, homeade ponzu and gomadare. Rice, grated yam, egg and aonori. Will give cooking instructions – $70
Click on the button below to place your order. Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, February 10th. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
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.
