Join J-Sei’s Virtual Book Club with it’s next pick “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro.  Through regular email prompts, book club members read at their own pace and post comments along the way.  As thoughts occur and questions are posed, the conversation is enriched by various perspectives and experiences shared.  Together, we read deeper between the lines and reflect on the stories and the wisdom they impart.  At the end of the 6-8 weeks, we meet virtually on ZOOM for a discussion.  For more info, click on the home page: Book Club

Interested in joining email jill@j-sei.org with “Klara” on the subject line.   You can order the book from Eastwind Books and receive a 10% discount by adding “JSei” in the coupon code. You can have it shipped to your home or ask for delivery to J-Sei,

In Klara and the Sun, his eighth novel and first since winning the Nobel Prize, author Kazuo Ishiguro takes readers to a vaguely futuristic, technologically advanced setting to present a moving parable about love, humanity, and science. Klara, the title character and narrator, is a solar-powered Friend (AF), a humanlike robot designed to be a child’s companion. When Klara is acquired to become AF to a bright fourteen-year-old named Josie who appears to be ailing, Klara is able to explore the wide world beyond the four walls of the retail store she’s been inhabiting. Written in Ishiguro’s characteristic spare and reserved prose, he creates an unforgettable protagonist in Klara, whose astute observations and utterly sincere behavior provide lessons for all humans to learn from.

“moving and beautiful”  – Los Angeles Times

“Klara and the Sun [is] a masterpiece that will make you think about life, mortality, the saving grace of love: in short, the all of it.” – NPR

Korean Kitchen with Sunnie (Hybrid)

Saturday, October 22, 11 am to 1 pm

Learn about Korean Palace Food, or Gungjung Eumsik, a popular array of delicacies, served to royalty during the Choseon Dynasty. The eight provinces were represented in turn each month by ingredients presented by their governors and elaborately presented to the King. We will have the chance to learn about the preparations for Sinsello, a soup filled with delicacies presented in a Mongolian hot pot. We will also experience Gujeolpan,  an array of eight fillings eaten wrapped in a small crepe.

Sunnie Youk is an avid home cook and the ultimate host who learned many of the dishes from her family.  RSVP for the ZOOM link by sending an email to jill@j-sei.org with Korean Kitchen in the subject line.  Suggested donation (in-person) $15.

J-Sei At the Movies: Special Guest Philip Kan Gotanda

Friday, September 9, 2022 – 6:30 pm on Zoom

J-Sei Movie Night is thrilled and honored to welcome back Philip Kan Gotanda, a renowned major force in American theater and the creative arts. Philip last made his appearance on Zoom in September 2020 to talk about his work in theater, music, and film and to discuss his short film Drinking Tea (1996).

On Friday, September 9, Philip will again spend time with us on Zoom to present another film he wrote and directed: his 1996 feature-length film, Life Tastes Good, an original comedy-drama about a rogue mobster who meets a mysterious woman while hiding from his vengeful nemesis as he tries to reconcile with his two estranged children.

The film presents an all-Asian cast to tell a story that the filmmaker describes as “part family drama, part romance, and part film noir.” It stars Sab Shimono, Julia Nickson, Tamlyn Tomita, Greg Watanabe, Kelvin Han Yee, Tim Lounibos, Philip Kan Gotanda, Judi Nihei, Tomoye Takahashi, and Diane Takei; with music by Dan Kuramoto and cinematography by Michael Chin.

We’ll also catch up with Philip to learn about his more recent projects, including this year’s premiere in June of Both Eyes Open, an experimental chamber opera by composer Max Giteck Duykers and librettist Philip Kan Gotanda. Please join us for this special evening.

RSVP with “Sept Movie Night” in the subject line.
We’ll send Zoom information prior to the September 9 event.

About Our Guest

The author of one of the largest bodies of Asian American-themed works, Philip Kan Gotanda has over the last four decades brought stories of Asians in the United States to mainstream American theater as well as to Europe and Asia. He has specialized in investigating the Japanese American family, writing a cycle of works in theater, film, song, and opera that chronicle Japanese America from the early 1900s to the present. Mr. Gotanda is an inaugural recipient of the Dramatists Guild 2021 Playwrights Legacy Initiative, a two-year award acknowledging his body of work in American Theater.

Mr. Gotanda is a respected independent filmmaker. His 3 films — Life Tastes Good, Drinking Tea, and The Kiss — all have been official entries at the Sundance Film Festival. Mr. Gotanda adapted his play, The Wash, into a feature film, directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno. The Wash is one of the first films about the Asian American family to have a theatrical release.

Mr. Gotanda is a musician and collaborates on musical works. His libretto for the opera Both Eyes Open with composer Max Duykers, about a Japanese American farmer and his wife, made its premiere in June 2022 at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco.

A CD of Mr. Gotanda performing his original songs in a 1980 concert with violinist DH Hwang is now available at Yokohama, Ca. Records. He wrote the oratorio for the Kent Nagano piece, Manzanar: An American Story, an orchestral work about the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. He is also working on music projects with composer Shinji Eshima and multi-instrumentalist David Coulter.

Mr. Gotanda holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law and studied pottery in Mashiko, Japan, with the late Hiroshi Seto. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim, TCG/Pew, Lila Wallace, as well as other honors and awards. Presently Mr. Gotanda is a professor with the Department of Theater Dance and Performance Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He resides at the Berkeley Art Plant in the Hills with his novelist-producer wife, Alameda Arts Commissioner Diane Emiko Takei and their pup.

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.