by Jill Shiraki | Aug 20, 2024 | Classes & Events
Jizake Sake presents: A Sake Tasting with Sasaki Shuzo and Dinner Pairing by Chef Yuji Ishikata
Sunday, September 29th, 5:30 pm
J-Sei, 1285 66th Street, Emeryville
Join J-Sei and David Sakamoto from Jizake Quest for an enjoyable event featuring a curated sake pairing dinner from Chef Yuji Ishikata and sake from Sasaki Shuzo (Miyagi, Japan). Meet the brewer, Hiroshi Sasaki, the 5th generation President (“kuramoto”) who will present the story about his brewery that was destroyed by an 8-meter tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and then rebuilt in its original location in the coastal town of Yuriage, a town where 90% of the buildings were devastated from the earthquake and tsunami.
Hear Sasaki-san’s first-hand account of the destruction he encountered as he watched from the 3rd story roof of his brewery. The brewery’s story of rebuilding is an endearing and emotional one that took almost 9 years to accomplish, and the resilience of the Sasaki’s and their staff is heartwarming.
Join us as we prepare to celebrate Nihonshu no Hi (“Sake Day”) which is celebrated around October 1 each year to signify the start of the new sake brewing season. Sake is usually brewed during the colder months from October to March as sake ferments best with cool temperatures. With only four basic ingredients, each master brewer
uses techniques developed over many generations to create the many diverse flavor profiles that sake is known for.
Chef Yuji Ishikata, a fourth generarion of Japanese and Chinese heritage, welcomes the opportunity to host guests from Miyagi to share stories and bridge generations through food and memory.
Ticket Price: $125 per person Limited seating is available. RSVP here.
by Kathy Hashimoto | Aug 1, 2024 | Classes & Events
J-Sei at the Movies
Friday, August 9, 6:30 pm (on Zoom)
This month, we will watch a film from one of the most popular and enduring film series in cinema history: the original ZATOICHI series, consisting of 25 films from 1962 to 1973 and starring Katsu Shintaro as the wandering blind masseur who happens to be a master swordsman. A couple of months ago in June, our guest host Ellen had selected a modern re-telling of this classic story directed by and starring Kitano Takeshi, but this evening we will watch one of the original chambara films that brought this screen icon to the attention of movie lovers everywhere. This will be a fun opportunity to compare old and new and to figure out why such legendary figures and the action genre they’re a part of have fascinated movie audiences in Japan and worldwide.
Please join us on Friday, August 9, at 6:30pm on Zoom. RSVP Jill (jill@j-sei.org) with “Aug movie night” in the subject line. We’ll send you Zoom info and reminders beforehand.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
For movie night, you can order specially made obento from My Friend Yuji for pickup on Friday, August 9 in conjunction with Movie Night. Here are Chef Yuji’s mouth-watering offerings:
- Kimchi Fried Rice ($18) – Kimchi fried rice, pork belly, garlic, ginger, onion and fried egg;
- Mochiko Chicken Plate ($20) – Hawaiian style mochiko fried chicken, furikake, koshihikari rice and mac salad;
- Spicy White Tuna Maki ($24) – Whole futomaki with smoked local albacore, tobiko, spicy sauce, avocado and cucumber.
Click on the button below to place your order. Pick up your meal at the selected pick-up time at J-Sei on Friday, August 9. 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 a bento and select the number you want to order; repeat with other bento if desired. 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 Seventh 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 | Jul 30, 2024 | Classes & Events, Other News
A PLACE OF HER OWN: An Art Exhibition is a found-object based art exhibition. PLACE multiethnic, multigenerational alumni artists share their healing journeys and the art created in answer to the question, “If you had a place of your own, what would it be?”
Using found objects, their intuition and self-agency, they create works that speak to their healing journeys, imperfect, messy and gloriously full of epiphanies.
August 11. Opening: Gallery 12-5 pm Recep 1pm – 4pm
August 18. Artist Talk: Gallery 12-5 pm/ Talk 1pm – 4pm
Sept 15. Closing Celebration: Gallery 12– 3pm
Location: J-Sei at 1285 66th St, Emeryville, CA 94608
Artists include: Ahran Lee, Amy Lam, AVOTCJA, Christina Yu, Christine Yang, Cueponcaxochitl Moreno Sandoval, Cynthia Tom, Deborah Santana, Emily Yamauchi, Frances Cachapero, Irene Wibawa, Jazz Diaz, Julie Lee Andersen, Katie Quan, Manon Wada with Sanié Bokhari, Martha Zamora, PAZ, Purla Montiel, Reyna Daudian, Shari Arai DeBoer, Tomo Hirai, Yeujin Yoon, Zaina Berger
by Jill Shiraki | Jul 20, 2024 | Classes & Events
KINTSUKUROI, East Bay Premiere Screening
Thursday, August 22, 6:30 pm
El Cerrito Performing Arts Center
540 Ashbury Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, USA
Forced from their homes, farms and businesses, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly imprisoned simply because of their race. Our new feature-length film KINTSUKUROI follows the Ito family from pre-war San Francisco to the concentration camps of the American West to the battlefields of Europe as it endures one of the most shameful periods in American History.
Please join J-SEI and Ikeibi Films in presenting at 6:30pm August 22 at the El Cerrito Performing Arts Center for the East Bay Premiere of KINTSUKUROI. The film features Ryan Takemiya, Kealani Kitaura, Ken Takeda, Ron Munekawa, Kiyomi Koide, Timothy Hsu, Sarah Lee, David Kiyoshi Tom and Chizu Omori. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew.
Doors open at 5:45pm. Parking is available but spaces are limited but there is plenty of street parking. BART is a 10-minute walk.
Proceeds benefit J-SEI, a community care and cultural organization in the East Bay that provides services, programs and activities for Japanese American seniors. The screening is sponsored in part by the Berkeley JACL.
General Admission: $20
Pre-order DVD: $15
Pre-order Program Booklet: $15
Premiere Package: Includes General Admission Ticket, DVD, Program Booklet at $50
by Jill Shiraki | Jul 8, 2024 | Classes & Events, Other News
On Memory Care and Family: I Go Gaga, My Dear
A film screening and talk with director Naoko Nobutomo (online)
Sunday, August 18 Pacific Standard/Monday, August 19 Tokyo
Film Screening: 3 pm — Film Talk: 5 pm PST [Aug 19, 9 am Tokyo]
For those who RSVP’d, here is the: ZOOM LINK
The first theatrical feature I Go Gaga, My Dear by veteran television director Naoko Nobutomo is a personal documentary chronicling the enduring love, resilience and struggles of her nonagenarian parents in Kure, Hiroshima as her mother’s Alzheimer’s-related dementia gradually worsens. With a great abundance of footage taken over several years, Nobutomo interweaves direct documentation with intimate home movies of her parents, including their support during her battle with breast cancer. I Go Gaga, My Dear opened in one small Sapporo cinema and eventually expanded to 70 screens nationwide for over three months. [2019. 102 min. Directed by Naoko Nobutomo.] Join us for a film screening and a conversation with filmmaker Naoko Nobutomo.
This film is next for part of the Japanese American Caregiver series, a collaboration with J-Sei, Kimochi, Yu-Ai Kai, with support from the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter.
RSVP to receive a ZOOM link.
by Jill Shiraki | Jul 7, 2024 | Classes & Events
Roots in Okinawa
Saturday, Aug 17, 2024 2-4pm
J-Sei, 1285 66th Street, Emeryville, CA
What does it mean for Japanese Americans to have ancestors from Okinawa? How is it different from the histories and experiences of other Japanese Americans? This workshop is for people with at least one family member/ancestor (e.g., parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc.) from Okinawa, specifically welcoming people of all ages who don’t know much about Japanese or Okinawan cultures, languages, and histories; people of multiple ancestries; and people who identify with multiple marginalized communities (in terms of ability, sexuality, gender, etc.).
Moderated by Jane H. Yamashiro, the goal of this workshop is for participants to have the space to think more critically and deeply about what their Okinawan heritage means to them. Participants will have time to reflect on their backgrounds, ask questions, share thoughts, and learn about the experiences and perspectives of others.
RSVP here.
