Japanese Woodblock Class

Japanese Woodblock Class

by | Aug 24, 2024 | Classes & Events

Mokuhanga: Japanese Woodblock – six 3-hr classes

Fall Session: Fridays, Sept 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, & 25

9:30 am -12:30 pm

Mokuhanga – a water-based Japanese woodblock printmaking – is environmentally friendly and can be done at home, any time, and anywhere without a press! Participants will learn the basics of this unique process, carving the woodblock, using kento (registration system), and printing with water-based ink on Japanese paper. Participants will create a small edition of beautiful, multicolor prints. All levels are welcome.
The suggested donation for the six class session will be $150( includes $45 materials fee).
Limited space is available. RSVP here. This class is for beginners and continuing students.  For any questions, please email jill@j-sei.org
 
CLASS SIGN-UP

  

 

 

J-Sei’s 13th Annual Family Festival – Sunday, Sept 22

J-Sei’s 13th Annual Family Festival – Sunday, Sept 22

by | Aug 22, 2024 | Classes & Events

J-Sei’s Family Festival

Sunday, Sept 22, 2024 

Take part in our annual event in honor of Keiro no Hi, Respect for the Aged Day.

Invite your elders, family, and friends!

Join Children of Topaz Stories & Art

Don’t miss the Pre-Order Bento.

Enjoy our festival from 12 to 3 pm. 

See TOPAZ STORIES 2 in the Gallery.

Festival parking at Fratellanza Club, 1149 66th St (1/2 block near San Pablo Ave).

Festival Schedule

Bring an elder. Enjoy time with the family, Celebrate in community.

10:30 am

Children of Topaz: Stories & Art

12 to 3 pm

Enjoy festival foods, hands-on activities and performances by

Taiko with Koh

Minyo no Odori

Daruma no Gakko and J-Sei Choir

Let’s Groove

Sentimental Strummers

Children of Topaz: Stories and Art

10:30 -11:45 am [Pre-Event]

Several handmade albums of art created by Topaz preschool children were preserved by Tomi Takahashi Sasaki, the supervisor of preschools from 1943-45. Dana Shew has tracked down over two dozen of the “toddlers” and will share some of their art and stories. There will also be “Storytime,” with young special guests reading stories by Topaz children.

Pre- Order Bentos — Now closed.  Walk-up sales available at the Festival.

From Our Creative Cuisine

Always Aloha Shave Ice

Casa de Kei

Kiri SF

Living Flora

Milk Cloud Bakery

Mume Farm

My Friend Yuji

Ox & Tiger

Piglet & Co

Shared Cultures

Wilder Bites

FAMILY FESTIVAL MENU

Pre-orders

Miso Black Cod Bento by Kiri SF –  SOLD OUT

Mabo Nasu Bento by Kiri SF – $18

Fried Halibut Sando by Casa de Kei – $20

Fried Maitake Sando by Casa de Kei – $20

Soboro Bento by Ox & Tiger – $22

J-Sei Children’s Bento – $8

Walk-Up Sales available

for sale at Family Festival.

.

BENTO From Our Chef Friends

OX + TIGER

Filipino Japanese inspired pop-up by Hitomi Wada and EJ Macayan that intertwine their heritage and cultivate flavors that express their experiences.

CASA DE KEI

Keisuke Akabori, after working as a chef in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Barcelona, now pours all his creativity and knowledge into his revolving menus.

YUJI ISHIKATA

Influenced by memories of his grandmother’s cooking and inspired by the community, Chef Yuji offers inventive dishes and a fresh take on Japanese food for the soul.

KIRI SF

 Kiri, or fog in Japanese, reflects the SF roots of the duo Brian Ishii and Brian Lee, whose food is influenced by their Japanese and Chinese heritage.

From Our Asian Heritage

visit the Creative Pop-Ups at the festival 12 to 3 pm

Old Leupp, former site of Native American Boarding School and Nikkei Isolation Center

Old Leupp, former site of Native American Boarding School and Nikkei Isolation Center

by | Aug 21, 2024 | Classes & Events, Other News

Old Leupp – An Archaeology Collaboration to Study the Indian Boarding School and Citizen Isolation Center

Monday, September 23rd, 12 to 1 pm

A noon-time lecture at J-Sei

A team of archaeologists of Diné and Nikkei members, Davina Two Bears, Jun Sunseri, and Koji Lau-Ozawa, are studying the history and landscape surrounding the Old Leupp Indian Boarding School and the Leupp Citizen Isolation Center, located in Northeastern Arizona. Davina Two Bears is Diné and originally from Birdsprings, Arizona, a community adjacent to Leupp. Kojun “Jun” Ueno Sunseri is shin-issei, born in Tokyo with biological paternal roots from Ueno and emigrated at five years old to the United States to be raised in other cultures in Southern California and eventually adopted. Koji Lau-Ozawa is a sansei/yonsei from San Francisco. His grandparents, along with great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, were all incarcerated at the Gila River Incarceration Camp where he focused his first major research project.

Due to the history of the site, the team has approached the project slowly with care. They began this project by first entering into agreements with communities around the Old Leupp site including Birdsprings and Leupp, as well as local schools. They also received input from some of the descendants of Japanese Americans imprisoned at Leupp.

In June 2024, after receiving Community support and protective blessings, they completed their first season of fieldwork at the Old Leupp site, employing non-invasive archaeological methodologies to document structural and artifactual features which are visible on the surface and through multispectral imaging. Combining high precision mapping equipment, UAVs, and meticulous survey strategies, they recorded a large number of features and artifacts which promise to expand our understanding of life at Old Leupp and deliver on at least one community mandate regarding safely planning for the reintegration of the site back into contemporary community life.

The team looks forward to sharing some of their initial results as well as seeking mentorship from community members as we work on analyzing our results and co-crafting our next steps.

RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Old Leupp” in the memo.

You are welcome to bring a lunch.  Or if you would like to order a J-Sei lunch to-go, please contact kathleen@j-sei.org

                               

Leupp Boarding School (Museum of  Northern Arizona Archives), Mess Hall at Leupp Isolation Center (Henry Ueno photo from Embrey et al), National Park Service Confinement and Ethnicity, NPS History.com

 

 

 

Jizake Sake Tasting with Sasaki Shuzo from Miyagi at J-Sei

Jizake Sake Tasting with Sasaki Shuzo from Miyagi at J-Sei

by | 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.

Japanese Movie Night

Japanese Movie Night

by | 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!
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 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.

A Place of Her Own, an art exhibition

A Place of Her Own, an art exhibition

by | 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