Extended to Thurs 9/25, 3 pm

J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, July 11, 6:30 pm

J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films!

This month’s program is by request from one of our long-time members. (Thank you Mari!) Please join us on Friday, July 11, to discuss an important Japanese film of the 1970s: SANDAKAN No. 8 / サンダカン八番娼館 望郷 (1974), directed by Kumai Kei and starring Takahashi Yoko, Kurihara Komaki, and in one of her final major roles, the great Tanaka Kinuyo. Based on Yamazaki Tomoko’s groundbreaking book about karayuki-san (Japanese girls trafficked abroad in the 1900s), this movie tells the true life story of one woman who as a girl was sold into servitude and forced to work in a brothel on the island of Borneo. It won multiple awards, including Best Actress (Tanaka) at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1975 Academy Awards. [Warning: Sensitive subject matter depicting some sexual violence and nudity.]

If you would like to join us, please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “July movie night” in the subject line to receive Zoom info prior to the event.

See you at the movies!

J-Sei Movie Night Bento

Movie night 7/11

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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.

J-Sei At The Movies (on Zoom)
Friday, June 13, 6:30 pm

J-Sei Movie Night is dedicated to the wonderful and fascinating world of Japanese cinema, as well as Japanese American and AAPI films!

Join us on Friday, June 13, to discuss a different kind of movie from the brilliant mind of filmmaker Ozu Yasujirō: his slice-of-life comedy GOOD MORNING / お早よう (1959), depicting a small community on the outskirts of Tokyo amidst a growing commercial, western-influenced landscape. Two young brothers, Minoru and Isamu, go on strike until their parents buy them a new TV; meanwhile, other households in the neighborhood deal with gossip and imagined slights, retirement and unemployment, romance and small talk. It’s a lighthearted but elegantly composed observation of contemporary Japanese life, filmed in brilliant color and full of good humor.

If you would like to join us, please 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

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 Tock webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click on an item and select the number you want to order, then click “Add”; repeat with other items if desired. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order, then 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 Eighth 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.

The Gate of Memory, a community reading and book signing

Saturday, July 12, 2 pm

J-Sei

The Gate of Memory, edited by Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda, is an anthology of poetry on Nikkei incarceration, written by descendants of the WWII prisons and camps.

Immerse yourself surrounded by a chorus of voices by descendents of Nikkei wartime incarcerees. Hear from Bay Area contributors: Brian Komei Dempster, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Lauren Fujimoto-Johnson, Steve Fujimura, Rebecca A. Green, Jodi Hottel, Susan Kiyo Ito, Amanda Mei Kim, Casey Hidekawa Lane/Levinski, Ali Meyers-Ohki, Ryan Hitoshi Nakano, Miya Sommers, Dana Swensen, Syd Westley, Doug Yamamoto, and Lauren Emiko Ito.  The book reading, hosted by Brandon Shimoda, will be followed by a light reception, book sales and signing.

A tribute to the 150,000 people incarcerated by the United States and Canada during WWII, this anthology is the first of its kind. The poetry expresses a range of experiences and perspectives from the afterlife of this historical yet enduring injustice. With a foreword by acclaimed poet, activist, and concentration camp survivor, Mitsuye Yamada, and an introduction by the editors, poets Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda, The Gate of Memory (published by Haymarket Press, April 2025) explores intergenerational trauma as the contributors, all of whom are descendants of those who were incarcerated, sift through an intimate record of wartime incarceration.

“This is the exact right moment for this book. It’s evidence of how traumas survive, flowing from one generation to the next. It’s a roadmap for defying guilt, shame and silence. It’s an invitation to speak up, to record and share stories even if they’re incomplete or fading. It asks us to listen, to ask questions and to take action.” —Amy Hirayama, International Examiner, April 2025

“This pilgrimage of poems, blessed by elder poets Mitsuye Yamada and Lawson Inada, is here gifted at The Gate of Memory. Our parents, who once named that memory ambiguously “camp,” have passed beyond that gate. May these words render solace, rise as haunting stars to light our way.” —Karen Tei Yamashita

This program is co-sponsored by Nikkei Resisters and J-Sei.

RSVP for in-person or online for this free event.