Featured | J-Sei

Reiki Wellness at J-Sei

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 9, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

Reiki means “universal life force energy” in Japanese. Through gentle hands-on
technique, Reiki has a profound effect on many forms of dis-ease. A treatment
removes toxic energy and substances from many levels of one’s being, be it
physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. It restores positive energy flow within
the body, enhancing the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

1st and 3rd Friday of the month beginning July 17

book your appointment at least 48 hours in advance
20 minute sessions
available appointments times: 10:30am, 11am, 11:30am, 12pm
nominal donation to j-sei

Please leave a message at 510-654-4000 x111 or email reikiclouds@gmail.com to book an appointment.

Questions: reikiclouds@gmail.com

Finding Okinawan Roots

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 9, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

Finding Okinawan Roots!

Monday, July 27, 2 – 4 pm

Meet with staff from the Okinawa Prefectural Library’s ‘Finding Okinawan Roots!’ The project helps people of Okinawan descent trace their family history using its passport issuance records database and comprehensive Okinawan historical materials. The team will visit J-Sei on July 27th to introduce the project and offer research consultations for those interested in discovering their Okinawan roots.

If you have ancestors who emigrated from Okinawa between 1900 and 1944, the Okinawan Prefectural Library staff can research information in advance of their visit. Please provide any information you have such as name, hometown, date of birth, and year of emigration. Complete this research request by 7/17/26 for advance research to be conducted.

RSVP for presentation.

Honor Bound Revisited: Retracing My Father’s Path with the 442nd

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 7, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

Honor Bound Revisited:

Retracing My Father’s Path with the 442nd

Saturday, August 8, 1 pm

More than 30 years ago, television journalist, Wendy Hanamura, set out to capture the story of the 442nd/100th Regimental Combat Team through the eyes of her father, Sgt. Haruo Hanamura. Her father and his 442nd comrades were then in their seventies, able to laugh and cry and recount some of the darkest days of the war. Wendy travelled with these Company L veterans to France and Italy retracing their footsteps through some of the bloodiest battles of WWII. The resulting documentary, Honor Bound: A Personal Journey is now available to the public in the Densho Library and the Internet Archive.

Come watch this Emmy-award-winning documentary with multimedia producer, photographer & archivist, Brad Shirakawa. Together last summer, Wendy and Brad retraced her father’s time in the south of France during the “Champagne Campaign,” exploring what is left of the villages, bunkers, and grand hotels of Nice where the 442nd wintered in 1944. Brad will share his research and photo documentaries of this little-known part of the 442nd story.

The event is presented by Friends of Topaz, Topaz Museum, and J-Sei.

Photo (above): Wendy Hanamura at Col de Braus, September 13, 2025. Photos are courtesy of Brad Shirakawa.

RSVP for this free event by clicking on the button below.

RSVP for in-person or online

Wendy Hanamura

Over her 30+-year career in the media, Wendy has reported and produced stories around the world for Time, CBS, World Monitor Television, NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation), LinkTV and PBS. In 2014 she joined the Internet Archive—the world’s largest digital library– as the Director of Partnerships.

Wendy began her career as a photo editor for Time Magazine in New York. Her 1983 thesis took her to Hiroshima to live with and photograph aging hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombing. Her favorite project remains Honor Bound: A Personal Journey, the Emmy-award winning documentary she produced about her father and his storied unit, the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Brad Shirakawa

Brad took his first serious picture in 1970, idolizing Ansel Adams. He graduated from San Jose State with a photojournalism degree and worked for a small town newspaper for several years, where he photographed President Bill Clinton, the 49ers and the Pet of the Week.

For some 20 years he has produced Japanese American history. Brad was the author of The Street That Dreams Are Made Of, a book commemorating the 100 year history of a Japanese church in Palo Alto, CA. He was also the photo editor for Generations, a Japanese American Community Portrait. More recently he was the Project Director for the Alameda Japanese American History Project, a three year federal grant. Several thousand photographs, documents, PDFs and stories were generated and all went to Densho and the Internet Archive. Brad is currently a reporter, page designer and photographer for the Nikkei West newspaper where he does not have to shoot the Pet of the Week.

Pont Vieux, Sospel

Sospel, France

Wendy Hanamura and Brad Shirakawa, 2025.

442 in the Alpes-Maritime

Honor Bound

HONOR BOUND tells the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team through the story of one soldier, Haruo Howard “Howe” Hanamura, and his daughter, television reporter Wendy Hanamura, who travel to Europe in October 1994 for 50th anniversary ceremonies of the liberation of Bruyeres and Biffontaine by the 442nd. The film was produced by the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) and KPIX, San Francisco

Sunday Funday with a screening of “Meals That Made Us”

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 7, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

Sunday Funday

Sunday, August 16th

12 to 4 pm

Enjoy time outdoors for food, music, and fun with our multigenerational community.

FOOD VENDORS

Always Aloha Shave Ice Co

Bar Tanuki

Daruma Kiosk

Milk Cloud Bakery

Shared Cultures

Vinaka Island Mochi

Volcano Kimchi

ENTERTAINMENT

Mahjong with 13 Orphans

Lounge

Let’s Groove

Reserve tickets for the film screening of “Meals That Make Us”. You can pre-order or visit the vendors for good eats and gifts.

Meals That Made Us, a screening with Nisha

Sunday, August 16, 11 am or 2 pm

Meals That Made Us, directed/produced by Nisha Balaram is a three-part documentary short series exploring how Asian American chefs, farmers, and community leaders use food to reclaim heritage, reimagine identity, and build community across generations.

Set against the rich culinary backdrop of San Francisco and its surroundings, everyday people find meaning in unexpected places, whether it’s foraging as a connection to ancestral experiences, elevating institutional meals with cultural care, or creating third spaces that nourish bodies and hearts.

Moving between intimate interviews and sweeping cultural commentary, Meals That Made Us, funded by the Center for Asian Amercian Media (CAAM), shows that cooking and eating are evolving traditions that are both connections to the past and the groundwork for new communities. Yuji Ishikata, chef at J-Sei, is featured in this documentary. Filmmaker Nisha Balaram and featured guests will join us. Celebrate with us!

Sunday Funday

PRE-ORDER MENU

by Casa de Kei, Ox & Tiger,

Hannah Tang, and Yuji Ishikata,

Tuna Poke Bowl $20

Vegetarian Poke Bowl $12

Spicy Shrimp Maki $20

Salmon Skin Maki $20

Somen with Kurobuta Pork $20

Sea Stephanie Santa Barbara

Live Sea Urchin $28

Pre-Order Here

Join us for the community screening of

“Meals That Made Us”.

Reserve tickets for 11 am or 2 pm.

Donations welcome.

Reserve Your Ticket

Nisha Balaram is a documentary filmmaker who brings extensive experience as a producer and director, having worked with organizations such as PBS, the Center for Asian American Media, National Geographic Society, and APIAVote. Her work has been featured on PBS VOCES and PBS Vitals, High Country News, Disney+, and Mongabay.

A Plant-Based Diet to Ease the Joints

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 6, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

A Plant-Based Diet to Ease the Joints,
a Saturday morning talk

Saturday, August 22, 10-11:30 am

While arthritis affects millions of people worldwide, is the pain and discomfort of inflammation something that we must learn to live with? Is there anything we can do?

Hear from Dr. Tamiko Katsumoto, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University, as she unpacks the science behind arthritis. She explains the key differences between osteoarthritis, caused by wear and tear on joints, and rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks healthy tissue. While there is no cure for arthritis, Dr. Katsumoto reveals why chronic inflammation plays a central role and how the modern diet is making things worse. She is fascinated by the impact of diet and lifestyle on inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer.

Dr. Katsumoto is passionate about the merits of sustainable whole food plant-centered diets as a strategy to both improve individual health and mitigate climate change and environmental degradation. Join us for an engaging conversation with Dr. Katsumoto and enjoy healthy light snacks to start your day.

RSVP here for in-person or online.

Healthy Aging: Supporting Brain Health in Our Community

by Jill Shiraki | Jul 6, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

Healthy Aging: Supporting Brain Health in Our Community

Thursday, August 27 2026, 2 pm

Everyone deserves a life with the healthiest brain possible, and we can all take action to help protect our brain health. Supporting Brain Health in Our Community shares important information about brain-healthy actions we should all build into our routines to benefit our brains, including the U.S. POINTER recipe. It’s never too early—or too late—to start prioritizing brain health. This presentation helps everyone understand the science-backed steps we can take to support lifelong brain health.

RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Brain Health” in the subject line.

Reiki Wellness at J-Sei