Fall Vaccinations & Kidney Disease Screening

by | Aug 25, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured, Other News

J-Sei Fall Health Screenings & Vaccinations

Saturday, October 10, 9 am to 12 noon

J-Sei will be hosting free health screenings in partnership with the Berkeley Kidney
Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP). This student-run organization
provides free kidney disease screenings to underserved communities throughout the
Bay Area to improve kidney health and promote health equity. Berkeley KDSAP
collaborates with nephrologists from UCSFand Stanford Health, who will be on-site at
each screening to review patients’ results and provide one-on-one consultations.

In addition to kidney screening, Asian Health Services will offer free vaccinations for COVID-19 and the flu. 

SIGN UP HERE
A Place for What We Lose, a book conversation with author Tamiko Nimura

A Place for What We Lose, a book conversation with author Tamiko Nimura

by | Aug 24, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured, Other News

A Place for What We Lose, a memoir by Tamiko Nimura

Saturday, October 10, 2 pm

Hear from historian/writer Tamiko Nimura as she shares “A Place for What We Lose, a daughter’s return to Tule Lake”.  Joining in conversation is fellow writer Susan Ito who will serve as moderator.  Together, they will explore the writing process of their deeply personal stories and the discoveries along the way.

In a moving conversation with the past, Tamiko Nimura explores her late father’s life and her family’s wartime history at Tule Lake. The typewritten pages of her father’s unpublished memoir—written decades earlier about his childhood behind barbed wire—spark a reckoning with the long shadow of parental loss and the unresolved legacy of incarceration.

Following an innovative structure, Nimura interlaces her father’s vivid recollections with her own: scenes of camp life, family separation, and resistance alongside her present-day journey as a mother, writer, and descendant. Joining a community pilgrimage to Tule Lake transforms inherited pain into collective remembrance.

With honesty and lyrical precision, Nimura shows how intergenerational trauma and silence are transmitted, and how confronting them can foster healing. Part memoir, part dialogue with the past, A Place for What We Lose illuminates the enduring costs of incarceration while honoring the persistence of family, memory, and story. It is a profoundly moving exploration of grief, history, and the fragile but necessary work of resilience.

 

RSVP for this free event

Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American (Sansei/Pinay) writer and community historian. She grew up near Sacramento, went to college in the Bay Area, and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been published in many places including Discover Nikkei and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is co-author of We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration. Her most recent book is a memoir called A Place For What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return to Tule Lake.

Susan Kiyo Ito (moderator) is the author of the memoir, I Would Meet You Anywhere, published by the Ohio State University Press. It was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award, shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize for International Literature, and named a best book of 2023 by the Library Journal. She co-edited the literary anthology A Ghost At Heart’s Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption. Her work has appeared in The Writer, Hyphen, Literary Mama, Catapult,The Bellevue Literary Review, Agni, Guernica, and elsewhere.  She has been awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony, The Mesa Refuge, Hedgebrook and Blue Mountain Center. Her theatrical adaption of Untold, stories of reproductive stigma, was produced at Brava Theater. She teaches at the Writers Grotto in San Francisco. 

Restoring America’s Promise: The Fight for Justice

by | Aug 24, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured, Other News

Restoring America’s Promise: The Fight for Justice

Saturday, October 24, 1 pm

Featuring Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, President & CEO of Go For Broke National Education
Center

A truly impactful and interactive presentation that delves into the poignant history of the Japanese American WWII experience. Nationally recognized redress movement scholar, Dr. Mitch Maki, will guide you through this critical chapter in American history, exploring the challenges of incarceration and military service, and culminating with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Through the blending of historical facts with compelling community anecdotes and audience perspectives, Dr. Maki fosters a dynamic dialogue that connects this history to
today’s crucial issues of social justice and the enduring strength of democracy. This is more than a presentation; it is a moving and inspirational opportunity to gain a
deeper understanding of the unwavering Go For Broke spirit of the Japanese American soldiers and the ongoing relevance of their fight for the freedoms and liberties we all
cherish. This is a chance to explore how their legacy impacts us and future generations.

RSVP Here
Film Documetary on Accept International

Film Documetary on Accept International

by | Aug 24, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

“Why Does the Japanese Man Engage Them?”

a film documentary on Yosuke Nagai, founder and executive director of Accept International

Sunday, November 8, 5 pm PST

J-Sei is pleases to co-sponsor, together with the Buddhist Church of Oakland, an on-line documentary screening of Why Does the Japanese Man Engage Them? – Understanding Realities of Armed Conflict Resolution.

For more than 15 years, Accept International has worked in conflict-affected countries and regions. The short documentary ,“Why does the Japanese man engage them?” follows their work with individuals engaged in armed conflict in Somalia. They will introduce the challenges they face, their approach, and their recent activities.

ABOUT ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL

Accept International is a Japan-based international NGO working in conflict zones such as Somalia and Yemen as well as in conflict-affected regions of Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia. They accept and empower individuals who have disengaged from non-state armed groups, supporting their rehabilitation, reintegration into society, and contributing to reconciliation and sustainable peace. In 2025, Accept International USA was established in Texas to expand their work from the United States.

Please join us on November 8 at 5 pm for this on line documentary screening of Accept International’s efforts to create a more peaceful world.  Following the screening, there will be a question and answer session, and Accept International staff will facilitate a discussion among participants and provide information to those interested in contributing to their efforts.

RSVP for ZOOM Link

Accept International works in Somalia, Yemen, Kenya, Indonesia, Colombia, Japan and beyond.  For more info, visit Accept International.

The 100th Seeds of Aloha, a new film by Steve Sue

The 100th Seeds of Aloha, a new film by Steve Sue

by | Aug 23, 2026 | Classes & Events, Featured

The 100th Seeds of Aloha

A special test screening, with live music, and Q&A with producer/director Steve Sue

Sunday, November 15, 1 pm

Be among the first to experience THE 100TH: Seeds of Aloha, a feature-length documentary honoring Hawaiʻi’s legendary 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The afternoon will include a welcome, a live music soundtrack performance by Music Director Harold Payne, a 110-minute screening of the film, and a Q&A with producer/director Steve Sue. Guests are invited to participate in the discussion and share their feedback to help refine the film before its official release.

Amid the chaos of World War II, the 100th Infantry Battalion – a unit predominately made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJAs) from Hawaiʻi – fought heroically to liberate Italy and France, earning the name “The Purple Heart Battalion.” Their losses were so dire that they were eventually combined with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team including the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (both also primarily AJA soldiers from Hawaiʻi) to become one of the most decorated units in US military history. But this isn’t just a tale of war – it’s a testament to soldiers who raised the bars on heroism and valor through applying the Spirit of Aloha, both during the War and for 80 years after.

Join us for an afternoon of film, live music, community, and remembrance as we honor the extraordinary legacy of the WWII Nisei veterans.

RSVP for screening.  Limited seating available.