J-Sei Family Festival – Save the date

J-Sei Family Festival – Save the date

J-Sei Family Festival – Save the Date!

Sunday, September 28, 12 to 3 pm

From the beat of the taiko to the intergenerational singers and hip-hop dancers, we celebrate the J-Sei Family Festival each year.  Enjoy an array of festival foods, music, activities, and celebrate our elders. Our festival is held in recognition of Keiro no Hi, respect for the aged day.

Discover “Belly Like Drum”, recipes for building community from Nikkei Progressives, on sale for $30.  Try a dish, be part of building bridges, and creating new connections.

Check back for the schedule of performances, list of activities, and to order bento.  More info to come. 

Welcoming J-Sei’s New Executive Director: Ky Lam

Welcoming J-Sei’s New Executive Director: Ky Lam

Welcoming J-Sei’s New Executive Director: Ky Lam

Following an extensive national search, the J-Sei Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the appointment of Ky Lam as our next Executive Director. This decision follows a rigorous and inclusive search process conducted in partnership with NPAG, a national executive talent search firm.

“I am extremely happy that Ky will bring her excellent and deep experience in social services, leadership and strategic planning to J-Sei.
— Diane Wong

Ky brings to J-Sei more than two decades of visionary leadership in the nonprofit sector, government, and international development arenas across the United States and globally. She has deep experience in strategic planning, program design, financial oversight, human resources, and team development, and she has devoted much of her career to improving health care access. Ky is a values-driven leader whose work is grounded in equity, inclusion, and intergenerational impact—an ideal match for J-Sei’s senior service mission and community.

With deep and proven experience in nonprofit management, Ky’s commitment to human services will enhance J-Sei’s older adult programs and community building. She is highly respected for her ability to align values and outcomes through inclusive, partnership-centered planning, execution, and culturally responsive service models. She has successfully managed large-scale, multimillion-dollar organizations and brings deep experience in fundraising, grantmaking, and resource diversification.

“I am confident that Ky will advance the organization to continue serving our ever-growing multi-generational and multi-ethnic community.
— Ken Tsuboi

“I am extremely happy that Ky will bring her excellent and deep experience in social services, leadership and strategic planning to J-Sei. Her warmth and long-standing commitment to improving the lives of underserved populations will guide J-Sei into an exciting future,” noted Diane Wong, outgoing Executive Director.

J-Sei Board Co-Chair Ken Tsuboi said “I am confident that Ky will advance the organization to continue serving our ever-growing multi-generational and multi-ethnic community. I look forward, with great excitement, to working with Ky.

” Ky has deep roots in the East Bay. After resettling to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee in the early 1980s, she grew up in Oakland and attended public schools in the area. Ky Lam shares, “I am thrilled to build on J-Sei’s strong legacy of care, culture, and connection grounded in Nikkei values. As the new Executive Director of J-Sei, I look forward to maintaining and strengthening J-Sei’s positive and impactful environment and programming aimed at bringing families and communities together.”

The J-Sei Board of Directors whole-heartedly welcomes Ky and looks forward to a strong partnership in the continued growth and evolution of J-Sei. We hope you have an opportunity to meet Ky after she starts on August 4!

Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit, photo exhibit

Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit, photo exhibit

Gambatte! Legacy

of an Enduring Spirit

Photographs by Paul Kitagaki, Jr.

Exhibit Extended to July 18, 2025

Gallery Hours: Mondays & Thursdays 10 am – 4 pm, and by appointment.

Presented by J-Sei & Friends of Topaz Museum, with support by Topaz Museum

Closing Program

CAPTURING MOMENTS with Photojournalists Paul Kitagaki, Jr and Renée C. Byer

Saturday, July 19, 1 pm, Exhibit open 11-1

For more info on this free event.

BEHIND BARBED WIRE, The Search for Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII

The book Behind Barbed Wire is based on the nationally traveling exhibition “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit.”

Hardcover 152 pages and 137 Illustrations

Published by CityPress Files

Retail Price: $55

Autographed books are now available for pick up at J-Sei. For delivery to your home add $10 shipping/handling. Use button below to place order.

Many of the Issei and Nisei never shared their stories with their own families. As some of the subjects recounted their experiences, they were overcome with tears and emotion as long-forgotten memories returned. For many, this was the first time for them to publicly speak about what they endured. – Paul Kitagaki, Jr.

Paul Kitagaki, Jr.

 Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit explores the legacy of an enduring spirit as Japanese Americans triumphed over adversity in the WWII incarceration camps.

As he was searching through photos at the National Archives in 1984, Kitagaki found a photo taken by famed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange of his grandparents and father preparing to board a bus in Oakland, Calif., enroute to a World War II incarceration camp. Through slow and painstaking research, Kitagaki has spent 15 years locating and winning the trust of the families who lived through the incarceration, documenting their stories of survival and inner strength to overcome injustice, racism, and wartime hysteria. 

Photographer and videographer Paul Kitagaki Jr. has traveled the world covering natural and human-caused disasters and international athletes competing for gold at ten different Olympic Games. Kitagaki’s work has been honored with dozens of photo awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and Emmy nominations. He’s been published in news outlets worldwide, including National Geographic, Time, Smithsonian Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Stern, People, Mother Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, as well as in his home paper, The Sacramento Bee. 

Boro Inspired Collage with Sashiko – Spring 2025

Boro Inspired Collage with Sashiko Stitching

Mondays, June 2 & 9, 10 to 12 – The class is full. Sign up for a future session

In this two- day workshop we will create patchwork placemats or a table runner. You will be introduced to various methods to create the collage patchwork from boro-inspired with sashiko hand stitching to quilting methods. Participants will be encouraged to explore their individual style, preferences and methods.

In the spirit of Boro, you can repurpose what you may already have at home. Textile artist Chiyeko Klarman has personally cut up unwanted clothing, pulled out my fabric stash, dyed small pieces of white cloth with tea, coffee, onion skins. Upon registration you will be provided with a materials list of sewing tools and suggested fabric sources.  

Workshop fee: $15  RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Boro” in the subject line.  Space is limited. the class is full. Sign up for early notice of the next session.

                  

 

We Are Not Strangers, Josh Tuininga with guest Flora Ninomiya

 

We Are Not Strangers book talk

with Josh Tuininga and guest speaker Flora Ninomiya

Sunday, May 4, 2025, 11 am

 

Jewish Arts & Bookfest

UC Berkeley Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life

2121 Allston Way, Berkeley

 

Author Josh Tuininga traces his family’s Sephardic roots as they flee their home in Turkey, discover opportunities in America, and forge a new community in the multicultural neighborhood of the Seattle Central District. Through a visually rich presentation, Tuininga will share his creative process and research, weaving together narratives of Jewish and Japanese communities united by resilience and allyship during the turbulence of wartime.

Tuininga will be joined by special guest speaker Flora Ninomiya, who will share her powerful family history—from the hardships they faced during World War II and their incarceration, to the extraordinary support they received from a neighbor, who maintained their greenhouse in their absence which allowed the family to rebuild their floral business after the war.

This program is presented in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.For more information, visit the Jewish Arts & BookFest page on the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life website.

Kintsukuroi Screening and Restoring Our Brokenness

 KINTSUKUROI

FILM SCREENING
followed by Q&A with cast and crew

Thursday March 13, 6:00 pm
Rialto Cinemas Cerrito, 10700 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA

Tickets: $20

For tickets: https://rialtocinemas.com/coming-soon-cer/

Back by popular demand, join us for a theatrical screening of KINTSUKUROI. The film, with its cleverly written script, interwoven stories and depth, this movie is a must see and must see again favorite.  Get your tickets now! 
About the Film
The philosophy of KINTSUKUROI shows us that something shattered can be restored and made stronger and more beautiful. The term is an apt metaphor for the Japanese American experience of WWII.

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.

RESTORING OUR BROKENNESS

Join us for an intergenerational conversation inspired by the film KINTSUKUROI by director Kerwin Berk.

Saturday, March 22
12pm to 3pm
J-Sei, 1285 66th St., Emeryville, CA

Free registration: https://bit.ly/3WE7cVV

Please note that the film will not be shown at the event but all are welcome, whether or not you have seen the film.

Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art practice of piecing together shards of pottery to repair, then using gold leaf to restore beauty and make it whole again. The film touches on the legacy of the Japanese American incarceration, a range of experiences, from loyalty to resistance, despair and loss, and rebuilding of lives. What is your connecting point and how does it impact you today?  Connecting Across Generations is an evolving collaboration of individuals and Japanese American community groups interested in broadening cross generational relations.

Connecting Across Generations including J-Sei, Japanese American Women Alumni of UC Berkeley, Japanese American Youth Alliance, Nikkei Student Union of UC Berkeley, Berkeley JACL, Berkeley Buddhist Temple, Okaeri Northern Cal, and Friends of Topaz Museum.