Circling Back: A Retrospective of Artwork by Ruth Yoshiko Okimoto
Opening Program: Saturday, March 14, 2026, 1 pm, gallery opens at noon.
J-Sei, 1285 66th St, Emeryville
Exhibit Dates: February 1 – April 2, 2026
Gallery Hours: M Tu Th Fr 2-5 pm, or by appointment: 510-654-4000
Join us to hear from artist Ruth Okimoto as she reflects on her healing journey and call to action through art. She will be joined in conversation with filmmaker Satsuki Ina, following a screening of “Children of the Camps” (1999), a documentary that captures the experience of six Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined as innocent children to U.S. concentration camps during WWII. The film that includes Okimoto, vividly portrays the personal journey to heal the deep wounds they suffered from this experience.
Ruth Yoshiko Okimoto, Ph.D., long-time Bay Area community member, held her first exhibition of paintings at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC ) in 1990. In stark and riveting paintings, Ruth Yoshiko Okimoto rendered her childhood memories of life held in the Poston Arizona prison camp during WWII. Working in brilliant colors of the American flag and self images as a child, Okimoto invites viewers to consider the issue of loyalty and childhood innocence. Today, this exhibit brings to light Ruth’s journey to healing from the trauma of unjust incarceration and its meaning in today’s resonant context of racist government policies of forced removal, family separation, and child detention.