Sunday, May 5, 2024 | Origami Activity at 2pm. Book Reading at 3pm.

Meet author Kai Naima Williams, great-granddaughter of Yuri Kochiyama, for her debut children’s picture book that intimately chronicles the experiences, people and places that shaped Yuri’s life. From Yuri’s incarceration in a Japanese-American concentration camp during World War II to her participation in movements organizing for better schools in Harlem to her close friendship with Malcolm X, Yuri never wavered in her belief in the power of people to bring about social change. 

THE BRIDGES YURI BUILT by Kai Naima Williams with illustrations by Anastasia Magloire Williams, inspires young readers to embrace Yuri’s unswerving belief that together we can build a bridge to a better world.

Meet the author, buy a book, and join us for a hands-on activity with Jun Hamamoto of San Quentin Origami in celebration of Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day). The author talk will be moderated by Miya Saika Chen. Bring the family. Bring friends. March with us!

RSVP for in-person or online.

The exhibit will be on view from June 19 to July 9 in the J-Sei Gallery. The gallery will be open M-F, from 1 to 4 pm, and by appointment. For the community programs on June 24th and July 8th, the gallery will open at 12 noon. More info

Presented by Duncan Ryūken Williams

The Irei: National Monument for the WWII Japanese American Incarceration is a multi-faceted project that seeks to address the attempted erasure of those individuals of Japanese ancestry who experienced wartime incarceration by memorializing their names.

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September 25, 2022 - 11am-2:30pm   1285 - 66th St, Emeryville

Join us for family, friends, and culture as we celebrate Keiro no hi (Respect for Elders Day).

11-12 Presentation with Illustrator Felicia Hoshino (Free, RSVP to Jill@j-sei.org)

12-2:30 Musical performances, food trucks, artisanal vendors, and DnG's friendly messages art station

*DnG Singers will meet at 12:30 and perform at 1:00.  Please wear your Daruma T-shirt!

FMI about the event: https://j-sei.org/

August 9, 2022 - 3:30pm 

Berkeley Public Library, North Branch

Join us for a Peace Day Commemoration on the lawn of North Branch Library. Listen to beautiful koto music by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, learn how to fold an origami crane, and hear about the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who lived through the bombing of Hiroshima, but died years later from the effects of the atomic bomb. She was made famous for folding 1,000 origami cranes in the hopes that her wish to survive would be granted. 

Ages 8 and up and families are welcome. 

Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library

FMI: https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/events/peace-day-commemoration-sadako-and-thousand-cranes

How deep and vast is the ocean with a great expanse to explore.  Join us for this special opportunity to hear about the deep sea from Dr. George Matsumoto, senior education and research specialist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Bringing together science and technology, MBARI is helping to transform the field of oceanography, making it possible to explore and understand our ocean–which covers more than 70 percent of our planet.

MBARI is working toward a future where the breathtaking majesty of our ocean is fully visible, a future where our home-grown technology is scaled globally to monitor and predict ecosystem changes, and a future where the most important frontier we have left is healthy and resilient. With engaging and informative short video clips, MBARI brings the deep ocean to us.

Please RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “deep ocean” in the subject to receive the ZOOM link. Enjoy this program with the family -- kids, adults grandparents –  a multigenerational exploration!

FMI: https://j-sei.org/2022/07/07/discovering-the-deep-with-george-matsumoto-at-monterey-bay/