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JASC 80th Anniversary Block Party - August 30
Chicago Stars Japan Heritage Match - September 6
Defining Courage - September 20
Vaccine Clinic - September 24
Samurai Movie Night - October 3
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Celebrate with us on August 30th!
Join us for a fun-filled afternoon featuring grilled Japanese teriyaki hot dogs, sweet treats from Rita’s Dessert Truck, family-friendly games and activities including ring toss, face painting, and a fishing game, plus unique hidden treasures from Obachan’s (Grandma’s) Attic.
Whether you’re a longtime supporter or visiting JASC for the first time, we invite you to celebrate eight decades of cultural programming, social services, and community impact. We look forward to welcoming you to our building and celebrating this special milestone together!
We need volunteers! Click below to sign up for a shift!
| Promote your business to JASC supporters with a $100 sponsorship. | | | |
Japanese Heritage Match with the Chicago Stars
Join JASC for the Chicago Stars’ inaugural Japanese Heritage Match on Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 PM at Northwestern Medicine Field
in Evanston!
The Stars will take on the North Carolina Courage, with Japanese cultural performances, food, and an exciting afternoon of soccer. A portion of ticket proceeds will directly support JASC and our programs.
Ticket Options:
• $44.55 — Tickets in South 18–23 (Behind the Goal)
• $60.14 Special Hello Kitty Ticket Offer
Tickets must be purchased by Monday, August 17 through the JASC ticket link.
Fans can also add a Stars x Hello Kitty bucket hat to their ticket order. Everyone who purchases through the JASC link will be invited to an exclusive post-game meet & greet with Chicago Stars midfielder Manaka Hayashi (#5), originally from Hyogo, Japan!
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Back to School with Donguri Kai
Fall registration for Donguri Kai is opening soon! Give your child a fun and engaging way to build their Japanese language skills this school year through our 12-week fall session.
Registration Dates:
- August 24: Registration opens for new families
- August 27: Priority registration begins
- September 12: Fall classes begin for select Saturday classes
- September 14: Fall classes begin for online and other in-person Saturday classes
Stay tuned for registration details and class information! We look forward to welcoming families back for another season of learning.
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Hello everyone,
As summer is sadly winding down and we start seeing signs of “Back to School” everywhere, Tampopo Kai is getting ready to welcome the new Fall Session!
Our first Tampopo Kai class will be held on Saturday, September 12.
That day, we will welcome everyone back to our Early and Late Classes, as well as introduce our new Tampopo Japanese Immersion Class!
The Immersion Class is for children ages 3 to 5 and will be conducted entirely in Japanese. More detailed information about the class will be available on our website.
Registration for the Fall Session will open on Monday, August 24.
I hope to see many familiar faces returning, as well as lots of new faces joining us!
I’m looking forward to another wonderful season of learning, playing, and experiencing Japanese culture together.
Naomi Negi / Tampopo Kai
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One Month Left to Get Your Tickets for Defining Courage
Don’t miss Defining Courage, coming to Chicago on September 20, 2026!
Defining Courage tells the powerful story of the Nisei Soldiers—Americans of Japanese ancestry who served in the segregated military units of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and 522nd Field Artillery Battalion during World
War II.
Through powerful storytelling, music, and archival history, the production explores the extraordinary experiences of these soldiers, who faced prejudice at home while fighting for their country abroad. Narrated by Emmy Award-winning ABC7 Los Angeles news anchor and filmmaker David Ono, with music curated by Music Director Chris Wade, Defining Courage offers a moving look at their legacy and what it means to be
an American.
Tickets are on sale now—only one month left until the Chicago performance!
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September Adult Cooking Class
Join us for a fun, interactive, and hands-on cooking experience with our beloved culinary instructor, Yoko-sensei!
You’ll learn how to master restaurant-quality Japanese-Italian dinner dishes using easy, everyday techniques.
Registration will open on Friday, August 14th!
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Join Our Team!
We are looking for a Director of Development to join our team.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to info@jasc-chicago.org.
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Summer Taiko Workshop with Donguri Kai
This summer, Donguri Kai students have been enjoying a special taiko workshop series with Tsukasa Taiko! We’re grateful to Noriko Sugiyama Sensei and everyone who has participated and helped make these workshops so special.
There’s still one more workshop this Saturday—thank you to everyone who has joined us, and we look forward to ending the series on a
high note!
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Join our Ikebana classes!
Discover the beauty and simplicity of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Learn the fundamentals of the Ohara School of Ikebana as you create your own beautiful floral arrangement. Each class is a complete, stand-alone experience, making it perfect for both beginners and experienced participants. Explore seasonal flowers, develop new skills, and express your creativity in a welcoming environment.
New September class dates are available! Click below to register.
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JASC will host a vaccine clinic on Thursday, September 24, from 11:00 AM–1:30 PM, offering flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The clinic will be available to ADS clients and homemakers from 11:00 AM–12:30 PM, and will be open to the community from 12:30–1:30 PM.
RSVP is required so we can ensure an adequate number of vaccine doses are available.
All attendees must RSVP through the link below and complete the Walgreens Vaccine Consent Form - please email the completed form to pdesouza@jasc-chicago.org by September 22. Paper forms are also available at the JASC office.
Please note: Vaccines for individuals age 65+ are covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Uninsured individuals may have an out-of-pocket cost of approximately $78. Individuals aged 64 and under who are uninsured may be eligible to receive vaccines at no cost through Walgreens’ coverage program.
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JASC is hosting an Introductory Japanese calligraphy class on Friday, September 25, 2026.
No previous experience necessary. Students will learn foundational skills in a fun and engaging environment!
Class will be held in JASC's Lower Level Activity Room.
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Japanese Conversation Table
Thursday, September 10, 2026
9月の日本語お話会は9月10日（木）
です
開催日：9月10日
開催時間：午後12:00から2:00まで
参加費：１人/１回10ドル
日本語で交流したい方へのお知らせです。（日本語の会話クラスではありません。）
普段あまりほかの方との交流のない方、一人でお住まいの方、思いっきり日本語でおしゃべりしてみませんか？
楽しい話題や暮らしのアイデアを分け合い、ちょっとした悩みや不安など、皆で話し合えば解決法がでてくるかも知れません。いろいろなことを日本語で話し合い、英語社会で溜まったストレスを解消しましょう。
このプログラムに興味のある方、参加したいと思われる方は、Eメールで川口ケイclasses@jasc-chicago.org とルビー・グリリエー rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
または電話：773-275-0097内線226, までご連絡ください。
Calling all native Japanese speakers to our monthly gathering of fellowship and connection with other native Japanese speakers! Please note this is not a Japanese language class but rather a time for fellowship while speaking in fluent Japanese.
Date: Thursday, September 10, 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Cost: $10 per person, per session
Location: JASC 5700 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL 60659
JASC's Conversation Table welcomes everyone to share their experiences, ideas, and stories through social interaction and offers an opportunity to expand their social networks with others in the local community.
If you know someone who would like to participate, please contact Kay Kawaguchi by email at classes@jasc-chicago.org or call her at 773-275-0097 x 226 and leave a message to RSVP. Kay can answer any questions about the program in Japanese or in English. You may also reach out to Ruby Grillier at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
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August Nihongo Table
Nihongo Table will have a special 2 hour meet up this month featuring a special Japanese summer festival experience! Come enjoy karaoke, delicious food, and other fun activities!
Nihongo Table will also meet on September 15, 2026 - Registration is available now!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ruby Grillier at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
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JASC’s Adult Day Services provides older adults with a safe, engaging environment that supports their physical, mental, and emotional well-being through customized care plans and daily activities like art, music, and dance. Located at 5700 N. Lincoln Ave., our program also offers respite for family caregivers and the added support of two on-staff Registered Nurses.
Interested in Adult Day Services?
For more information, you can contact us:
We urge prospective clients and their families to tour our new facility on 5700 N Lincoln Ave and check out this wonderful program.
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Samurai Movie Night
Saturday, October 3, 2026
We are thrilled to announce the next Samurai Movie Night! Presented in partnership with the Japanese Mutual Aid Society, we will be screening the Seven Samurai (1954) at JASC.
We hope you can make it! Click below to RSVP.
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Cranes for Peace Project
A new project has been launched by the Japanese Culture Center and the Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, and the Japanese American Service Committee is proud to be a partner!
We’re setting a goal to fold over 1,000 origami cranes to contribute to this collaborative art project—and we’re calling on our community to help us reach it.
You can participate by:
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Folding cranes at home (please leave wings up and unfolded for storage)
- Joining upcoming folding workshops at JASC, where we’ll provide the origami paper and guidance
If you’d like to drop off your folded cranes at JASC, please contact Ruby at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org, and we’ll make sure they are transported to the Japanese Culture Center.
We are proud to announce that thanks to our amazing community, we have collected over 5,000 cranes! Thank you so much for your help!
We are still collecting cranes into August if you would like to join.
Click below to learn more about the project and how to participate!
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JASC is hosting the traveling exhibit, “Crystal City: America’s Last WWII Concentration Camp,” from October 16–November 20, 2026!
The exhibit explores the history of the Crystal City Family Internment Camp in South Texas, which operated from 1942–1948. Through family stories and historical materials, it examines the experiences of Japanese American, German American, and Latin American families imprisoned during World War II, as well as daily life inside the camp.
The exhibit also raises important questions about citizenship, ethnicity, and belonging during times of conflict.
Visit our website to learn more about the exhibit and plan your visit
to JASC.
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Could You Have Missing Money Waiting for You?
Did you know that 1 in 4 Illinois residents has unclaimed funds waiting for them? The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office is currently holding over $5 billion in forgotten cash, stocks, and property. This includes things like forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, utility deposits, and life insurance proceeds.
The state's ICash program is a free service dedicated to safety-keeping these assets
until they can be returned to their rightful owners or heirs. The average claim paid out is $1,000—and it costs absolutely nothing to get your money back! For more info visit https://icash.illinoistreasurer.gov/ or reach out to the office at 800-961-8303.
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NIGHT OUT IN THE PARK: BON FEST S2026
Saturday, August 15th | North Park Village Nature Center | 7:30-8:30PM
5801 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 6064
Join us for a special Bon Odori evening of our NOITP series, the last of the summer 2026 sessions at the North Park Village Nature Center.
Bon Odori is a type of Japanese folk (Minyo) dance made for people to come together to honor their ancestors, express their joy, respect, and feeling of community; to feel a connection with their ancestors and with everyone. The dances are simple and fun, and are typically performed during the Obon festival which occurs in mid to late summer. There are many dances which draw upon the different regions of Japan, and depict the area's history and specialization. Shubukai has collaborated with Kimiei Fujima Sensei from Shizuoka and Ageha Bijou Sensei from the Nihon Bon Odori Association, based in Tokyo.
Participants are encouraged to sign up for one of the workshops beforehand, hosted by AIRMW / Shubukai around the city to learn the dances on the roster for the 2026 BonFest on August 15th at the North Park Village Nature Center.
Check out the workshop dates here: https://www.airmw.org/bon-odori-2026
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TANGIBLE SOUND
Saturday, August 15th | Chicago Cultural Center | 3:00-4:00PM
South Gallery, 78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
Tatsu Aoki, Kioto Aoki & Coco Elysses play for Lauren Deutch's Tangible Sound installation at the Chicago Cultural Center.
For more information visit: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/tangible_sound.html
Visit the exhibition
Tangible Sound: Arrival to a Higher GroundApril 25 - September 27, 2026
Chicago Cultural Center, Michigan Avenue Galleries, 1st Floor East
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THE MIYUMI PROJECT JAPANESE EXPERIMENTAL ENSEMBLE AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATER
Saturday, August 22nd | Music Box Theater | 11:30AM
3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
The MIYUMI Project Japanese Experimental Ensemble plays live musical accompaniment to silent film "A Page of Madness," presented by the Chicago Film Society at Music Box Theater
From the organizers: A PAGE OF MADNESS Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa • 1926
By age 30, Teinosuke Kinugasa was already a cinema veteran, having broken into the business as an actor for Nikkatsu in 1917, playing in over a hundred silent films and directing over thirty. With his film credentials firmly established, the director formed the Kinugasa Motion Picture League and financed an independent production that would be photographed in Shochiku’s Kyoto studio. Working with future Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata on an original scenario, Kinugasa developed A Page of Madness, later described by critic Michael Atkinson as “a monster out of time, perhaps the most psychotic Japanese silent film ever made.” Set in an insane asylum where an ex-sailor works as a janitor to keep tabs on his wife who’s been committed there, the filmdeploys a panoply of avant-garde techniques (and techniques atop and within techniques) to suggest derangement and dislocation. A sui generis work that effectively treats the audience as just another inmate, A Page of Madness had little in common with the silent samurai pictures that otherwise defined Japan’s film industry. It opened in Tokyo art house theaters that played foreign fare and scarcely traveled outside of Japan until 1971, when Kinugasa discovered a print in a rice barrel in his shed and unleashed his radical fossil upon the world. A century later, it’s still ahead of its time — and ours. (KW)
71 min • Kinugasa Motion Picture League • 35mm from George Eastman Museum
Preceded by: “Seance IV” (Don Cooper, 1968) – 4 min – 16mm from the Chicago Film Society
Presented by Chicago Film Society and sponsored in part by AIRMW
For more information visit: https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/calendar/current-season/#madness
For tickets visit: https://musicboxtheatre.com/films-and-events/a-page-of-madness
South Gallery, 78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
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TSUKASA TAIKO AT 2026 CHICAGO DRUM FESTIVAL
Thursday, August 13th | Argyle Night Market | 7:00-8:30PM
1000 W Argyle St, Chicago, IL 60640
Tsukasa Taiko joins the 2026 Chicago Drum Festival presented by the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago held at Argyle Night Market in Uptown area.
From the organizers:
Started in 2013 by Uptown United, the Argyle Night Market is an annual event that features food from local Argyle restaurants plus live cultural and musical performances on Thursday evenings each summer. This free outdoor event draws an average of 5,000 visitors each week and continues to grow in popularity. Part market, part street festival, this vibrant and award-winning event is located on Argyle, the city’s first shared street.
https://exploreuptown.org/argyle-night-market/
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Taiko Beginner Workshops
AIRMW Cultural Hub (4875 N Elston Ave. Chicago, IL 60630)
$60 / person Payment is non-refundable. We accept Paypal / Venmo / Cash / Checks.
Monday, August 17th (+ kids)
5:30 - 6:15pm (kids under 10) 6:30 - 8pm (adults)
Instructors will vary depending on the workshop date.
Minimum of 5 participants required for the workshop to proceed. Maximum of 20 participants.
Register for a workshop HERE.
Payment due upon registration and nonrefundable*
*If you are no longer able to attend the workshop, please consider your registration fee a donation to AIRMW and Tsukasa Taiko. We appreciate your understanding & support.
If you'd like to pay via Venmo / Zelle, send us an email.
For questions email: tsukasataiko@gmail.com
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