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Samurai Movie Night is back!
The Japanese Mutual Aid Society (JMAS) and Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) are reviving this beloved community tradition—once held at Francis Parker School—with a special screening at JASC.
Join us on Friday, June 12 at 6 PM for an evening of classic Japanese film, community, and connection. This event also serves as a joint fundraiser supporting both JMAS and JASC.
Click below to register!
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June Kids Cooking Class
Send your kids on a Japanese flavor adventure! We’re making Hiyashi Chuka (cold ramen) piled high with toppings, crispy Agebitashi veggies, and a giant Fruit Punch.
It’s a vibrant, seasonal menu that’s as fun to make as it is to eat!
Registration will open on Friday, May 15!
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NEW Calligraphy Workshop coming to JASC May 29th!
We are very excited to start a new calligraphy workshop at JASC! Students will learn foundational skills in this workshop along with a special lesson on how to make their own Ikkanbari.
What is Ikkanbari?
Ikkanbari is a traditional Japanese craft technique involving layering washi (handmade paper) over a structure—often bamboo, wood, or worn-out baskets—using rice glue, then coating it with kakishibu (persimmon tannin) to make it durable, lightweight, and waterproof.
Workshop Date: May 29, 2026
Time: 1- 3 PM
Location: JASC (Lower Level Activity Room)
Price: $40 (Members) and $50 (Non Members)
Class fee covers all workshop materials
Click below to register!
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Tampopo Summer Session begins next Saturday, May 23rd!
This Saturday, May 16th, will be the last day of Spring Session 2.
After this Saturday, we will move into the Summer Session, with six more weeks remaining before the 2025–2026 school year concludes.
We will then have a long summer break (July–August) and return in September after Labor Day.
But for now, we are still in the middle of a busy and exciting Tampopo season!
Below is a list of what you can expect from the classes and upcoming events.
On Saturdays:
5/23: 10–11am
Car Seat Safety Workshop presented by Catalina from Lurie Children’s Hospital
5/23: During both the Early and Late class sessions
Presentation of Certificates of Completion to graduating Tampopo Kai students
6/6: 1–2pm
Japanese Immersion Tampopo Trial Class for children ages 3–5
Free — everyone is welcome.
Activities include story time, sit-down writing practice to learn Hiragana, traditional Japanese playtime, and more.
This new immersion class is planned for introduction in the fall. Please spread the word! Thank you in advance!
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June Adult Cooking Class
Bring the flavors of a Japanese summer to your table! Join our Seasonal Teishoku cooking class featuring zesty Ginger Pork—a vibrant, refreshing set meal designed to energize you all summer long.
Registration will open on Friday, May 15.
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We are thrilled to announce a meaningful new partnership: MUFG has joined JASC as the presenting sponsor of the 2026 Mirrored Lives Program.
Mirrored Lives is more than a dialogue series — it is a trauma-informed space designed to foster understanding and connection between Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants through shared conversation and reflection. With MUFG’s generous support, we are excited to expand the program this year to include both in-person and virtual sessions, helping make these important conversations accessible to participants across generations and geographic locations.
We are also honored to collaborate with the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago as we continue building spaces for cultural understanding, dialogue, and community connection.
A heartfelt thank you to the team at MUFG for serving as true “bridge-builders” and for investing in the social fabric of our community. We look forward to growing this important program together.
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Join us for the next Nihongo Table!
Nihongo Table is JASC’s new monthly Japanese language & culture meetup designed to be low-pressure, social, and fun. Whether you’re learning Japanese, thinking about starting, or simply love Japanese culture, you’re welcome here.
Each session features a theme of the month and may include casual conversation practice, games, crafts, mini cultural activities, and plenty of conversation starters to help everyone feel comfortable. No experience required—just curiosity! Japanese tea and snacks will be provided.
Join us for a relaxed, judgment-free space to practice, connect, and enjoy Japanese culture with others.
The next Meet-up will be on May 28, 2026!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ruby Grillier at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
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We’re excited to explore launching the JASC Garden Club, a new community gardening program that brings together hands-on learning, Japanese culture, and wellness through nature.
This program is designed for all ages—from preschool and youth participants to adults and seniors—and will offer opportunities to grow plants, learn new skills, and connect with others in a meaningful way.
Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just curious to learn, we’d love to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to fill out our survey and help shape this program. 🌱
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Japanese Conversation Table:
Thursday, June 11, 2026
6月の日本語お話会は6月11日（木）です
開催日：6月11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, June 11, 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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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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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.
This project is inspired by former President Barack Obama’s historic 2016 visit to Hiroshima, where he met with students and offered hand-folded paper cranes as a symbol of peace, remembrance, and a future free of nuclear conflict. Together, communities across Chicago are working to fold 10,000 cranes for a large-scale installation to be displayed at a Chicago cultural institution in 2027.
Click below to learn more about the project and how to participate!
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Please email info@jasc-chicago.org if you are interested in sponsoring or would like additional information. | | | | |
JASC WISHLIST
Large Print Word Search,
Crosswords, or Puzzle Books
Large Igloo Coolers for festivals
Clear Storage Boxes
Tall Glass Jars (see below)
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Tampopo Kai needs your help!
Please consider donating jars for our preschool craft projects.
We are looking for tall glass jars with an ideal size of 6.5" tall and 3" wide (approx. 17cm x 8cm).
If you eat Costco peaches - that is the perfect sized jar! All tall jars will be accepted as well!
Thank you! If you are able to donate, please contact Naomi Negi at tampopo@jasc-chicago.org
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Volunteers are needed for this Saturday's Spaghetti Dinner at the RFMUC!
Reach out to John Davis at 808-779-5839 or johntdavis1992@gmail.com
| On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Japan America Society of Chicago will be hosting an evening presentation featuring Bob Kumaki, Managing Principal of The Ronin Group, centered around his newly published book Eat-a-Ducky-Mouse: A Gastro-Memoir and Love Letter to Japanese American Food. In addition to exploring Japanese American food culture and community with Bob, guests will also enjoy a light reception featuring fun treats inspired by the book. | | |
Emma Wilkinson is a PhD student at Northwestern University who is working with Dr. Annette D'Onofrio to research Chicago-based JAs and their sociolinguistic contexts.Please consider helping her with her research!
If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please fill out the survey linked here or navigate to the following url: https://tinyurl.com/nikkeilang . It will ask for some demographic information to check study qualifications and will also ask for your availability. The interview typically takes about an hour to an hour and half. Please also let me know if you would like more information about the project, or if you have any questions.
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Salome: The MIYUMI Project Japanese Experimental Ensemble For Chicago Film Society
Saturday, May 16th | Music Box | 11:30AM
3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
The MIYUMI Project Japanese Experimental Ensemble plays live musical accompaniment to silent film Salomé by Charles Bryant for the Chicago Film Society Presents series at the Music Box
From the organizers:Directed by Charles Bryant • 1922
In 1922, renowned Russian stage and screen actress Alla Nazimova committed the extraordinary sum of $350,000 to produceSalomé, a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s popular play — directed by, written by (under a male pseudonym), and starring herself. Although a woman of forty-two, Nazimova convincingly plays the teenage Salomé, who performs the Dance of the Seven Veils in exchange for the head of Jokanaan. The film unfolds through a series of posed tableaux, deliberate movements, and highly stylized sets, resisting realism and traditional narrative action and embracing the fabulous.Photoplaycautioned that it was “a hothouse orchid of decadent passion… You have your warning: this is bizarre stuff”. Officially “directed” by her husband Charles Bryant,Saloméwas largely shaped by Nazimova herself, with Bryant serving as both marital and professional beard. In his notoriousHollywood Babylon, Kenneth Anger insinuated thatSaloméwas made with an all-queer cast and crew — an unverifiable claim that nevertheless summons the essence of the film’s decadent flamboyance. Salomécontains no explicitly queer characters, but its sensibility emerges from a network of artists whose identities and desires had to remain unspoken. Though the film was a financial and critical disaster and effectively ended Nazimova’s Hollywood career, it resurfaced as a cult object in the 1970s when it was double-billed withBroken Goddess, starring Holly Woodland. Seen a century on,Saloméoffers a record of how queerness circulates through aesthetics, rumor, and history, inviting modern audiences to read between the frames. (TV)
74 min • Nazimova Productions • 35mm from George Eastman Museum
Preceded by:“Overstimulated” (Jack Smith, 1959-63) – 5 min – 16mm from Canyon Cinema
Live musical accompaniment by the MIYUMI Project Japanese Experimental Ensemble
Presented by Chicago Film Society and sponsored in part by AIRMW
For more information visit: https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/calendar/current-season/#salome
For tickets: https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/films-and-events/salome
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Evening with a Puppet Master
Saturday, May 30th | AIRMW Cultural Hub | 7:30PM
4875 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
From the organizers: Tom Lee/Yara Arts Group and Asian Improv aRts Midwest/Shubukai present: Evening with a Puppet Master – Koryū Nishikawa V
- Date & Time: Saturday, May 30 at 7:30PM
- Venue: Asian aRts Improv Midwest Space at 4875 N Elston Avenue
- Suggested Donation: $50.00
(all donations are tax-deductible and matched by Yara Arts Group)
Join Tom Lee, Tatsu Aoki and Rika Lin for an intimate evening with one of Japan’s most versatile traditional puppet artists, Koryū Nishikawa V. Nishikawa-sensei will perform and demonstrate the kuruma ningyō puppetry style with an opportunity for audience members to try the form, take pictures of the puppets and pose with the artists. This special evening benefits the Yara Arts Group tour of Shank’s Mare to the 10th Anniversary of the Pesta Boneka Festival in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
For more information visit: https://tomleeprojects.com/evening-with-a-puppet-master-saturday-may-30-2026
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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.
Instructors will vary depending on the workshop date.
Minimum of 7 participants required for workshop to proceed. Maximum of 20 participants.
Friday, May 22nd
Adult Workshop: 6:30- 8:00PM
Kids Workshop (ages 4-10) when offered: 5:30-6:15PM
Register 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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