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UID:events.uid.6815@www.discovernikkei.org
DTSTART:20230910T000000Z
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DESCRIPTION:<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcDhu8Ez5qF_
 lTkdQOHQo2p-o0m3Wts5lsb3cw78V0t_qdCg/viewform">WAITLIST</a>\n<em>General: 
 $16\, Students/Seniors: $9\, Members: FREE. Includes same-day general admi
 ssion to JANM - SOLD OUT</em>\n\nJoin us for the Los Angeles Premiere of<e
 m> Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town</em> and a screening of <em>
 ATOMIC CAFÉ: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town.</em> <strong>Akira Boch</str
 ong> and <strong>Tadashi Nakamura</strong>\, the former and current dire
 ctors of JANM’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center\, directed these two s
 hort documentaries that explore themes of gentrification\, displacement\, 
 and community power with humor and heart.\n\n<em>About the films:</em>\n<e
 m></em>\n<strong>BENKYODO: THE LAST MANJU SHOP IN J-TOWN (2023)</strong>\n
 <em>Directed by Akira Boch and Tadashi Nakamura</em>\n\nRicky and Bobby Ok
 amura\, the current owners of Benkyodo mochi shop\, make a difficult decis
 ion to close their family business. The Japanese pastry shop\, a landmark 
 for Japanese Americans and Asian Americans in the Bay Area\, is one of two
  mochi shops currently open in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently 115 y
 ears old\, the business has endured the anti-Asian laws of the early 20th 
 century\, Japanese incarceration\, redevelopment of the 1960s\, and San Fr
 ancisco’s notorious high costs of living. The unsurmountable economic pr
 essure\, coupled with the brothers’ desire to preserve their Japanese he
 ritage\, family business\, and community space\, create an age-old conflic
 t many children of diaspora face—preserving their culture or submitting 
 to the economic forces of racial capitalism.\n\n<strong>ATOMIC CAFÉ: THE 
 NOISIEST CORNER IN J-TOWN (2020)</strong>\n<em>Directed by Akira Boch and 
 Tadashi Nakamura</em>\n<em>Presented by Little Tokyo Service Center</em>\n
 \nWhen the punk rock scene was exploding in Los Angeles during the late 19
 70s\, an unlikely family-owned restaurant in Little Tokyo established by J
 apanese Americans returning from America’s World War II concentration ca
 mps\, became one its most popular hangouts. That’s when Sansei “Atomic
  Nancy” with her “take-no-prisoners” punk makeup and demeanor took t
 he café over from her parents and cranked up the jukebox. Infamous for it
 s eclectic clientele—from Japanese American locals and kids from East LA
  to yakuza and the biggest rock stars of the day—the Atomic Café became
  an important part of LA’s punk rock history.
DTSTAMP:20240509T035147Z
SUMMARY:“Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town” and “Atomic Café”
URL:/en/events/2023/09/10/benkyodo-the-last-manju-shop-in-j-town-and-ato/
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