The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 200 Larkin St, S.F., will hold its annual Joya no kane (New Year’s Bell-Ringing Ceremony) from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Rev. Gengo Akiba will lead the event, and Yoshie Akiba will give the opening remarks about the Japanese New Year. The ceremony will include a purification [...]

Art People Gallery, located in the Crocker Galleria, 50 Post St., in S.F., presents contemporary artist Reiko Muranaga’s “Letter to Monet” exhibit. Reiko Muranaga uses the calligraphy brush strokes she learned while growing up in Japan to produce colorful, energetic pieces. The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on [...]

The “Deep Roots, New Shoots: 40 years of Asian American art by veteran and emerging artists” exhibit will be on display at the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) Peace Gallery, 1684 Post St. in SF’s Japantown. This exhibit is curated by J-town Arts and presented by NJAHS. The project includes an art exhibit and [...]

The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California will host mochitsuki workshops at 1840 Sutter St. in S.F.’s Japantown. George Yamada, the former owner of manju-ya Yamada Seika, which closed in 1999, will hold five 30-minute shifts a day (3, 3:45, 4:30, 5:15 and 6 p.m.) using his old mochi-making machine. Note: The 6 [...]

The Davis High School (DHS) Band Boosters will sponsor “An Evening with DHS Jazz Alumni” featuring original compositions by Jon Hatamiya (Manhattan School of Music), Colin McDaniel (Brubeck Institute/UCLA) and Erik Maroney (UC Davis). They will also be joined by Neil Heaton (McGill University), also a DHS alumnus; Zach Giberson (Berklee) and Zach Dorf, both [...]

The Center for Japanese American Studies and Japanese American National Library will hold their 42nd annual mochitsuki at the Christ United Presbyterian Church, 1700 Sutter St. (Laguna) in S.F.’s Japantown, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to participate in the rice pounding, shaping the mochi, eating and socializing. Participants will be able [...]

The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center will host “Children’s Oshogatsu Workshop” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 244 South San Pedro St., Suite 505 in LA. Workshop participants will learn about the symbols and traditions surrounding Oshogatsu. Children (ages 7 to 12) will be able to participate in hands-on craft activities, workshops, and [...]

The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California will host the “Winter Bulldog Basketball Camp” from 9 a.m. to noon. The camp will emphasize fundamental skills, including shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding and defense. Players of all experience levels are welcome. Cost: $105 members/$130 non-members and includes a T-shirt and basketball. Info: (415) 567-5505, programsevents@jcccnc.org, [...]

Hiroshima will perform at Anthology, located at 1337 India St., San Diego, Calif. at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. The band will perform its annual “Spirit of the Season” holiday show. Former Hiroshima vocalist, Terry Steele, will join Hiroshima as their guest star. Highlights from the evening will include a sneak preview of songs from their [...]