Kintsugi 2026

As a metaphor of the precious celadon bowl, fractured and repaired, and thus, more treasured than ever, this gathering for Japanese Americans is focused on understanding our community trauma and exploring healing practices now and for the future. The program will take place in historic Japantown, San Francisco and will feature speakers, workshops, and restorative practices. Participants will also have ample time in intentional discussion and reflection groups to process their experiences. Over the course of four days, participants will learn more about what intergenerational trauma is, and how Nikkei have understood and responded to intergenerational trauma. We will engage in practices of repair and see solidarity action as one of those practices. As a means of further strengthening our community we will also learn from other communities engaged in reparative work. 

Kintsugi 2026 is rooted in the work of scholars and educators as well as traditional healers and psychologists who have studied Japanese American intergenerational community trauma. The gathering is based on an understanding that repair is possible and advances through individual healing and community organizing to mend the connective tissue within communities. Through this collective healing process of community repair, cultural reclamation, and social justice practices, we can, as a community, interrupt the repetition of state violence. Participants will learn foundations of trauma and practices of intergenerational repair in the Japanese American community and other communities building reparative practices.