the February.2022
a journal of Japanese Canadian community, history + culture
Digital Dreams in conversation with Matt Miwa and Julie Tamiko Manning
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The Bulletin
A Journal of Japanese Canadian Community, History & Culture www.jccabulletin-geppo.ca SSN 1182-0225 v.64 No.02 February 2022 Circulation: 4,100 Canada Post Agreement Number 400-50782 G V J C CA
The Bulletin/Geppo is published monthly by the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association (GVJCCA).
Yume. Digital Dreams 2 Essay and Poetry Contest 9
Managing Editor John Endo Greenaway john@bigwavedesign.net
Powell Street Festival Update 10 Program Coordinator Job Description 11 A Dream Fulfilled: Story of the East Lillooet Internment Memorial Garden 12
Japanese Editors Kazuho Yamamoto Kaori Kasai editor.geppo@gmail.com
East Lillooet Internment Memorial Garden 8 Landscape of Injustice 16 Japanese cultural information and activities for families 19
Advertising Manager Anne Jew annejew@telus.net
JCCA Donations / Editorial 20 JCCA President’s Message 21 NAJC President’s Message 23 Community Calendar 24
Distribution Manager Michael Tora Speier
Toronto NAJC Update 26 NAJC Human Rights Committee 27 Watada 28 BC Redress Update 29
Administrative Assistant Mitsuyo Okamoto
Tonari Gumi Corner 30 Our Edible Roots 31 Community Kitchen 32
JCCA Board Of Directors Cary Sakiyama President Peter Wallace Vice President Wendy Matsubuchi Secretary Ron Nishimura Treasurer April Shimizu Director May Hamanishi Director Nikki Asano Director Human Rights Committee Judy Hanazawa, Ron Nishimura, Kathy Shimizu
Aki Horii, East Lillooet
Vancouver Japanese Language School 35 Milestones 36 Nikkei Place Update 38 Geppo 41
Read online: jccabulletin-geppo.ca ©
Cover Story
March 2022 issue: February 22, 2022
MEMBERSHIP Subscription to the Bulletin/Geppo is free with a yearly membership to the JCCA Yearly Membership: $40, Seniors $30 US membership: $80 Overseas: $135 JCCA & BULLETIN OFFICE 249 – 6688 Southoaks Crescent Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7 604.777.5222 gvjcca@gmail.com Managing Editor: john@bigwavedesign.net Website: gvjcca.org OFFICE HOURS Call for appointment Printed in Canada
Submission Deadline:
JCCA Office: gvjcca@gmail.com English Editor: editor@bigwavedesign.net Japanese Editor: editor.geppo@gmail.com GVJCCA
Artists participating in Yume. Digital Dreams. Montage by John Endo Greenaway.
@bulletin_geppo
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February 02月 2022 1
Yume. Digital Dreams, a new project of Matt Miwa and Julie Tamiko Manning of Tashme Productions, is a digital project for the age of COVID – pairing artists across the country to create digital works through digital collaboration. The project springs out of the Japanese Canadian Artist Directory, an online directory launched in 2017. Jointly created by the National Association of Japanese Canadians, the Powell Street Festival Society, and the Toronto Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, the web resource gets its inspiration in turn from the late Aiko Suzuki’s 1994 book Japanese Canadians in the Arts: A Directory of Professionals. The national online directory is breathtaking in scope, holding images and bios of over 450 individual artists and groups, providing a vivid snapshot of the vibrant Japanese Canadian art scene past, present, and future. Like all community resources, the Directory benefits from continued investment. Miwa and Manning have come up with the idea to pair-up selected artists to encounter each other, and in the process create work. Both the bi-monthly process updates and the outcomes of these experiments will be featured via social media platforms and on the project’s new website which will link directly to the Directory. The project brings together a roster of talented and diverse artists spanning generations, artistic disciplines, and geography. They are Baco Ohama (Calgary, AB) poetry/visual art; Dawn Obokata (Toronto, ON) theatre; Hitoshi Sugiyama (Edmonton, AB), electronic music/flute; Jon Sasaki (Toronto, ON), multi-disciplinary; Kayla Isomura (New Westminster, BC), photography; Kunji Ikeda (Calgary, AB), dance/theatre; Lillian Michiko Blakey, (Newmarket, ON) visual art; Linda Uyehara Hoffman (Vancouver, BC), taiko/interdisciplinary; Michael Fukushima (Eastern Townships, QC), film; Miya Turnbull (Halifax, NS), visual art; Noriko Kim Kobayashi (Surrey, BC), taiko/music; Shion Skye Carter (Vancouver, BC), experimental dance; Teiya Kasahara (Toronto, ON), opera; Will Shintani (Toronto, ON), visual art. The project will be housed at yumedigitaldreams.art, launching February 15, 2022. I spoke to Matt Miwa and Julie Tamiko Manning via email.
by John Endo Greenaway
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2 月報 The Bulletin
Bulletin Interview MATT MIWA AND JULIE TAMIKO MANNING
The last time we talked it was back in 2019 ahead of your presentation of The Tashme Project in Vancouver. A lot has changed in the world since those simpler times. How have you both been holding out during the past two years? Have you been keeping busy or laying low? Matt: I love to lie low, so I actually welcomed the lockdowns at first, and settled rather happily into a sedentary life. But of course everything gets old, and this most recent lockdown – in Ontario, ending January 31 – has been particularly difficult to weather. I’ve had theatre contracts cancelled, and I can’t fight the rising feeling to just “get out there” again. Of course, as I write this on Saturday, January 29 from Ottawa, a rally of truckers has descended upon our downtown to proclaim…many things I do not agree with.
Baco Ohama
Julie Tamiko Manning, Matt Miwa Julie: The pandemic took me from 100% to 0% very quickly (as it was for many people). Matt and I had just completed a really great national tour of The Tashme Project, and I had also just had a full workshop for the new play I am writing, inspired by the life of Kiyoko Tanaka Goto, whom I was introduced to many years ago in Vancouver when I co-created a piece for Spatial Poetics. The first month was incredibly hard, with the loss of all of my work and contracts, and I just stopped writing. I couldn't do anything. I just made masks for everyone I could think of, baked bread and felt feelings I had never felt before! Some people were really creative and efficient during the pandemic, but I was not. However, I DID start a Facebook daily dance party, so that I could continue to connect and remember to celebrate life with my friends and strangers in the theatre community and beyond, and just to dance with each other, together in our isolated spaces…it was a small thing but meant a lot to a lot of people. It lasted for an entire year! Then this past summer when things opened up again, I went back into overdrive. I was so busy that I was counting the days to the Christmas holidays, and as life would have it, the day after my contract ended, I got Covid instead. Of course I am exhausted, like we all are, but going forward from this pandemic experience is exciting – in a daunting way. Because there were so many cracks in the system that were brought to light during the pandemic, we now have an opportunity to question that system and to forge our path forward with
in the new pandemic reality. The council created a new program called “Digital Now,” realizing that artists were losing their livelihood and needed to adapt their work online…including ourselves!
Dawn Okobata
Coming off our 2019 tour of The Tashme Project (thankfully pre-pandemic) Julie and I were still quite astonished at the quality and quantity of connections we had made with fellow Japanese
change in mind. Which is beautifully embodied in this project. I’m guessing that this project arises at least in part from this new reality we as artists find ourselves inhabiting – where in-person collaboration, let alone performances, are fraught and subject to emerging health considerations. What was the impetus behind Yume. Digital Dreams? To be honest, we owe everything to the Canada Council for the Arts who themselves, were responding to the new reality of artists caught
Kayla Isomura
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Teiya Kasahara
Secondly, the goal is to create a healthy and dynamic community of artists (for at least the four-month duration of the project, but hopefully beyond! Through our group meetings and the artists’ duo collaborations, we hope to spark lively and deep connections between Nikkie/Japanese Canadian Artists who otherwise would never meet, never collaborate, or even know of each other’s work. We hope they emerge from this process with new friends and colleagues, but also new perspectives and new ways of working that will impact their own practices. Shion Skye Carter
What’s more, because this project is social media based – we are so Canadian artists, community activists and organizers excited to be able to share and through the promotion and outreach of our show and showcase the individual artistic we were eager to sustain and broaden our network processes of our participants. With of cool and fantastic Canadian Nikkei. So…we put our bi-monthly updates from each artheads together to figure out how to capitalize on this ist, those who follow our project awesome new program from the Canada Council…we online will be able to see candid glimpses into the trial and error dreamt up Yume! collaboration process between What is your goal with this project? groups of very talented artists; It’s The goal of Yume. Digital Dreams is…a fewfold:) a way to see how the sausage is Right off the bat, we are so happy to be able to con- made! tribute new energy and attention towards the Japa- Finally, we are all Nikkei with varinese Canadian Artist Directory. As a self-submitting ous contexts of Japanese heritage. resource, the more notoriety it achieves, the more art- Japanese identity is such a powerists will be eager to contribute their own profiles! So ful touchstone and point of discushopefully Yume will do its part towards growing the sion, factoring heavily into several Directory and our social media campaign will definite- of our artists’ practices already. We ly actively encourage this. It is a wonderful place for our community to network and we are lucky to build our project upon the sizeable networks it has already established.
Linda Uyehara Hoffman
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4 月報 The Bulletin
are very eager to be able to discuss how Japanese identity, legacy and heritage factors into this process and how we celebrate it as a community. Please stay tuned, because we foresee some valuable insights will come out of this project! I’m intrigued by the name, Yume. Digital Dreams. What does it mean? The name was actually a bit difficult to come up with and settle on. For far too long into this process – even after all the artists were recruited – we still had no idea what
Michael Fukushima
Miya Turnbull
ious generations, immigration histories, artistic disciplines, and span the length of Canada’s geography! We wanted artists who practiced traditional Japanese disciplines alongside contemporary art practitioners: Basically, we wanted artists who were as different from each other (artistically speaking) as possible in order to create more fruitful and interesting dialogue. We currently have a fabulous team, BUT we hope to be able to do this again with 14 more artists!
Jon Sasaki
The artists will be paired up, with seven sets of two. How did you go about selecting who would How have the artists embraced work with who? this project? Did you get immediWell, we had a bit of fun with ate buy or did it take come conZoom to start! There’s nothing vincing?
to call this project, I guess because the details of how it would work were still vague in our minds. Eventu- like speed-dating (or what we We are actually overwhelmed at the level of curiosity and joy ally, we asked the artists for inspiration, and Lillian our participating artists have exMichiko Blakey mentioned yume, the Japanese word pressed since the beginning of this for “dream.” Since this project was aspirational in naproject. Early in the process, when ture; we have absolute faith that our artist collaborawe initially approached our group tors will create astonishing work together online, we members, it was via an out-of-thefinally decided on the idea of a digital dream shared blue email with a rather vague between the groups of artist collaborators. project description – remember, It’s a very diverse group of artists you’ve selected. we are inventing this process as What was the criteria you used to invite them onto we go along! We worried, wonthe project? dering who would be adventurous First of all, the selection process was extremely diffienough to jump into a project with Will Shintani cult and heart-heavy! After going through the ENTIRE so many unknowns, with complete directory, it was very hard to narrow down our list to strangers, and where their tradiONLY 14 artists! There is so much diverse and fasci- call speed-arting) in the modern tional tools for art-making might nating talent featured on the directory, and we would age, from the comfort of your not work (on online platforms). But, encourage anyone to take a good long look! In the own home:) Our first group meet- as we kept receiving “Yes’s,” many end, we had very simple criteria: our roster of artists ing was a whirlwind of breakout of them enthusiastic, our own enhad to feature a balance of artists coming from var- rooms where our participants en- thusiasm swelled and has never countered each other for five short really tapered off ! minutes, one-on-one before being Perhaps your readers can sympazipped off to the next round. Peothize, but in our experience, it is ple always seemed to be cut off extremely rare to encounter other mid-sentence, but all expressed Nikkei in the professional world. delight with the process. Several (Julie and I were once miraculously of them noted that this was the first cast together in the same play, and time in two years that they’ve met we have clung to each other ever so many new people at once! since!) So part of the allure of this Post-meeting, the artists selected project is the prospect of joining a their top five choices, and, with a fellowship of Nikkei. little patience, and a lot of math, we We are only now right at the begindid our darndest to match our parning of the artists’ collaborations, ticipants to their top five. but everyone is in great spirits as they delve into it. Right now, there are only possibilities ahead!
Lillian Michiko Blakey
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Through daily postings, you will be able to trace the evolution of the process, and gain insights into personal perspectives and reflections from the artists. We have asked that artists submit new postings every two weeks until the project’s vernissage in May 2022. They might feature the collaborative piece they are working on, or they might simply comment on how the process is going. graphical distance between these artists might hinder any in-person collaborations, but this project was also conceived to foster long-term and ongoing relationships: Artists who had too much fun during this process might take the initiative to come together on their own, once Yume is completed.
Kunji Ikeda
One exciting opportunity on the horizon is the NAJC’s upcoming Nikkei Art Symposium: GEI, in September 2022. We have encouraged all our participants to apply, so, who knows? We might all meet in person there!
How will the project work in terms of disseminat- Julie, this is a bit off topic, but ing the work to the public? Will you be document- I came across a post the other ing the process or just presenting finished works? day noting that your grandfather, The project will be featured on every major social Torao Takeda, was the sensei of media platform beginning February 1 (#yumedig- the Tashme Haiku Club. I think italdreams), as well as on our website yumedigit- that’s an amazing legacy. It’s aldreams.art, which launches February 15 and which also amazing that you’ve had the will link to the Directory. Through daily postings, man- opportunity to read some of your aged by our talented Social Media Consultant, Yukari grandfather’s haiku in public. Peerless, you will be able to trace the evolution of the What was it like to explore this process, and gain insights into personal perspectives part of your heritage that was and reflections from the artists. We have asked that handed down to you? artists submit new postings every two weeks until I always knew that my grandfather the project’s vernissage in May 2022, but we have wrote haiku and was some kind given them free licence to post whatever they wish. of teacher, but it was only recentThey might feature the collaborative piece they are ly that I made the connection to working on, or they might simply comment on how the process is going.
Do you see the various works morphing to exist outside of the digital realm, say, in live performance, or is this strictly for online viewing? That is a fantastic question, but at this point, the artists have barely begun their collaborations and we have no way to predict what form their pieces will even take. We remain open to everything and part of the fun of this project is to remain adaptive and flexible to the work as it evolves! The real-life geo-
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6 月報 The Bulletin
Hitoshi Sugiyama
It is important to us that this project showcase our participants' personalities alongside the work they are creating. This is a fantastic opportunity for the public to get to know these artists in real time and to follow an artistic process from its chaotic initial beginnings through to its completion.
Noriko Kim Kobayashi the Tashme Haiku Club. The tour of The Tashme Project brought us many beautiful accidental meetings: I didn’t know that there was a team of people working on translating my grandfather’s and others’ haiku into English, but I met one of them after the show, one night. Since then, they have been sending me and my family translations of his work (since none of us speak or read Japanese enough to have ever read any of his poetry) and I have been sending them bits of information about the club. My aunt gave me another booklet of the club’s haiku, which the team does not have, so I am sending it to them to translate. A few months ago I read some of his haiku online for an event by Word Vancouver, which my family was able to attend – as it was so accessible – and it was the first time my family had ever heard their father/grandfathers’ poetry. It unleashed a lot of emotions, memories and pride. I am struck by my grandfather’s hidden creative life. The thought that he put that part of him on a back-burner to provide for his family throughout the internment and for the rest of their lives, makes me grateful that I can live my creative life daily…as a career.
FEATURED ARTIST
Matt Miwa Japanese Canadian Artists Directory
Region Ottawa, ON
Yonsei | Born 1981, Toronto, ON
Bio Matt Miwa was born in North York, Ontario but grew up in Aurora, Ontario, 40 minutes north of Toronto. With his mother’s family living in the United States, Matt grew up surrounded mostly by his Japanese Canadian extended family (his father’s side), getting together annually for every single holiday – New Years, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Japanese family get-togethers were a smorgasbord of Japanese mixed with white people food, rice bags eaten alongside turkey and potato salad; salted salmon gobbled alongside pistachio pudding and Cool Whip “green stuff.” These gatherings were loud, boisterous, and graciously and expertly hosted by his family’s matriarchs, Matt’s grandmother Rae, and her two sisters, Etsy and Kazie, who could cackle the house down. Matt’s Issei great-grandparents, two baachans and one geechan, lived into Matt’s mid-twenties, and although their English was poor, he enjoyed (and enjoys) a strong connection to them.
TAGS Performance Arts | drawing Performance Art | theatre | video art
Artist Statement
Being half-Japanese, Matt’s ethnicity is subject to much ambiguity and so he has never suffered any outward consequences, positive or negative regarding his heritage. Japanese has been (and still can be) a secret As an artist working in many similar but distinct disciplines (theatre, performance art and video) I am identity for Matt. motivated by the singular goal of both provoking This dynamic changed when Matt met fellow theatre artist Julie Tamiko and experiencing Awe. I do so to experience calm, Manning when they were each cast in A Christmas Carol and Mother self-love, compassionate love, and to connect with... who can say. The experience of Awe lets me distill... Courage at the National Arts Centre’s English Theatre in Ottawa. Julie something: Memory, anxiety, ambition, regret, desire... gently and courageously encouraged Matt to team up with her to confront into something manageable, something you can either their Japanese heritage and the legacy of silence surrounding internment show and share, or simply put away to enjoy privately. that they had grown up with. Privacy: my most cherished phenomenon. I grew up lonely and alienated as a gay suburban kid in the 80s Beginning with family, then family friends, and eventually total strangers, and 90s, but something in that worked for me. Solitude Matt and Julie travelled across Canada to interview our country’s nisei, is still the place I feel the safest, and the most free and to hear their personal histories. After a decade of collaboration, and (I am not one for much conversation or exchange). through the generosity and trust of their nisei interviewees, Matt and Julie But solitude for me forms the basis or essence of mounted The Tashme Project: The Living Archives, their love letter to nisei performance. You are separated by ritual onstage – the audience agrees to stay quiet and not address you, spirit, language and history, again traveling the country to present this play. and in that privacy, I am free to reveal what delicate Before embarking on this wonderful project, Matt had absolutely no things I find beautiful in this life and world. Finally, I contact with Japanese and Japanese Canadian communities outside his believe, as Audre Lorde articulated, that writing (and for me drawing as well) is done to capture your own family, but immersion into this history, his heritage and after hanging out wisdom for later use and reference. We’re so ridiculous, with so many Japanese people and Loving it! Matt joined the board of that we forget we already know many helpful things the Ottawa Japanese Community Association in 2014 and now proudly to overcome a given situation. I draw, I make movies, I serves as its Vice-President. do performance art pieces (theatre without character or story). But there is still no greater joy than being in a Otherwise, Matt is a theatre, performance and video artist based in Ottawa fantastic play on a particularly frenetic night!...of course, Ontario, where he works to build bridges and collaboration between when you’re in a bad play, ooof, I want it to be over just various cultural communities: Japanese, French and English language, as much as the audience:) – Matt Miwa and any new community he encounters!
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FEATURED ARTIST
Julie Tamiko Manning Japanese Canadian Artists Directory
Region Montreal, PC
Sansei | Born 1971, Quebec
Bio Julie is an award-winning actor and theatre creator based in Tiohtiá:ke /Montréal. Selected acting credits include: Annie in Jean Dit (Théâtre D’Aujourd’hui), Sin in Paradise Lost (Centaur), Elena in Butcher (Centaur), Isabella Bird in Top Girls (Segal Centre), Emilia in Othello (Scapegoat Carnivale/Segal), Titania in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream (Repercussion), Clarence in Richard III (Metachroma), Tokyo Rose in Burning Vision (Rumble Theatre) and Nancy in Oliver! (National Arts Centre). Her first play, Mixie and the Halfbreeds, a play about mixed identity in multiple universes, was co-written with Adrienne Wong. Her second play, The Tashme Project: The Living Archives, co-created with Matt Miwa, is a verbatim one-act about the Japanese Canadian internment experience, TAGS Performing Arts | performance | playwright told through the childhood memories of community elders. In 2019 it | stage and voice actor | theatre | theatre creator toured Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa and was published by Playwrights Canada Press the same year. The Tashme Project received currently being adapted into a graphic novel with the multiple META (Montreal English Theatre Awards) and Rideau Award help of Japanese American illustrator, PJ Patten. (Ottawa) nominations including winning a META for Best Text and is Julie is currently working on writing the final drafts of Mizushōbai (The Water Trade), her latest play which Loyally serving the Strathcona explores the life of Kiyoko Tanaka-Goto, a Japanese and Downtown Eastside picture-bride turned ‘underground’ business woman in 1930s British Columbia. It delves into her history, not community for over 50 years. as a clichéd dragon-lady madam (although at times, perhaps she is), nor as a dutiful daughter (although at times, perhaps she is), nor as a submissive and sexualized female Asian body (although at times, Today, Sunrise Market also enjoys a strong following of customers and perhaps she is), but as a valuable member of Canadian chefs from outside communities who visit regularly for its fresh and society who had to fight against expectation, and for extensive selection of Asian and North American produce and products autonomy and recognition every step of the way.
at great prices. You will find at every visit, and every day, selection and daily deals! Don’t miss out, visit now!
Julie is co-artistic director of Tashme Productions with Matt Miwa and is a member of the student taiko group Inazuma Daiko. Julie is excited to work alongside Matt Miwa (once again!) and even more excited to have a host of fantastic Japanese Canadian/Nikkei artists collaborating on new digital works for Tashme Productions’ new project Yume. Digital Dreams. It’s going to be epic!
Artist Statement 300 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC 604.685.8019 Hours: 8am-6pm 7 days/week
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8 月報 The Bulletin
Unite and celebrate the Japanese Canadian community through art and JC artists.
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COSPONSORED BY THE JAPANESE-CANADIAN WRITERS’ FUND & MATA ASHITA Histories of racial prejudice, displacement, and widespread cultural loss are woven into the experience of being Japanese Canadian. Whether they trace back to internment, the violence of war, or the absence of community, the lingering effects of these experiences on our mental health are all too often ignored or denied. To encourage truth-telling, openness and resilience in the wake of our complex histories, we are holding a creative writing contest to spark discussion around ideas of wellbeing in our community. We believe that the creative process of reencountering our varied experiences through writing can provide avenues of liberation and healing. We invite self-identifying Japanese Canadians to participate by writing a poem to be published in the Nikkei Voice, or an essay of around 1,000 words to be published in the JCCA Bulletin, on the topic of Japanese Canadian mental health. In sharing our experiences of struggle, we hope to create new spaces for connection and understanding within our community. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2022 PRIZE: $500 FOR BEST POETRY OR ESSAY Email entries or any questions to jcwritersfund@gmail.com CONTEST JUDGES KERRI SAKAMOTO, LYNNE KUTSUKAKE & SALLY ITO
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update Update from Powell Street Festival Society Hello Powell Street Festival Friends! We welcomed the new year with Daruma Kuyō at CRAB Park Beach and broadcast online on January 15! This final cycle of our Daruma Community Well-Wishing Campaign was in collaboration with Elder Veronica’s sacred fire and set to durational taiko. We burned all 4,000 collected origami daruma and released their well-wishes. Plus, our Advocacy and Outreach Committee and WePress Community Kitchen cooked and distributed 200 portions of Japanese Curry Rice to event attendees and the CRAB Park community. Thank-you to everyone joining in person or in spirit online! A very special announcement: we have launched the inaugural Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort program! Three Japanese Canadian youth, aged 19-29 and raised outside of BC, will be awarded a free cultural exchange to connect to their JC heritage through a volunteer experience at the 46th Powell Street Festival. Travel, accommodation and per diem are covered. Online and in-person training is required. Applications are due February 28. Details here: https://bit.ly/357Mp55. Finally, on Saturday, February 12th at 1 PM Pacific/4 PM Eastern, join us online for Inklings to Action: The Paueru Gai Dialogues Workshop, to reconnect with past participants, share the big and small take-aways, and brainstorm next actions! The Paueru Gai Dialogues created an online space to collectively consider contemporary issues through a racialized lens. Featuring a generative-question exercise, Doukana, we sought to learn from differences, build solidarity, and discover everyday points of action. This series debrief will allow us to further unpack questions, themes, and foster online community. Read more and register on our website at https://bit.ly/3GLsS8s.
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10 月報 The Bulletin
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PROGRAM CO-ORDINATOR – JOB DESCRIPTION Program Co-ordinator for the Japanese Canadian Survivors’ Social Club The Japanese Community Volunteers Association (Tonari Gumi), together with the Steveston Community Society and the Greater Vancouver JCCA, is seeking a part-time program co-ordinator for its Japanese Canadian Survivors’ Social Club which focusses on providing social and recreational activities for Japanese Canadians who were directly affected by forced removal and internment between 1942 and April 1949. Duties and Responsibilities • In close coordination with the Social Club’s Senior Leadership Committee, to plan, organize and deliver recreational programs and activities to benefit senior survivors and other seniors within the community. • Take leadership in helping to identify and contact senior survivors within the Lower Mainland of BC. • Assist with the recruitment and management of volunteers to deliver the planned programs and activities. • Provide administrative support to the Senior Leadership Committee and assist in maintaining coordination with partner and other community organizations. Required Skills • Able to work and interact with seniors with empathy, cheerfulness and imagination. • Strong communication and social skills and capable of working well within a team that includes both seniors and volunteers. • A valid BC Drivers Licence and able to drive Tonari Gumi’s mini-van. • Able to use standard office software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and familiarity with other contact management and bookkeeping software would be an asset. • Able to create pages on the Tonari Gumi website (Wix editor) and social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. would be an asset. • Understanding of the Japanese Canadian community and the Japanese language would be an asset. Employment Conditions • Position to be filled by March 1st or as soon as possible thereafter. • Work hours to be an average of 16 hours per week for a period to be mutually determined. • Remuneration to begin at $20/hr. depending on relevant experience. Submit applications (covering letter plus CV) via e-mail to ed@tonarigumi.ca by February 25, 2022, or until position is filled.
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A DREAM FULFILLED: STORY OF THE EAST LILLOOET INTERNMENT MEMORIAL GARDEN by Dr. Aki Horii, E. Lillooet Seniors’ Garden Committee chair This May, the East Lillooet Memorial Garden will be hosting a Renewal Opening Ceremony as part of the 80th anniversary of the Internment commemorations. Being 90 years old and having grown up during the Internment, I would like to tell the story of this garden and what it means to me. I practiced family medicine for 48 years and retired in 2009. I then had a dream that before I left this planet, I would like to see some sort of memorial to honour and commemorate our parents and the older niseis who suffered so much hardship, hard work and injustices that were forced upon them by racist politicians and the government. To do this, I’m going to give a preamble about my childhood. During the 1930s, I had a happy childhood and did not know anything about racism or racial discrimination. Other minority groups such as the Chinese Canadian, Italian Canadian, or Jewish-Canadians were insulted with racial slurs, but because the niseis played with other niseis I do not recall ever hearing the word “Jap”. However, our world changed when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The next day, Canada declared war against Japan. Suddenly, the media, newspaper, and radio coverage of the news was using the word “Jap”. Hearing the word “Jap” made us feel different and inferior. The military leaders and the RCMP brass advised our Prime Minister MacKenzie King that Japanese Canadians were not a security risk to this country. But the very racist politicians, especially the MPs of BC, were able to convince the PM to sign an Order-in-Council on January 14, 1942, that all Canadians of Japanese ancestry were to be labelled as “enemy aliens” and that approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were to be removed away from the BC coast inland a minimum distance of a 100 miles (160 km). When the war broke out, I was ten years old, in grade 5 at Lord Strathcona Elementary School and grade 5 at the Vancouver Japanese Language School. We all had to quit school and 630 nisei children left Lord Strathcona, emptying half the school.
fiscated. Most internees went to government sponsored internment camps, the largest being Tashme, east of Hope, and to the West Kootenays such as the Slocan Valley, New Denver, and Kaslo.
About 2,500 Japanese Canadians were allowed to go to ‘self-supporting camps – Christina Lake, near Grand Forks, McGillvray Falls, Minto, Bridget River, East Lillooet, and Taylor Lake. In some respects, I was happy that my parents decided on East Lillooet, as In the first few days, fishing boats were seized and towed up the Fraser we were allowed to stay together as a family and not River to a location near New Westminster. Eventually all properties such be forced out of the province when the war ended. as businesses, buildings, logging camps, vehicles and homes were con- In my humble opinion, I think East Lillooet was one
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were then constructed in the town (on the river side of the road) and helped the economy of the town. This farming enterprise helped many of the families to survive the seven years of hardship from 1942 to 1949. As a young boy and a teenager, life was not easy. There were daily chores of hauling the murky Fraser River water from holding tanks located near the road to our homes. Every family had a strip of farm land from the road to close to the cliffs overlooking the river. We grew every type of vegetable such as potatoes, onions, burdock, squash, and carrots. These veggies were important because they lasted into the winter months. We had to look after the chicken coup in the back of the house, providing us with some protein and eggs. During the summer sockeye spawning season, First Nations people would secretly bring salmon on horseback by way of the mountains behind of the worst internment camps. Families interned to us. The mothers would then can places like Minto and Bridge River moved into ready- the fish which was another source made buildings which had been vacated by previous of protein. workers at these sites. At East Lillooet, our fathers had to pay for and build tar-paper shacks, the size of For firewood, my brother Charlie the house being dependent on the number of people and I with my father would climb in each family. There was no electricity and no drink- the mountain behind where the ing water. Because of discrimination, we were not al- memorial garden is now located lowed to go into the town of Lillooet. It was on the to cut six truck loads of red bark pine trees (akamatsu). Red bark west side of the Fraser River. pine burned better, so we cut the High school age students therefore missed out on logs six feet long, then rolled them their education. Our men folk built a two-room ele- down to the base of the mountain mentary school for grades one to eight. As there and had them delivered to the were no qualified teachers, people who had a high back of our house where we cut school education taught the younger children. When and chopped them to the approwe were finally allowed into the town, we cycled to priate size for the kitchen pot belly Lillooet High School four miles each way, no matter stove). The person who trucked how cold or how hot the weather was. I was able to the logs and also the fresh drinking water from the town was Taka graduate (in a class of seven students) in 1949. (Norman) Tsuyuki, the eldest son Because of unemployment, my family was worried in the Tsuyuki family. He was small that whatever amount of money they took to the in stature but was strong as an ox. camp would soon run out. Then in 1943, Mr. Tsuyuki, We all owed him a great deal of an experienced farmer from Haney became a sav- gratitude. iour. He said that the hot dry climate was suitable for growing tomatoes. He helped to organize groups of So life in Lillooet for me was mainly co-ops and started to grow tomatoes in a number of work and going to school. During areas around Lillooet. My father, a fisherman, became the warm season, it was work on a farmer and although the venture was unsuccessful weekends and during the summer. in the first year, with experience and hard work, the It was work every day farming tomen soon had hundreds of acres of tomatoes under matoes, working in the cannery, cultivation. A tomato cannery and a fruit packing plant making tomatoes & apple boxes
(made out of solid wood using box hammer with square head, loading railway box cars late in the night with tomatoes & fruit (apples and peaches shipped to coast). I used to have black thumbnails from hitting my thumbnail instead of the nail with a hammer. I picked green tomatoes (pink spot on bottom so they ripened just when they got to the coast). There was no vacation time. We worked late into the night and had to go home by bicycle. Dad’s farm was Fountain Ranch. We loaded boxcars with tomatoes, which went to Royal City Cannery in New Westminster to be canned. A box of freshly picked tomatoes weighed 40 lbs. I would pick up two boxes at a time and load them into a truck. Finally, I want to share with you a 1942 quote that John Mackie, a journalist with the Vancouver Sun, put in his editorial article in March 7, 2015. “The Sun has repeatedly pointed out that during 50 years of Oriental immigration to this continent, British Columbia has consistently fought against the Japanese infiltration – and just as regularly we have been overruled by Ottawa. Now, for excellent military reasons, the Japanese are being moved in-land. Can anyone blame us if we hope that by May Day we shall have seen the last of the the – and for all time? We shall have to admit that we are gladly using a necessity of the war to give us a solution if possible of an immigration that was thoroughly distasteful and objectionable.” If the Internment happened today, I learned it would be called ‘ethnic cleansing’. Up until now, we never thought about this, but I now feel it is appropriate. And so, to ensure we learn from our history and so that it is not forgotten, in 2015 and 2016, my brother Louis and I went to Lillooet to look for a possible site and to investigate where the memorial should be. A committee was formed and in 2017, we had a meeting in Lillooet with some of the town council members plus a representative from the BC Liberal government who said we can have
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this small piece of public land located just south of where East Lillooet used to be. This resulted in a celebration of Phase I of the Memorial Garden which included a large granite stone monument with the names of 85 families who lived there plus a garden put together by a local landscape company. This event took place in May of 2018. However, because of lack of water and not enough maintenance, the garden became over-grown with weeds. This led to our committee, after numerous meetings, to upgrade the garden into a low maintenance Japanese themed rock garden. It was designed by my younger brother Louis Horii. In October, 12 volunteers spent nine days at the garden site doing the garden construction. I would like to acknowledge their kind dedication and hard work by mentioning their names: Louis Horii, Bruce Tasaka, Nan Tasaka, Don Howerton (my son-in-law), Vern Kawaguchi, Tad Oike, Darren Oike (Lillooet’s fire chief), Larry Oike, Eileen and Karl Willms,
Vancouver Buddhist Temple 220 Jackson Avenue, Vancouver, BC Telephone: 604-253-7033 www.vancouverbuddhisttemple.com Rev. Tatsuya Aoki, minister Sunday, February 13, 10am Monthly Shotsuki Memorial Service & Nirvana Day Sunday, March 6, 10am Monthly Shotsuki Memorial Service & Hanamatsuri / Keirokai Saturday Dharma Service on Zoom starts at 10am (Approximately 30 minutes: Meditation, Sutra Chanting, Dharma Talk)
In-person service at the temple RSVP only. Also available via ZOOM See signup form at temple website to receive Zoom link Temple updates are found on our website
Hideko Oike, and Laura Saimoto. The volunteer team will finish garden details, including planting in late March or early April. Finally, I would like to say that this important project became a reality due to two very important persons. One is Louis, my brother, with his expertise in designing and carpentry and the second person is Laura Saimoto who has a remarkable talent for fundraising. We invite all of you to attend the Renewal Opening Event in the first half of May to remember and to honour our story and this enduring legacy. A bus will be chartered where seniors will be subsidized. Date and details will be announced in March.
VANCOUVER BUDDHIST TEMPLE BENTO FUNDRAISER FEBRUARY 27 BENTO Pork Katsu Curry Bento (pork katsu, vegetable curry, rice, shira ae, salad, & fukujinzuke) ___x $15.00 Manju (2 kinds) _____x $8.00
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TOTAL $_________ Name: ____________________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________Telephone: _____________________________ Orders must be prepaid by cash, cheque (payable to: Vancouver Buddhist Temple), or e-transfer (temple.vbt@gmail.com). Last day to order is Tuesday, February 22. Pick-up: between 11:00am – 12:30pm on February 27 at the Social Hall entrance. Vancouver Buddhist Temple: 220 Jackson Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6A 3B3 Phone: 604.253.7033
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Email: temple.vbt@gmail.com
OPEN CALL: BC MULTICULTURAL ADVISORY COUNCIL by Cary Sakiyama, President Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association The BC Government is doing an open-call to the Japanese Canadian community to see if an active community member would be interested in sitting on the Province’s Multicultural Advisory Council. This is a 12-member, volunteer citizens’ council that meets quarterly with the Minister and/or Parliamentary Secretary responsible for multiculturalism and anti-racism in BC to advise them on multiculturalism and anti-racism issues. In recent years, Council members have been instrumental in advocating for the introduction of a new Anti-Racism Act and race-based data legislation. Members are directly involved in the Province’s annual anti-racism awards ceremony, speak at key events such as the Province’s 2020 Anti-Racism Town Hall and support ministry staff in preparing the Province’s annual Report on Multiculturalism. Recently, some of the members also presented on the Council’s behalf to the Police Act Review Committee. Council members are asked to attend a minimum of four two-hour meetings per year to provide their advice and recommendations on key government initiatives and are given the option to take on additional duties if they have time. Meetings typically take place during business hours, often on Monday or Friday mornings. During the pandemic, meetings have been taking place via Zoom although they normally take place in person at the downtown Vancouver Cabinet Office (Canada Place). Members are required to be BC residents – travel to meetings from anywhere in BC is reimbursed by the Province. Given that anti-racism is one of the NAJC’s key pillars in the redress initiative, having an NAJC member participate in the Multicultural Advisory Council would be a valuable way to ensure they are able to give direct input into provincial anti-racism initiatives. Any interested person responding to this call out must be a paid up GVJCCA member in good standing. Please contact Cary Sakiyama, President, Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association by email at gvjcca@gmail.com for a candidate profile and declaration form.
S H O P S T A T I O N E R Y, B O O K S ,
ACCESSORIES, & ALL THINGS J A PA N E S E C A N A D I A N
Submission deadline, February 18, 2022
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www.landscapesofinjustice.com
RECONCILING THE PAST WITH MUSIC AND VISUAL ARTS
Annie and Brian Photo courtesy Annie Sumi
by Annie Sumi As a mixed-race yonsei artist living in Canada, Landscapes of Injustice has played a vital role in helping me to deepen my relationship to my ancestors and my “story”. Growing up, I had a peripheral understanding of the Japanese Canadian internment – a single page of reference in an elementary school history book. It wasn’t until I travelled to Western Canada with my grandfather in 2016 that I came to understand the way this part of our collective history impacted the Japanese Canadian community. We travelled along the Slocan River to visit the small village that replaced the Rosebery internment camp. As we walked along the shoreline, I was deeply moved by my grandfather’s memories of being a child during those years: mushroom picking with his mother, rowing out to the fishing hole, and creating sleds out of old barrels to toboggan down the steep mountainside. With my brother, father, and mother,
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I listened to him tell these stories for the first time, and I realized that those “child-eyed” memories revealed a timeless wisdom about life… take what you need with you, and leave the rest behind. In 2019, my friend Brian Kobayakawa and I were commissioned to create a musical work for the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. Our process took many pathways, but the foundation of the work was energized by the collective research provided by Landscapes of Injustice. Michael Abe helped to put together a folder of documents that allowed us to read handwritten letters, lists of auctioned goods, re-location papers, and more. The night I summoned the courage to read these documents, I felt the words stir the cellular memories in my body. I read my great-grandfather’s handwritten letter aloud: “As you are aware, I have never consented to the sale of my property. Because, however, I am in destitute circumstances, and because I am deprived of the income of said property, I have requested of you the proceeds of the sale in order to maintain myself and my family.” Tears fell from me as I felt the protest of this request. I let them fall. And, keep falling. In further reading of the documents, Brian and I discovered
that his Bachan (grandmother) was able to reclaim her Singer sewing machine from custodian possession during the internment. This precious heirloom had been in Brian’s basement acting as a mini-stick hockey net throughout his childhood, and, because of this archival documentation, the sewing machine suddenly became part of his Bachan’s living memory.
jccc.on.ca/event/2022/03/tanuki March 25-Oct. 7, 2022 Moriyama Nikkei Heritage Centre Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON
It also became the centrepoint for our musical collaboration. We decided to embed our compositions into the body of this machine in order to extend its life and honour its story. By pushing the foot treadle of the sewing machine, the user triggers a series of songs and visual projections to play. This sound installation, Tanuki, reflects upon our relationship with place, ancestors, and mixed-race, post-internment, Japanese-Canadian identity. With a focus on healing – honouring the process of bringing the fragmented pieces of a story back together – Tanuki hopes to invite the listener into an experience that playfully reveals our ongoing journey in reconciling the past. With Tanuki, we humbly attempt to encourage the audience to take what you need with you, and leave the rest behind. If you would like to interact with this installation, you can visit the ‘Oral Traditions’ exhibition in the Spring of 2022, and find updates on the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s website.
lac_rg_117_c3_05959_sumi-choichi
Shadow Puppetry Still. Image courtesy of the artist, Mind of a Snail.
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Landscapes of Injustice Family Storytelling Series Episode 6 Wednesday, February 23, 2022 3pm Pacific Standard time (4pm MST, 6pm EST) Free and open to the public Register for the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/LOI-storytelling6
Join us for the latest installment in the Family Storytelling series as members of our Japanese Canadian community share their experience exploring their family histories, supplemented by family case files and documents from the Landscapes of Injustice Research Database https://loi.uvic.ca/archive/ We’ll hear from Pat Harumi Jetté, a sansei who will talk about the Bird Commission and case file of her paternal grandfather, Heijiro Hiraoka (see article in The Bulletin December 2021 issue) Two yonsei artist/musicians, Annie Sumi and Brian Kobayakawa will talk about their latest collaboration and how documents from the database helped inform some of the content. Presented by Landscapes of Injustice and the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives
James Keiji Sumi’s house on Mayne Island
lac_rg33-69_Volume 2_Case file19_sumi-james
Guest storytellers Pat Harumi Jetté (nee Hiraoka) is a sansei who was born in Winnipeg (post internment) and now lives in Calgary. She is a genealogy enthusiast and enjoys researching her family’s Japanese and French Canadian cultural heritages and roots. Annie Sumi is an ethereal-folk artist with a unique ability to capture the subtleties of nature and spin them into melodies. Her latest collec-
SEEKING NEW BOARD MEMBERS
The volunteer board that oversees the operation of the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site is looking for new members. If you have a passion for Steveston, local history or fishing, we would love to welcome you aboard. Elections will take place at our Spring AGM. Please send an email expressing your interest and qualifications to Kit Grauer, Past Chair at info@gogcannery.org by March 15, 2022. Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society
12138 FOURTH AVE RICHMOND BC T: 604.664.9009 E: INFO@GOGCANNERY.ORG Pat Harumi Jetté
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18 月報 The Bulletin
OPEN DAILY 10 AM TO 5 PM www.gulfofgeorgiacannery.org
www.anniesumi.com Brian Kobayakawa has most recently released electronic music under the name Brava Kilo, and toured in the backing bands of Rose Cousins, Jill Barber and Serena Ryder (for whom he also serves as musical director). Previously, as a founding member of The Creaking Tree String Quartet, he released four albums that received four JUNO Award nominations and won four Canadian Folk Music Awards. www.bravakilo.com
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tion of songs, Solastalgia, was released in October, 2021. Since the release of her debut album, she has received nominations for “New/Emerging Artist of the Year” (Canadian Folk Music Awards, 2018), “Best Singer-Songwriter” (TIMAs, 2015), “New/Emerging Artist of the Year” (Hidden Roots Collective, CFMAs, 2017), and more. With the support of the Ontario Arts Council, Annie Sumi has carried these landscapes of sound across Canada, parts of the U.S., and central Europe. Her live performance is a journey into the permeable nature of the heart; she is a vulnerable vessel that consistently leaves it all on the stage, and inspires the listener to feel something.
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Japanese Cultural & Communication of Washington Free Resources The JCCCW has published four booklets – one for each season – full of fun Japanese cultural information and activities for families to enjoy. We invite you to enjoy these books and activities for yourself and to share them with your community, teachers and students too. Digital versions of these booklets are available to download for free from our website. Each includes a variety of games, crafts, recipes, information on how to celebrate Japanese holidays, and is bilingual – English and Japanese – to help make sharing & learning easier. An Activity Pack includes templates for fun games & activities such as paper sumo, yokai (Japanese monsters and mysterious creatures) mask making, kimono dolls, a quiz about Japan and more. For more information and to download the booklets and activity packs, please visit: https://www.jcccw.org/japanese-cultural-booklets
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G V J C CA
GVJ C C A
JCCA Donations The Greater Vancouver JCCA and The Bulletin gratefully acknowledge generous donations received during January, 2022. If we have missed your name, please contact us and we will correct it in the next issue. Mary Bellegay, Victoria BC Morris Carley, West Vancouver BC Shizuko & Perry Conlin, Richmond BC Pauline & Philip Cooper, Mission BC Naomi & Stuart Evans, Delta BC Alan Friend, Nelson BC T & A Hamakawa, New Westminster BC Ken & Cecilia Hamanishi, Grand Forks BC Kenji & Gloria Hokazono, Delta BC Victor Hori & Heather Yamada, Victoria BC Naomi & Robert Hughes, North Vancouver BC Leslie Ikeda, Burnaby BC Sumi Kada, Vancouver BC Mas Katayama, Winnipeg MB Lynne & Yu-zhi Kiang, Richmond BC Masayuki & Marie Kitagawa, North Vancouver BC Ken & Michiko Kochi, Burnaby BC Mickey Kojima, Winnipeg MB Fujikazu & Yoneko Kondo, Salmon Arm BC Kazuko Koyanagi, Burnaby BC Edward & Midori Kozuki, Williams Lake BC Rae Kuwabara, Burnaby BC Jeffrey & Mari Matsuda, Burnaby BC Arlene Mayede, Burnaby BC Akio Momotani, Vancouver BC Lillian Morishita, Vancouver BC Chuichi & Machiko Nakahori, Vancouver BC Kaz & Mary Nakamoto, Burnaby BC Dan & Colleen Nomura, Richmond BC Kiyoshi & Mary May Nomura, Nanaimo BC Ruby H Ohashi, Vernon BC Lorene Oikawa, Surrey BC Shizue Omae, Kelowna BC Mary Ono, Vancouver BC Tats Oshiro, Lethbridge AB Geri & Howard Prior, Richmond BC Keiko & Gerry Raham, Calgary AB Wendy & Walter Reddeman, Kamloops BC Keiko Robson, Victoria BC Faye Saiki, Richmond BC Shewring Akiko, North Saanich BC Eddy & Karla Shimizu, Hope BC Howard Shimokura, Vancouver BC Allen & Kazuko Shoji, Burnaby BC Ted Takahashi, Langley BC Shigeko Takimoto, Burnaby BC Peggy Tanaka, Kelowna BC
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20 月報 The Bulletin
Goodbye Kage-san JOHN ENDO GREENAWAY
john@bigwavedesign.net Editorial
When I became part of the Japanese Canadian community in the late seventies I learned the power of community, of being part of something bigger than myself or my family. It was a formative time, and one that helped shape the rest of my life. It was the first time I learned of the internment and of the community’s first steps towards working to heal from those broken years. I very suddenly met a great number of people, many of whom I still know to this day. One person I became aware of early on was a man everyone called Kagesan. For whatever reason, he was the only community member known by his last name. In fact, I didn’t even know he had a first name for many years. Even then, it took me many more years before I could bring myself to call him Tatsuo. When I took over editorship of The Bulletin in 1993, Tatsuo was on the Board of Directors of the JCCA, just one of the many organizations he was involved with. I came to know him as a gentle, soft-spoken man of deep convictions, who was never afraid to advocate for what he felt was right, despite what others thought. While this sometimes made him unpopular in some circles, I believe he earned a great deal of respect for the strength continued on page 22
Managing Editor john@bigwavedesign.net Japanese Editors editor.geppo@gmail.com Advertising Manager annejew@telus.net CONTACT
US
JCCA CONTACT: Tel: 604.777.5222 (message only) E-mail: gvjcca@gmail.com gvjcca.org
Yuki Tanaka, Vancouver BC Kiyoshi & Mutsumi Tani, Richmond BC Roy Tatsumi, Burnaby BC Ellen Taylor, Vancouver BC Shirley Witherow, Pitt Meadows BC Dorothy Yamamoto, Burnaby BC Janet & Nobby Yamamoto, Coquitlam BC Sueko Yamamoto, Pitt Meadows BC Takeo & Sumiko Yamashiro, Vancouver BC In Memory of Ken & Vera Oikawa. From Raymond & Brenda Zervini, Hope BC.
CA
JAPANESE JCC C A N AGDV I A NA CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION
President’s Message by Cary Sakiyama
Hello GVJCCA members! Having this space to share and this opportunity to preside has been a truly humbling experience for me. I never had a plan to be here, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought of this possibility and yet here I am. Working within and standing shoulder to shoulder with this community at large has altered my perspective in a very positive way. As you are aware from previous Bulletins, the GVJCCA has been on a whirlwind two month journey gathering Japanese Canadian viewpoints on the collection, use and potential benefits of Race Based Data. We will submit our findings to the BC Government on February 7 and the Race Based Data Legislation will be announced in the Spring. We have a new date for our Keirokai, year of the tiger, it is now scheduled for April 3, 2022. Our
expectation is that the next Provincial Health Order on Feb 16 will be favourable for all aspects of our BC lives. It is important to mention that February is Black History Month and to remember and recognize the contributions that Black people have made, and continue to make. In solidarity and in celebration, we work towards a more inclusive and diverse Canada—a Canada in which everyone has every opportunity to flourish, enjoy freedom and be safe. Upcoming 2022 GVJCCA Community events: • Keirokai 2022, honouring our seniors seventy years and older at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby will be April 3. The cost is $10 for 70 and over and $15 for those under 70. Please register with Nikki at 778-927-7587. Registration deadline is March 20, 2022. Also note that in order to keep our precious seniors safe, current COVID restrictions will apply and masks must be worn when not eating. Proof of vaccination will be required for all guests. Spouses and escorts under seventy are welcome to join. continued on page 22
membership up to date? check mailing label on back cover for expiry date! eTransfers now accepted for payment! Visit /jccabulletin-geppo.ca/membership. Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association
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• The Metal Paper Cranes project has a drop off table at NNMCC and we have been pleasantly impressed with the involvement from our community. The initiative to show solidarity with communities struggling with the effects of racism and intolerance is in the news again with the discovery of 93 recorded reflections at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake. Please get involved and share this unique opportunity! https://ptw11235.wixsite.com/ metalpapercranes • Our partnership with Tonari Gumi and Steveston Community Society on a project called Nikkei Plus Social Club is looking for two Japanese Canadian Survivors to assist us in understanding what survivors would like to do. The Social Club will plan and host regular get-togethers over talks, music, meals, films, walks and various cultural and historical trips, etc. based on the recommendations of these trusted advisors. Please contact our office at gvjcca@gmail.com if interested.
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We are very fortunate and I am especially grateful to be able to sit in this President’s chair and have this chance to serve our community. Every day leaves me in awe and inspires me to somehow find a way to make a difference for future generations. Keep well and appreciate your beautiful moments.
Editorial continued
Registered 入歯専門技巧士
of his convictions. As one of the few shin-ijusha (post-war immigrants) involved in the Redress movement and the post-war drive towards a renewed community, Tatsuo shouldered a heavy load, advocating for Japanese-speakers, including those who had been deported to war-torn Japan after the war. There were few important community events over the years where Tatsuo wasn’t in attendance, few social justice causes where he didn’t lend his support, including the fight of Korean comfort women for recognition and redress. On behalf of The Bulletin-Geppo, I send my deepest condolences to the Kage family, who cared for Tatsuo over the last few years and saw him off on January 26 at the age of 86. His legacy is important and lasting. Rest in peace, Kage-san.
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REOPENING SOON
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NAJC.CA
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by Lorene Oikawa family go to https://www.korucremation.com/obituaries/tatsuo-kage/ There are so many stories we don’t know or haven’t heard and sadly it’s getting harder to hear these stories firsthand. Eighty years ago in 1942, about 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forcibly uprooted, dispossessed, incarcerated, and exiled. The action against Japanese Canadians (babies to seniors) was a racist act not for national security. Senior representatives of both the Canadian military and the RCMP said that Japanese Canadians did not pose any threat to the security of the country. None of the Japanese Canadians was ever charged with any espionage or attacks against Canada. Throughout this year, the National Association of Japanese Canadians will be sharing some key moments from 80 years ago. Look for the posts on our social media and on our website. For example, on February 26, 1942, the mass uprooting of Japanese Canadians begins. Some are given only 24 hours notice. Cars, cameras, and radios are confiscated for “protective measures.” A curfew is imposed. The racism is not limited to this one year. Racism was prevalent against Indigenous peoples and racialized settlers since first contact. The incarceration that started in 1942 didn’t end until 1949, four years after I had my president’s message written and then I was hit the Second World War ended. The story of the injustice against Japanese with some sad news. Tatsuo Kage is gone. I would see Canadians in 1942 is Canadian history. We need to ensure our stories are him at local events in Vancouver until the pandemic hit. known and shared so that the injustice is never repeated with any other We stopped gathering to keep everyone safe. I support group of people. the precautions. However, I miss seeing people and having the wonderful chats and hugs. I treasure those We want to hear from you. What are your memories and family stories from 1942? We want to use every opportunity to share the stories of conversations. our community. We also want to hear any stories about your family’s Every once in awhile I think I’ll pick up my phone and participation in NAJC events or activities and your reflections on the 75th call Jean Kamimura and then realize she is gone. If I’m anniversary of the NAJC. The Human Rights Committee has shared the speaking at a zoom event and talking about the origins story of our founding president Roger Obata in this edition of The Bulletin. of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I look We will share more stories throughout 2022. Please contact national@ around and imagine Gordon Kadota will be present to najc.ca with your stories or story ideas. talk about how he led a delegation to Ottawa. When we are next at the booths at Powell Street Festival, I will Also, contact the local NAJC member organization in your area to find miss seeing Tatsuo. He used to help with the displays out about their initiatives and events. They are interested in connecting for the GVJCCA booth and usually took the morning with Japanese Canadians in their communities. You can find their contact information on the NAJC website http://najc.ca/member-organizations/ shift to help me at the start of the day. I remember working with Tatsuo on a number of projects when I was GVJCCA president and chair of the human rights committee. He created the committee in the 1990s. He was also active in the 1980s with the Redress Movement and was appointed a co-ordinator with the NAJC Redress Implementation Program and assisted applicants. He became a director of NAJC National Executive Board and was the chair of both, the Immigration Committee and Human Rights Committee. In recognition of his contributions, he was appointed to the NAJC National Honorary Advisory Council. Tatsuo will be missed. Thank you to his family for sharing Tatsuo with us. The NEB sends heartfelt condolences to his family. If you want to share a message with the
The applications for the Endowment Fund are being accepted until March 31 at 11:59pm PST this year. The 2022 application forms are posted on the NAJC website najc.ca/funds-and-awards/najc-endowment-fund/ The Endowment Fund Committee is preparing for an information session for applicants later this month. Details will be posted on our website and sent through e-news. I am very excited to let you know that the Museum of Surrey is hosting the Broken Promises exhibit which showcases the personal histories of seven Japanese Canadian families who were interned during the 1940s. The exhibit is co-curated by the Nikkei National Museum with the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Landscapes of Injustice research collective. NAJC is a partner in the Landscapes of Injustice project. continued on page 34
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Exhibit TAIKEN: Japanese Canadians Since 1877 Nikkei Centre Visitors to the upper level of Nikkei Centre have the chance to engage in the fascinating history of Japanese Canadians. Learn about the first arrivals in 1877, the hardships of the early pioneers, the struggles of the war years, and the need to rebuild homes and businesses in the 1950s. Listen to the voices of many generations tell their story!
Nikkei national museum & cultural centre
All Nikkei Centre Events at 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC phone: 604.777.7000 info@nikkeiplace.org I www.nikkeiplace.org
February 12-26 | Tuesday - Saturday | 11am - 3pm Manga Sale | まんがセール | All MANGA - $2! Find used manga, perfect for the Japanese language learners and anime fans looking to get more of their favourite series! All Manga books are in Japanese and subject to availability.
Nikkei
national museum
Nikkei
cultural centre
First Friday of each month 7:30pm – 10pm First Friday Forum Tonari Gumi, 42 West 8th Avenue Music, diverse genres and cultures. Standards, jazz, pop, classical, folk, world music. Poetry and other readings. Enjoy an evening of music, discussion, friendship. Admission by donation, net proceeds go towards the Aoki Legacy Endowment Fund, UBC. The First Friday Forum will be on hiatus until Tonari Gumi re-opens. We look forward to seeing you all again! Tonari Gumi Facility Limited Re-opening The facility is open for Library use and to provide Community Services by appointment. Please call Tonari Gumi, 604.687.2172 to make an appointment. Open from Monday to Thursday 10am to 3pm For VCH guidelines and opening details, please go to our website www.tonarigumi.ca
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February 2 To 23 Print Exhibition Shinsuke Minegishi & David Macwilliam Visualspace Gallery Tuesday to Saturday, Noon to 5pm 3352 Dunbar St. Vancouver, @17th Ave. 604 559 0576 | www.visualspace.ca Wednesday, February 23, 2022 3pm Pacific Standard time (4pm MST, 6pm EST) Landscapes of Injustice Family Storytelling Series - Episode 6 Free and open to the public Register for the Zoom link at https://bit.ly/LOI-storytelling6 see page 18 for details
ca
Saturday, February 12, 2022 ada n from 1-3PM PST on Zoom 44 22 Protest Letters: Then and Now – a panel discussion and workshop for Writing Wrongs website AY Presented by the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre M PM On the panel are a selection of community voices who participated in Writing Wrongs:: Carmel Tanaka, Brent Hirose, Laura Fukumoto, Kirsten McAllister, Aki Horri and Tosh Kitagawa. The participants were filmed reading from letters written by their ancestors and the resulting videos are seeded throughout the website, providing a powerful link to the present day JC community. ca
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The panels will also include behind-the-scenes insights from the creators of the Writing Wrongs exhibit: Susanne Tabata, lead Creative Director, Senior Creative Content Producer and Writer; Carolyn Nakagawa from the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre; and Site Designer John Endo Greenaway. Following the panel discussion, participants are invited to join Carmel Tanaka in writing a letter of their choosing – perhaps to a MLA/MP or to an ancestor who wrote a protest letter – about a cause or issue close to their heart in a 45-minute workshop. Creative forms of expression such as visual arts, music and mixed media are also welcomed. Participation is voluntary. Register: https://bit.ly/NNMCC-then-and-now
Sunday, April 3 12:30pm - 3:30pm
March 4 is Sanshin Day (三 線の日). The name is a play on words: in Japanese, san is three and shi is four. Sanshin Day was started in 1993 by Mr. Naohiko Uehara, a Ryukyu Radio broadcaster and producer, and long-running Okinawan music program host. The sanshin is an Okinawan musical instrument which was inspired by the Chinese stringed sangen and has evolved into a traditional instrument of Okinawa, played since the Ryukyu dynasty era in the 15th century. Consisting of a snakeskincovered body, neck made from ebony and three strings, the sanshin is considered the soul of Ryukuan culture, a musical instrument that is indispensable to the traditional performing arts, such as classic Ryukyu songs and dance, Okinawan folk songs and eisa.
Nikkei Centre 6688 Southoaks Crescent • Burnaby BC
Following the Battle of Okinawa in WWII, kankara sanshin (sanshin made from a can) were improvised from discarded cans.
new date!
JCCA Keirokai 2022
For seniors 70 & over (spouse may be under)
Current Covid restrictions apply Proof of vaccination + id Masks are mandatory Please register no later than March 20 with Nikki at 778-927-7587 $10 registration fee (70+) $15 (spouses or other under 70)
On Sanshin Day 2022, the Southern Wave Okinawan Music & Dance Society (founded in 2020) will host a seminar and workshop where we will learn the sanshin scale (工工四), 工工四), make a kankara sanshin, play the sanshin, and sing-along. Friday March 4, 6pm to 8pm Nikkei National Museum & Culture Centre Light refreshments served. Attendance fee $20, limited to 25 persons. Pre-registration required. southernwavebc.org Contact: southern wave.vancouver@gmail.com
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TorontoNAJC www.torontonajc.ca
NAJC/NJCCA 75TH ANNIVERSARY – CELEBRATING ANOTHER 35 YEARS by Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi President, Greater Toronto Chapter NAJC The Toronto NAJC is looking forward to October of this year to celebrate this milestone Anniversary with a Human Rights Symposium and dinner, in partnership with the NAJC Human Rights Committee. The theme for the weekend tentatively scheduled for October 28, 29, 30 is An Inheritance of Activism. The dinner will serve to remember the 80th Anniversary of the Internment and the 75th Anniversary of the NAJC/ NJCCA. The tentative date for the dinner is Saturday, October 29, 2022. As President of the NAJC and VP of the NAJC and Chair of the NAJC Human Rights Committee, I have a very special motivation to organize these events and in particular the dinner. I attended the 40th Anniversary dinner in October of 1987 along with more than three hundred others. The dinner was organized by my mother, Addie Kobayashi and my father, Bill Kobayashi was President of the Toronto NAJC at the time. I was 7 months pregnant at the time and less than a year later was present in the House of Commons with my 9-month-old son when Redress was announced. I hope you will enjoy the account of the 40th Anniversary Celebration that follows. If you are interested in volunteering for the Symposium Committee email communications@torontonajc.ca THE NAJC (NJCCA) 40th Anniversary Celebration From Japanese Canadian Redress, The Toronto Story On Labour Day weekend in 1947 leaders representing Japanese Canadian communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec met in Toronto to form Canada’s first national body of Japanese Canadians: The National Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association (NJCCA). In the decades that followed, the original mandate changed little and the NJCCA remained dedicated to the pursuit of justice, social, economic, and political equality for Japanese Canadians. On October 29, 1987, at Harbord Collegiate 20 ethnocultural organizations, primarily based in Toronto, sent representatives to the Ethnocultural rally at Harbord Collegiate organized by the Toronto NAJC.
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Part of 40th anniversary celebration head table. Left to Right: Harry Naganobu, Roger Obata, Hide Shimizu, Tom Shoyama, Harold Hirose, Ted T. Aoki (Photo Roger Obata Collection, Addie Kobayashi Trustee)
Two week later, on the evening of November 14, 1987, Japanese Canadians from across Canada returned to Toronto, where the organization had been launched. The 40th anniversary celebration of the NAJC, known as the NJCCA until 1980, took place at the Skyline Triumph Hotel in Toronto.
president from 1976 to 1980, was honoured in absentia.
Bill Kobayashi, president of the NAJC Toronto Chapter, provided opening remarks. He introduced Hide Shimizu, an honoured guest and recipient of the Order of Canada for her education work among Japanese Canadians. In T h e l i g h t s d i m m e d a n d recognition of outstanding work and conversations ceased as three service to the Japanese Canadian hundred diners rose to applaud community, each president received eight presidents as they made a commemorative plaque from the their way to the head table. Those current NAJC president, Art Miki. honoured were: special guest A poignant tribute to the late Harry Naganobu of Oakville, George Tanaka followed. Tanaka Ontario (president of the Japanese was the first full-time, paid, National Canadian Citizens League, 1936Executive Secretary of the NJCCA, 1941), Roger Obata of Toronto who had put aside his own plans (NJCCA president 1947-1948), to study landscape architecture Thomas Shoyama of Victoria (1948in order to devote seven years of 1949), Harold Hirose of Winnipeg his life to the NJCCA, beginning in (1949-1951 and 1955-1957), Ted Aoki 1947. He became a key player in of Edmonton (1951-1953), Hiroshi the major challenges that had to (Rosie) Okuda of Montreal (1953be overcome in the battle for civil 1955), Edward Ide of Toronto (1957liberties for Japanese Canadians. 1976), Gordon Kadota of Vancouver Accepting the special plaque in (NAJC president, 1980-1984) and George’s memory was his brother, Art Miki, then the current NAJC Kinzie Tanaka, who was active president. George Imai of Toronto, continued on page 35
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS
HUMAN RIGHTS NAJC.CA
COMMITTEE
ROGER SACHIO OBATA (1915 – 2002) NAJC/NJCCA FOUNDING PRESIDENT by Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi
and was sent to Hastings Park. She faced these hardships on her own as two of her three sons had died tragically, as had her husband. ‘My mother was a very strong person and not one to cry easily, but she said that when she had to stand in line with a tin plate for a piece of baloney and a cold potato for supper, tears welled up in her eyes for the first time since she lost my dad and my brother Albert .When I learned of these conditions in Hastings Park, here in Toronto, I was determined to get my mother out of there as soon as possible.’ JAPANESE CANADIAN COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRACY In 1942, Obata recognized the need for an organization to assist displaced nisei in finding housing and jobs and was part of the founding group of the Japanese Canadian Committee for Democracy (JCCD). ‘Some of the Nisei leaders who arrived in Toronto in the 1942-43 period were people like George Tamaki, Kunio Shimizu, Eiji Yatabe, George Tanaka, Kinzie Tanaka, and Kunio Hidaka. It was almost like a reunion of the Students’ Club from U.B.C.’ (unpublished memoir of Roger Obata)
Its goals were to assist with relocations; fight for the right to enlist; and oppose the post-war exile of Japanese Canadians to Japan. Obata and the entire nisei executive of the JCCD went on to serve in the Canadian Top left, courtesy Addie Kobayashi, Bottom Left – Mary & Roger Obata, courtesy Armed Forces. In fall of 1946 the JCCD began to lay the groundwork for Momiji Healthcare Society, Right, John Flanders. the Bird Commission by distributing a survey in Toronto to ‘determine Roger Obata was born in Prince George, British the number of claimants and get concrete figures regarding total losses.’ Columbia, and raised in Prince Rupert. While a student (Japanese Canadian Redress, The Toronto Story) at UBC he was President of the Japanese Canadian FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL JAPANESE CANADIAN CITIZENS’ Students Club and was actively involved with the ASSOCIATION (NJCCA) Japanese Canadian Citizens League which sought ‘On Labour Day weekend in 1947, a conference was called in Toronto with the franchise for Japanese Canadians. He was asked representatives from each province from B.C. to Quebec. Since this was to be part of a 1936 delegation to Ottawa to lobby the first national conference of Japanese Canadians from all the major the government for the vote but was prevented from provinces of Canada, we decided to seek the assistance of Mike Masaoka travel due to his engineering finals and replaced by of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Mike kindly agreed Min Kobayashi. to attend and assist us in our task of forming a national organization.’ After graduating with an engineering degree, he, like (Japanese Canadian Redress, The Toronto Story) other pre-war University students and graduates, such as Wes Fujiwara were forced by the human rights violations of BC restricting education and employment to move outside the province, to continue their study or practise in their profession. While not forced displacement, the need to escape human rights violations would fit within recognized principles on Internal Displacement as defined by the United Nations in 1990. Obata moved to Toronto in 1938, working briefly as a houseboy before finding work in his field. In March of 1942, the evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry from Prince Rupert had begun and Roger’s mother lost her business and personal property
Roger Obata became the first president of the newly formed National Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association (NJCCA). It’s goal – property claims. The NJCCA and the JCCD worked with The Cooperative Committee on Japanese Canadians (CCJC) an ad hoc committee, led by Reverend James Finlay that included non-Japanese Christian church workers on their campaign opposing deportations and expatriations to Japan and their legal counsel CCF Member of Parliament Andrew Brewin. The CCJC represented Toronto claimants at the Bird Commission but Obata and Kunio Hidaka were bitterly disappointed by the results and lost faith in their lawyer Andrew Brewin. Both resigned in protest from the committee. In the words of Ken Adachi, “An old Issei in 1950 could stare at his cheque for $140.50 awarded as his recovery on a house in Vancouver continued on page 34
The NAJC/NJCCA 75TH Anniversary Human Rights Symposium is scheduled to take place in Toronto the weekend of October 28th, 29th, 30th email humanrights@najc.ca if you would like to get involved in the planning committee.
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS
NAJC.CA
TERRY WATADA
THE PASSING PARADE – PART ONE by Terry Watada I don’t mean to sound like an old codger, but things are really upsetting me these days. It started when I couldn’t find a day-minder, a book with calendar dates and an address section in back. Bought a new one every year for over a decade. I found the section at Staples, but I couldn’t find one with address tabs in the back! photo: Tane Akamatsu How was I going to keep a record of everchanging addresses and phone numbers? I mean, without having to open up my computer/phone/tablet and waiting for it to engage. From that I noticed that addresses are kind of obsolete. Personal letters come few and far between. I get bills, of course, but they can be sent on-line these days. And who wants bills in the first place, never mind my e-mail account? Addresses are useful if you want to find a location, but paper maps are rare. Electronic ones are available on your Smart Phone or through GPS in your car. I will admit Waze is good for something, giving you step by step instructions. I think it’s hilarious if you do not heed the advice. I keep expecting the voice to scold me, “Hey, you were supposed to turn right. Now I have to adjust! Don’t do it again!” I don’t think the term Smart Phone applies anymore. It’s just a cellphone or a mobile device with all kinds of “apps” available. Apps? What does app mean? Google claims it means “application” or “appliance”, an aid to allow the access to reach tough-get-to websites. Okay. As my fatherin-law used to say, “My smart phone too smart for me.” Give me a good old-fashioned rotary phone, preferably hanging on the wall of a kitchen. Yes, a landline. Don’t need a phone with me all the time. I’m just not that busy. I always thought a push-button phone was a Communist plot. Probably tracking my every move! Google, often referred to as “Google Sensei” by Nikkei, eliminates the use of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, the aforementioned maps, and a myriad of other aids. Wikipedia does much the same thing, but you need an app or search engine to get to it. Search engine? Why is it an engine? It has no moving parts. Back to the smart phone: no longer any need for a separate camera or movie/video camera. But then if you want to send it via email, you have to “download” it to your computer, a process that can cause a lot of anxiety. Yes, I know, you can send it via phone. But I need more control with a larger screen. And why is everything called an i-something? I
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purposely bought an Android rather than an Apple phone (not that I know the difference). Steve Jobs or rather his descendants do not need any more of my money. Which brings me to the bank. You don’t need the use of a bank teller, cheques (spelt the old-fashioned way), deposit and withdrawal slips, cash, and other paraphernalia. You just use the ATM or go to online banking. You can pay bills on a computer if you remember (like me, I forget because I don’t have a paper copy of the bill). How many seniors have I seen standing in front of one gazing at the machine (with moving parts), confused about what to do? I suppose that’s when a bank minion comes in handy. You don’t need much cash these days. Credit cards, debit cards, and other devices on the cellphone are the substitute for filthy lucre. There must be an entire generation these days that has never seen a paper bill, never mind coins. I’ve had the same, lone twenty-dollar-bill in my wallet for years now. Everything is self-serve these days. Grocery stores, gas stations, Shopper’s Drug Mart, to name a few. The shopping mall is fast becoming obsolete. You can order (groceries or prescriptions) by that damn phone or on a computer. The “Uber person” leaves it on your doorstep. No human contact necessary. Serves us well during the pandemic, naturally, but customers do crowd together to pay for their merchandise. It is self-serving of the companies that say we need the self-service. Do we really need all these “conveniences”, which are supposed to save time and bother? Of course, the real purpose is to reduce the workforce, to save money for the company and bulk up the profits. As Scrooge said in Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, “I’ll retire to Bedlam.” Bedlam Hospital or Bethlehem Hospital is London, England’s psychiatric facility. I read the story on my e-reader or tablet. See you next time when I continue my rant.
BC Redress
Japanese Canadian Legacy Initiatives
JC Survivors Health and Wellness Fund Results by Susanne Tabata, BC Redress Project Director munity members who have taken the time to thank the office and the fund for the work, we thank you for the feedback. We are working hard to ensure that the next fund will be respectable and meet the ‘health care’ needs of survivors. What’s next for BC Redress? As talks continue, in a January 14, 2022 letter addressed to NAJC President Lorene Oikawa and Director of BC Redress Susanne Tabata, BC Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-racism Initiatives Rachna Singh confirms the following:
Slocan, 1946, departure for Japan. NNM 1996-178-1-33.
The Japanese Canadian Health and Wellness Fund is winding down its operation of creating, managing, and implementing the initial and limited $2M fund for survivors in Canada. This grant was negotiated by the National Association of Japanse Canadians, stipulating that the money could be spent inside and outside of the province of BC. Working through this lens, the Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society and the NAJC set up a framework to make this happen. It must be repeated that this has been a humbling six months to create, administer and implement a limited $2M seniors health and wellness fund in Canada, when there are families who have lost loved ones, there are survivors in need of support, and there are some who live outside the country and are not eligible for this round of funding. We have done this work with condolences to all families who are mourning the loss of a family member, and with support to those caring for loved ones. And while it is true that we have done all the work under the umbrella of a pandemic, we must acknowledge the hardships that all British Columbians have faced in the past two years and continue to struggle with today. Since awarding 1816 individual grants, and monies to 50 organizations and 19 small groups – see jcwellness.org for results – this grant office has received hundreds of emails and letters from survivors and their families across Canada, who are emotionally moved by the gesture of a small grant. For many individuals and families, this moment validates a family’s journey, and begins to unpack the hidden trauma and the larger historical wrong that occurred in BC. To the hundreds of com-
“During the fall, our ministry staff worked with your BC Redress team (Paul Kariya, Susanne Tabata), and cross-ministry partners to develop options for Cabinet to consider based on the six pillars of recognition you proposed to us on September 22, 2021. Your recommendations for initiatives related to seniors’ health and wellness, heritage, community and culture, education, anti racism and a monument were shared and discussed with a cross government committee of assistant deputy ministers in November, followed by a cross government committee of deputy ministers in December. We are now getting ready to share your recommendations and options with a Cabinet committee in early February 2022. Based on their direction, we anticipate that the next step will be to submit funding options for Treasury Board’s consideration in the late winter/early spring of 2022.” We have currently passed the first gate with our proposal package which looks at ‘scope’ of those six pillars for BC Redress. A lot is about to happen over the next few months. I end with a personal note of gratitude to my parents. My mother passed away while I’ve been working on this file, and I now care for and live with my 96-year-old father, Susumu, who is grateful that the BC Government is engaged. Let’s hope that the sentiment, which is shared by the hundreds of seniors responding to our initial fund, will translate into a respectful package. Stay tuned.
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TONARI GUMI CORNER
Japanese Community Volunteers Association
#101-42 West 8th Avenue | Vancouver BC | V5Y 1M7 | 604.687.2172 | www.tonarigumi.ca
Program cancellations and changes due to COVID restrictions In accordance with COVID restrictions and also to protect the safety of program participants, volunteers and staff, Tonari Gumi’s in-person programs have been cancelled or are being offered on Zoom. Please check tonarigumi.ca and emails from the TG Program Coordinator on program restart dates. There has been no changes to Zoom and telephone programs. Inquiries: 604.687.2172 ext. 106 / programs@tonarigumi.ca (Rie) Japanese Canadian Survivors’ Social Club starting in Spring 2022 Tonari Gumi is excited to share the news that TG in partnership with the Greater Vancouver JCCA and Steveston Community Society has received a grant from the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund. The funding will help us organize the “Japanese Canadian Survivors’ Social Club” to have social and recreational activities for Japanese Canadians who were directly affected by forced removal and internment between 1942 and 1949. In spring 2022, we will start offering regular gatherings and outings to provide opportunities for the seniors to get together and engage in various activities. Details of the gatherings will be shared here in The Bulletin and also on the Tonari Gumi website at tonarigumi.ca. We are also hiring the Japanese Canadian Survivors’ Social Club program coordinator. Job description and application details can be accessed from here https://tinyurl.com/2p8jy4w9 Japanese Dementia Caregiver Support Group [FREE] Tonari Gumi is now holding the Dementia Caregiver Support Group over Zoom. This is a gathering for Japanese-speaking caregivers where they connect through shared experiences around caring for family with dementia. Sessions are in Japanese. Participants: Caregivers who are currently caring for family with dementia (at home or remotely) Facilitator: Masako Sakuma-Anderson, BC Registered Clinical Social Worker Date & time: 1st and 3rd Fridays at 1 – 2pm* Access: Zoom (Link emailed after registration) Inquiry/registration: Phone: 604.687.2172 ext. 102, email: services@tonarigumi.ca (Masako) *Please feel free to email us dates and times that work for you even if you cannot make it to the current sessions. We hope to accommodate the needs of caregivers as much as possible.
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February TG Life Seminar: “Services by Settlement Support Organization SUCCCESS” Presenter: Kozue Ito, SUCCESS Settlement Practitioner SUCCESS is a non-profit social services agency that supports new immigrants, but many members of the community are not aware of their Japanese language settlement services. TG has invited their Japanese Settlement Practitioner, Kozue Ito, to present on informational seminars and services SUCCESS offers with a focus on those that are helpful for seniors. This is a chance to learn how to renew the PR card and other continued on page 34 The Japanese Community Volunteers Association, “Tonari Gumi” gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following people for their generous donations received from December 15, 2021 to January 21, 2022. Although we try our best, we may miss your name. Please contact us and we will make a correction in the next issue. Monetary Donations Sakiko Yoshida, Kay Fujishima, Jennifer Hashimoto, Jiro Sekine, Yasuyo Bosshardt, Fusako Mori, Tami Takahashi, Kyoko Shibusawa, Lillian Morishita, Roy & Yuriko Uyeda, Paul Kuriyama, Pauline Cooper, Lesley Fugeta, Yoshitaka Kakihara, Mitsuo Ishikawa, Nao Counter, Chris Nakahori, Martin & Abby Kobayakawa, Shizu Sheburoff, Shinobu Homma, Masao Mizumoto, Mitsui Canada Foundation, West Coast Gardeners Co-Op, WithinUs Natural Health Inc., Anonymous (9) Monetary Donations (Canada Helps) Janet Okada, Catherine Makihara, Emily Nakai, Louvaine Kadonaga, Kelvin Higo, Sachie Harpain, Mark Waslen, Douglas Masuhara, Ellen Kadonaga, Dan Nomura, Mayumi Takasaki, Yuko Yasutake, Makiko Suzuki , Canada Helps/COVID-19 Community Care Fund & Vancouver Fund, Anonymous (3) In memory of Miyeko (Marge) Morizaki Jim & Alice Tateishi In memory of Joe Yamauchi Stan & Jane Yip In memory of Tom Ono Stan & Jane Yip, Hiroko Stuart In memory of Mass Yamamoto Hiroko Stuart In memory of Yoshihiro Shoji Hiroko Stuart In memory of Shirley Koyanagi Hiroko Stuart In memory of Jean Kamimura Hiroko Stuart In memory of my husband, Jenneth Matsune Dorothy Y Matsune In memory of Mio & Victor Shimizu Katherine Yumiko Shimizu In memory of Tokiko Grace Kadonaga Margaret Sakon, Henry & Yvonne Wakabayashi In memory of Tokiko Grace Kadonaga (Canada Helps) Karen Kadonaga-Hooper, Mona Kado In memory of Jim Wong-Chu (Canada Helps) Allen Cho In Kind Donations Kyoko Shibusawa, Naoko Ezaki, David Iwaasa, Tomoki Tsuchiya, Kato, Tomiko Nora, Jessy Johl/Queen Elizabeth Lions Club, Anonymous (2) MONTHLY GIVING Monetary Donations (Canada Helps) Takashi Sato, Tsutae Suzuki, Mitsuko Mizuguchi, Tamotsu Nagata, Satomi Yamashita, Emiko Morita, Anonymous (1)
OUR EDIBLE ROOTS
The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden
Planting for success, without too much guess
by Makiko Suzuki “The early bird gets the worm” – it is time to plan your vegetable garden and purchase seeds. Before racing to seed racks at your favourite garden centre, first review last year’s gardening experience and review Our Edible Roots, the TG Garden Club publication, for planting advice and new Japanese varieties to grow. Be aware: the ‘Covid-gardening craze’ continues latecomers may again find popular seed varieties are “sold out”. The lengthening days and waning rainfall of February portends soils will soon become workable along the south coast of BC. Weeds must be first removed. However, prior to clear-cutting look closely to see if any over-wintering vegetables have survived, often in the form of small and delicate ‘volunteers’. Shame to waste these surviving treats. For instance, the tops of fallplanted carrots have emerged in Tonari Gumi Garden Club test beds. Mizuna and komatsuna mustard greens, mistuba, yomogi, and nira, after apparent decimation by ‘polar freeze’, are making a comeback. Watercress, protected under float cloth, continues to produce a vibrant and healthy salad supplement. Carefully extricate ‘volunteers’, taking care to leave soil around roots. Transplant into a small, amended area of the vegetable bed to ‘free-up’ room for direct seeding.
Amendments such as dolomite lime, compost, fertilizer, sand, peat moss, etc. should be added to soil in preparation for planting. However, adding a chunk of patience before direct seeding often is the wisest early-season planting decision. Wet and/or freezing weather can arrive early March, wiping out delicate vegetable starts and destroying gardeners’ egos along the way. Delaying seeding does not result in a trip to the ‘penalty box’. Vegetables with seeds sown under the low sunlight intensity of late February or early March reach maturity only shortly before mid to late March plantings. First up on the planting schedule: direct sow broad beans, snow peas and sweet and crisp salad greens such as claytonia (miners lettuce) and corn salad. Many gardeners also seed shungiku, radish, and Chinese greens (pac choi, etc.) under float cloth. Under strong light, leeks, onions, lettuce, etc. can be started inside for transplanting late March or early April. For advice on growing Japanese vegetables reference to the TGGC book, Our Edible Roots – The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden, is a must. TGGC ‘Kitchen Tips’ Remember your parents telling you “mottainai” and asking to see your ochawan (rice bowl) at the end of a meal? Thriftiness is part of Japanese Canadian culture. The message behind the rice bowl adage was to emphasize wasting food is a ‘no-no’. We were told that even one grain left behind could lead to blindness. Later in life I asked my father about this tradition. Dad said, “It starts with one grain of rice when you don’t care so much if it is uneaten. Soon there will be a few more grains and onwards to the point you will become blind to waste.” Only now is society waking up to the need to minimize food waste. Consider re-growing vegetable ‘heels’. Lettuce, cabbage, napa, green onions, celery and many other vegetables are candidates for revival by placing in water and transferring to the windowsill. (For tips as to the process: Google “Regrowth of vegetable scraps”.) Alternatively, try rooting vegetable ‘heels’ indoors in vermiculite for transplanting to the garden when your amended soil is dry and warm. Why buy organic vegetable broth when saving vegetable scraps in a refrigerated litre-canning jar for ‘boiling down’ once a week will make broth for use in meal preparation? Try freezing the broth into cubes for storage. Cauliflower and broccoli leaves and cores are tender and sweet – incorporate into your recipes or save and freeze to enhance chowders and soups. Try sprouting. This is an easy and economical way to add fresh, supernutritional greens to your diet. One to two tablespoon of seed results in at least 2 cups of fresh sprouts, 3-5 days later. One-litre canning jars work well for most sprouts. TGGC member Michiko Higgins deploys a large stainless-steel Starbucks cup to raise moyashi (mung bean sprouts require a dark germination period before thick, white sprouts appear). Sprouting seeds are sold in many grocery stores and are offered in most seed catalogues. continued on page 34
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Alice Bradley CommunityKitchen with and Lea Ault
lea@hapaizakaya.com
My friend Sue is a second-generation Canadian Chinese - her family is Toisan and came to Canada after a brief stay in Cuba. We often discuss our “Asian” identities - such as they are - and laugh over the similarities and differences that we reveal. Her husband is half-Austrian and halfChinese, Justin and I are both half-Japanese but we’re fourth generation, so how Asian are we, really? In many ways this is the story of Vancouver and Canada itself. We both love to eat, and we talk about food a lot. Sue has noticed that many half-Asians are very picky about food compared to “full Asians”. “Chinese kids eat anything! We didn’t have a choice. Not only that, but our parents would make these medicinal soups that were boiled for hours and were horrible and black and tasted awful. But they were meant to build the foundation of our health, so…also if we didn’t we’d be in trouble. Those herbs and things cost hundreds of dollars!” I haven’t taken any surveys myself, but Sue does hair and has basically been conducting informal polls for the last 30 years so I trust her reporting.
“Salmon egg! Try!” Quietly: “...Ah, NOT candy,” while carefully replacing the lid and stowing the container back in the fridge. I know that in the great scheme of things, trauma from egg custard is hardly to be registered, but when you’re a kid and you have exposure to Western food, which is less…(Justin: “offensive”?)...varied, let’s say, than Asian food, these episodes have an impact. Let’s remember New Year’s Day meal, an important meal in Japanese culture and often the only time sushi is made at home. My grandmother would do a beautiful table of food, and my anxiety would ratchet up. Dire threats had been issued by Mom who didn’t need her gaijin children embarrassing her, but I knew this wasn’t going to be a simple meal of lovely sticky teriyaki salmon and hot comforting rice with furikake. I had an aversion to shiitake mushrooms after all the times grandma reconstituted dried shiitake by boiling it on the stove, filling the air with the pungent smell of….hydrating mushrooms. (You know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t, trust me, it’s awful. There are not enough scented candles in the world.) I also wasn’t crazy about gobo, nor the sparkly pink powder that shows up in futomaki (pretty but it does NOT taste like it looks), or black beans…the list of esoteric-to-me food goes on.
The thing is, I am fairly picky! There are foods I can’t bring myself to eat. An aversion to shrimp I can blame squarely on my father, who, when I was little, decided that he needed to lose weight and that shrimp salad was the way to do it. He couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to eat shrimp every night for dinner and insisted I sit there until I’d finished. Mom would take pity and let me abandon the task, but to this day I have very negative associations with shellfish in general. (Dungeness crab is the exception that proves this rule, of course.) I used to be able to eat lobster but one day all those legs wiggling in the air made me feel like a brute, But what’s this? After watching me eat around the and that was it for lobster. Why I’m still able to savagely tear a crab limb mushrooms and pink powder, Grandma presents from limb is a mystery I’ve yet to explore, but I’m trying to keep just one me with a lovely lidded bowl. So elegant! But I know item of shellfish, please, so I’m not examining the issue closely. Grandma. She’s a tricky one! Leaning back slightly like Justin and I both spent a lot of time with our Japanese grandparents, a bomb expert, I cautiously open the lid, and find….a but our food experiences were slightly different. While we both happily clear creamy expanse of custard. A sniff reveals that chewed on dried ika, he would also crunch on kazunoko, which wasn’t it’s savoury custard, for sure, but I can deal with on offer at my grandparents’. Both of us have memories of looking for that. Mmm, it’s a beautiful texture, silky and smooth. margarine and opening up the plastic Imperial tub only to find, instead of However, a couple of spoonfuls in, I hit something, like a the expected creamy yellow, shiny bright transparent orange-red beads gravedigger hitting a coffin. What’s this? And I uncover… of salmon roe, like glass beads, or candies, which is what I thought they tentacles? There must have been other good-luck stuff might be. in there but the tentacles were the thing. My mind immediately provided scenes from 20,000 Leagues “Grandma, what’s this…stuff…in the margarine container?” under the Sea, Kirk Douglas fighting the giant squid, “Ikura!” (which tells me nothing as I have almost zero Japanese) suckered tentacles flailing. I clapped the lid back on “What’s ikura?” and claimed to be full, thank you for the lovely meal
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Grandma and can I help serve tea and bring in the manju? I wonder if it’s the juxtaposition of basic Western food against the wider and sometimes exotic range of Asian food that makes us so particular. If you’re eating mac and cheese one day and then jellyfish salad the next, as a child, you’re likely to favour the blander, more safely textured pasta. This is only a guess; it bears more reflection and I haven’t room here. I’m supposed to be providing recipes! Let’s have something easy.
Cherry Cheesecake Brownies Oven: 350F. 8” x 8” pan, greased and partially lined with parchment paper. Brownie: ½ c. butter, melted and cooled 1 c. sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla ½ c. flour ½ c. cocoa ¼ tsp salt
Carrot Muffins Oven: 350F Greased muffin tins (12) 1 ½ c. flour 1 c. sugar 1 t. cinnamon ¼ t. ginger ¼ t. nutmeg ¼ t. allspice or cloves ½ t. baking soda ½ t. baking powder ½ t. salt Sift together into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, mix: 2 eggs - do these first and beat them a little to break down viscosity
⅓ c. brown sugar ½ c. vegetable oil Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together. In another bowl, whisk together the 2 t. vanilla butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir 2 c. grated carrots (Note: grate your own carrots. DO until just combined. NOT use pre-grated carrots that are sold for salads. They will not meld into your muffins. I use those great Cheesecake: big carrots you find in Asian supermarkets as they’re 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature very easy to grate.) 1 egg, room temperature ¼ c. sugar 1 tsp vanilla
Optional: ½ c. chopped walnuts or ½ c. raisins, soaked in hot water first to soften
I find this easiest in the food processor. Put the cream cheese in the food processor and whiz to soften. Add the sugar and whiz some more. Scrape sides then add the egg and vanilla and whiz to combine thoroughly, scraping the sides a few times. You can also use beaters to combine ingredients.
Tip the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until mostly mixed, then add the carrots and nuts/ raisins if you’re using them and finish mixing until there are no more patches of flour.
1 can cherry pie filling
Scoop into muffin tins and bake 20-22 minutes. Let cool in tins 5 minutes before lifting out to cool on racks.
Scoop the cherries out – I find pie filling has too much gooey sauce and As I said, cream cheese icing is mighty fine with these while some sauce is good, we’re really after those cherries. Discard extra but you don’t need it. If you’re thinking, “She’s wrong, I gooey sauce. DO need cream cheese icing”, all you do is beat half a Scoop half of the brownie mixture into the pan and spread out. Top with block of cream cheese (4 oz) with ¼ c. softened butter, the cheesecake mixture. Dollop with the cherry pie filling. Dollop with the a pinch of salt, two cups of icing sugar and a teaspoon rest of the brownie mixture, trying to distribute it evenly. Carefully use a of vanilla. I do this in a food processor but you can also use electric beaters. knife to swirl the components together but don’t overdo it. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the brownie part comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for an hour or until cool, then cover and refrigerate until set. Store in the refrigerator; it will keep for 5 days chilled. Here’s a recipe for carrot muffins that we tried and it’s quite excellent. I had leftover cream cheese icing from cinnamon buns and god forbid we waste good icing. So these were a vehicle for icing but they’re very good on their own account. And they have carrots in them so I’m quite sure they’re healthy.
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NAJC HRC continued
NAJC continued
for which he paid $3,000 in 1930 and which was sold by the Custodian for $1,200 in 1943. He could stare and stare and wonder what remote connection it had with the destruction of his life’s work and security…Losses had to be measured in terms of entire lives.” (Adachi, Ken. The Enemy That Never Was)
As a life-long Surrey resident, I have been working with the City of Surrey and the Museum of Surrey to provide more opportunities to share stories of Japanese Canadians who lived in Surrey especially the pioneer families. The Museum of Surrey will be including stories of Japanese Canadians in Surrey in a separate display. For those in Metro Vancouver the exhibit will be opening February 5 and run until April 24 for in-person visits. For those The fight for redress continued for more than 40 outside of the area there will be a virtual tour later in the month. More years. In 1977, Roger served as National President info: https://www.surrey.ca/arts-culture/museum-of-surrey/exhibitions/ of the Japanese Canadian Centennial Society and broken-promises event which was a touchstone for raising awareness You can find our events, news and updates on our website and when and interest in seeking compensation for Japanese you sign up for NAJC e-news. Please ensure we have your current email Canadians. In 1978 Momiji Health Care Society (Momiji) address. Subscribe: http://najc.ca/subscribe/ was established to serve the Issei, specifically those who settled in the Toronto area post WWII. and was the The National Executive Board wishes you a wonderful February and realization of a vision shared by its founders Mary and special time with your families on Family Day and Louis Riel Day in Roger Obata, Kazuo Oiye, Roy Shinobu, Fred Sasaki Manitoba. We will be amplifying messages for Black History Month and World Day of Social Justice on February 20. We hope to see our members and Dr. Fred Sunahara. at the online Constitution Townhall on February 16th where we will be In 1980, the NJCCA was renamed the National reviewing upcoming changes and voting. Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC). On November 26 that year, Gordon Kadota, Art Shimizu and Roger Obata representing the NAJC made continued presentations to the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons on the Constitution of Foodie Alert! Canada arguing for the entrenchment of the Charter of Last month’s Bulletin article discussed growing yuzu plants to enjoy the Rights into the Constitution, to supersede all powers. wonderful flavour of this Japanese citron. TGGC subsequently became Roger Obata was Vice-President of the NAJC and aware of yuzu products featured by Loblaws, sold under their Presidents member of the strategy committee when Redress was Choice brand. Loblaws promotes yuzu on Tik Tok, maintaining: “The achieved. For his lifelong struggle to enrich the lives platform encourages creativity and authenticity when it comes to new of Japanese Canadians; spanning more than a half food trends”.
Edible Roots
century, and for his exceptional contribution to the historic redress settlement in 1988, Roger Obata was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1990.
Tonari Gumi continued services that are available for Japanese-speakers. [Presentation will be in Japanese]February 22, 2022 at 1:00 – 2:30 pm Access via Zoom (Link emailed after registration) Free for Tonari Gumi members, $8 for non-members Inquiries/registration: 604.687.2172 ext. 102, or email at services@tonarigumi.ca (Masako) Help bring Japanese bentos to seniors: Delivery volunteers needed With an increase in TG’s bento Meals-on-Wheels service requests, we are currently looking for volunteers who can help deliver bentos to homes in New Westminster/ Coquitlam (south)/Surrey (north) region.
Yuzu is a ‘lemon-meets-lime-meets-orange citrus’ flavour. According to Loblaws, awareness of yuzu products are in a growing trend but remain unknown to most consumers, quoting; “Our media strategy focuses on ways to introduce and educate our customers on the yuzu flavour.” Check out these President’s Choice products that feature yuzu: • Yuzu Citrus Japanese-style Cheesecake • Yuzu Citrus Salmon Skewers • Yuzu Citrus Chicken Wings • Yuzu Sparkling Cold Brew Coffee • Honey Yuzu Citrus Lemonade Japanese-style cheesecake is popular in Vancouver and is offered at specialty dessert stores dedicated to this treat. Japanese cheesecake is light and fluffy. TGGC members recently tasted ‘Presidents Choice … Yuzu Cheesecake’, purchased from our local No-Frills store. It was unanimously declared as delicious!
Our Edible Roots – The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden “If you would enjoy a little insight into Japanese-Canadian food culture, a locally produced book has been put together to capture the historical foods of Japanese Canadians. ‘Our Edible Roots – The Japanese TG prepares bento lunch boxes in our kitchen on Canadian Kitchen Garden’ showcases Tuesdays, and delivery is arranged for seniors who historical and current foods enjoyed by this are unable to go out or cannot cook. Help us bring familiar dishes to those who may not have access to great community. You’ll also discover a few secrets about foraging food in our forests.” – Master Gardener, Brian Minter Japanese food. Inquiries/volunteer registration: 604.687.2172 ext. 106, Available ($20) at Tonari Gumi programs@tonarigumi.ca (Rie) 42 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver
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Community Update 487 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1C6 Tel: 604.254.2551 Email: info@vjls-jh.com
STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATE On November 30th, 2021, the VJLS-JH Board hosted over 40 participants to contribute to an inperson discussion about the future of VJLS-JH and what should be included in its new strategic plan. In addition to the feedback collected that evening, we also independently collected feedback from over 25 additional parents, staff, and teachers. The VJLS-JH Board is in the process of taking this information and transforming it into a plan, however we would like to share with you some of the themes and ideas that came out of our initial conversations. Things that are Important to Change • More Cultural Programming • Focus on the School • Engage an Increasingly Diverse Community • Implement Longer Term Planning • Improved Communication
Things that are Important to Maintain • Sharing the Japanese Language and Culture • Telling our organization and community’s history • Promoting Japanese Language Education • Space for cultural exchange and community From these themes, we heard many excellent ideas that will go into our final plan: • Engaging with our youth and providing leadership and development opportunities • Greater collaboration with other Japanese Canadian organizations • More cultural events like martial arts, calligraphy, and music • Weekday evening classes and social studies and math classes in Japanese • Language exchanges with Japan • Stronger relationships between seniors and youth • Staff that can support students and parents in navigating their identity as Japanese Canadian • And many more! We are grateful for all the community input we have received and look forward to sharing more details about the strategic plan as it develops.
Toronto NAJC continued in those formative stages of the organization and ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND SPECIAL RESOLUTION OF THE President of Japanese Canadians Citizens for MEMBERS MEETING Democracy (JCCD). Sunday, January 16, 2021 In his closing Bill Kobayashi said, “We are committed We bid farewell to long-standing Board member Randy Sakauye who to continue our work to improve the quality of life for served as Treasurer for many years. As well he helped the transition to our community and all Canadians.” He added that the our new Treasurer through the challenges of the pandemic. As our VP Kim 40th Anniversary Celebration Dinner would remain a Uyede-Kai noted Randy always asked the hard questions. We were also memorable event in the minds of those present and sorry to see Stéphane Hamade step down as part of his recent move to would give the community the inspiration to continue the Hamilton area. We wish both, the best of times ahead. to meet its many challenges. The Ethnocultural Rally, the Anniversary Dinner and the subsequent April 14th, 2022 TORONTO NAJC BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1988, Redress Rally on Parliament Hill were key events Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi, President; Kim Uyede-Kai, Vice-President; that united our community and its resolve in the 11 Michelle Walters, Treasurer; Les Takahashi, Secretary; and Directors Mika months before Redress was achieved on September Fukuma, Yosh Inouye, Fabiano Rocha and our newest Director sSuzanne Hartmann, Akiko Takahashi. Visit www.torontonajc.ca/board to learn more 22, 1988. about our Board members. (Adapted from Japanese Canadian Redress, The Toronto Story, Chapter 11, Addie Kobayashi) Copyright, Greater Toronto Chapter, National Association of Japanese Canadians
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Milestones ARMITAGE, Nobuko “Nan” (née Hamano) passed away peacefully at Kyoko was born in Steveston, BC the youngest child age 80 on Friday, Dec 31 at Hospice House Kelowna. to Jiro and Yoka. The family was relocated to Alberta, Nobuko was born in Fujisawa, Japan on May 25, 1941. At age 25, on and after graduating high school (class of five students), December 31, 1966, she sailed into Vancouver where she obtained she attained her teaching degree there and went on to employment at The Royal Bank of Canada in Vancouver. It was at the teach elementary school for three years before moving Main & Hastings branch that she met her husband to be, Alec. They were back to BC. After leaving teaching, like many ladies in Steveston, she worked summers at BC Packers for 25 married on December 7, 1973. years where she met and maintained lifelong friends. Together, they had many adventures throughout BC. Leaving behind their West End apartment in Vancouver, Nobuko and Alec moved to Vancouver She spent her spare time playing bingo, bowling, crossIsland where they lived for a time in Campbell River along with their fun- stitch, crossword puzzles, and going to the casino. loving dog Kenji (aka “Inu”). There, Nobuko held the position of controller She enjoyed her time babysitting the grandkids which at Crown Zellerbach. In the early 1980s, while on the Island, Nobuko and allowed her to watch them grow up, learn new activities Alec owned the Waverly Hotel in Cumberland. They eventually sold the and keep her young at heart. hotel, left the Island, passed through Vancouver (the “Big Smoke” as they She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, liked to call it). They finally settled in Winfield (Lake Country). favorite Aunt to many, and good friend to all. She Nobuko took on a variety of roles in the Okanagan including controller at touched many lives and will be fondly remembered a Chopstick factory in Kelowna, and at Grizzly Lumber in West Kelowna. by all those who knew her. In addition, she was always keen to help keep our earth green by A Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. encouraging all of us to make healthy choices and use Shaklee products. Flowers and Koden gratefully declined. Just try mentioning “Windex” in her house and see how she reacts! SAKAMOTO, Jean Harumi After suffering a stroke Nobuko loved to share her skills in sushi making with anyone who in November 2020, Jean passed away as result of wanted to learn. She also had a love for people, animals, nature, flowers complications on December 23, 2021. She attended (roses especially), all things made of wood, and of course, a deep love UBC, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and proceeded of music. In fact, when her favourite singing group “Il Divo” came to to careers in social work, alternative school teacher Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, she simply had to fly down to hear and seniors/volunteer coordinator. Travel was her her “boyfriends” perform. first love with sewing/crafts, cooking and sports Nobuko was predeceased by her husband Alec, mother Koto and Father closely behind. As a fiercely independent woman who shared her Japanese culture, she truly appreciated the Ryoji. She leaves behind Yasuko and Fukuko, her two sisters in Japan. culture of others. As the eldest of six children, Jean Heartfelt thanks to the staff and residents of Mission Villas for all their was predeceased by brother Makoto, parents Aiko kindness, support, and care. Also to the staff of KGH for their care, and Mamoru, sister-in-law Claudette and is survived compassion and great communication while there. by her siblings Bud, Crystal (Pradeep), David (Carol), MORIZAKI, Margaret Miyoko (Nee Tateishi) With sad hearts, we Sherry (Terry), extended family and many friends world announce the passing of our beloved mother on January 3, 2022 at wide. A special thank you to the Banfield Pavilion staff, Langley Memorial Hospital. Born in Vancouver, BC, Mom was predeceased Vancouver General Hospital doctors and staff and all by her loving husband of 60 years Terry Masaru, her brothers George, who have cared for Jean’s health and welfare over the Minoru and Masayoshi and sisters Toshiko, Chiyeko, Fumiko, Itsuko, past year. Jean’s funeral services will be conducted Sumiko and Mariko. She is survived by her brother Jim (Alice), sister Amy under Covid protocols with immediate family only on (Ted), her four children Wayne, Sandra (Tom), Sharon (Neil), Brenda and Wednesday, January 5, 2022. A celebration of life will many nieces and nephews. She will be deeply missed as she is fondly be held when safe to do so. In lieu of flowers, please remembered for her unfailing devotion to those around her. Her life was consider making a donation to a charity of your choice. truly dedicated to family as she always thought of everyone but herself. SHIMIZU, Patricia We are saddened to announce Our hearts break as we will miss the most wonderful wife, mother, daughter, the passing of our Dear Mom Patricia. She was sister, aunt and neighbour to so many people. We take great comfort predeceased by Husband Katsumi Sons Mike and knowing she rests peacefully now with dad. This beautiful world will not Dan. Survived by Sons Alan and Darrell and Daughter be the same without you. No service by request. Condolences may be Esther, 4 Granddaughters and 7 Great-Grandchildren, 1 made to the family by visiting: www.dignitymemorial.com Sister Jean (Jim), Brother-in-law Fuji Sister-in-law Barb, NIWATSUKINO, Kyoko (nee Kuramoto) Passed away peacefully in her many Nieces and Nephews and a lot of friends. She sleep on December 13, 2021. Predeceased by her husband Hiroshi and will be greatly missed by all. A private service was held infant daughter Keiko, three brothers, two sisters, and their spouses. at Glenhaven on January 24. Kyoko will be sadly missed by her children - Cliff, Janis (Kipp), Yumi (Daryl), grandchildren Sydney, Spencer, and Rudy; sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews.
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Tatsuo Kage
1935 – 2022
Dear friends and community, We are deeply saddened to share the news of our father, Tatsuo Kage's passing. After a slow but gradual decline in his health over the last couple of years, he took his last breath peacefully on January 26, 2022 at the age of 86. He was surrounded by his family and close friends right to the very end, as we played drums and sang songs in ceremony. We are truly grateful for the kind gestures, prayers, support, and offers from everyone. He was a humble and kind husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who found solitary pleasure in nature, downhill skiing for nearly 65 years, and fishing in the summer on the Sunshine Coast. He followed his values, engaged in all things he believed in and loved to do including cooking Japanese cuisine. Formerly a professor/lecturer in Tokyo, he also was a writer, author, translator, consultant for Japanese immigrants, an advocate for marginalised groups, and an activist who never hesitated to speak up for human rights. We plan to hold a celebration of his life sometime this spring or summer, details to be announced at a later date. In preparation, we would greatly appreciate anyone willing to share stories, memories, or photographs of Tatsuo Kage to help us remember who he was and how he engaged in the community. Please send words and images to kagetatsuo@outlook.com and/or please consider adding your words to this site: https://www.korucremation.com/obituaries/tatsuo-kage/. Feel free to forward this notice to your friends and colleagues.
Sincerely, Kage Family Vancouver BC, Coast Salish Territories
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Nikkei Place Monthly Update Nikkei & on Cultural Ni kNational k ei PlMuseum ac e D ati Centre on s
Honouring, Preserving, and Sharing Japanese Culture and Japanese Canadian History and Heritage for a Better Canada centre.nikkeiplace.org | 604.777.7000 | info@nikkeiplace.org | Support NNMCC: Donate by phone, mail or online WHAT’S ONSITE 館内にて開催 Reception | Gallery | Museum Shop: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00am - 5:00pm Sunday & Monday Closed Nikkei Bookstore 日系ブックストア: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 11:00am - 3pm MANGA SALE まんがセール! 2月12日から26日 火曜日から土曜日 11時から3時まで February 12-26 | Tuesday-Saturday | 11am-3pm Find used manga, perfect for Japanese language learners and anime fans looking to get more of their favourite series! All Manga books are in Japanese, $2 per copy. MUSEUM SHOP ミュージアムショップ *Special Offer* Japanese Canadian internment travel guide set Useful for self-guided tours For a limited time and at a discounted price, this set of reading materials includes essential guides to BC’s various internment sites, https://shop.nikkeiplace.org/ with photos, maps, and anecdotes to help uncover what life was like for interned Japanese Canadians. If you need help locating an item, please contact: jcnm@nikkeiplace.org | 604.777.7000 ext.109 MUSEUM PROGRAMS WRITING WRONGS | www.writingwrongs-parolesperdues.ca Writing Wrongs is our online exhibit featuring letters written in the 1940s by Japanese Canadians protesting their dispossession. Saturday, February 12, 2022, from 1-3pm, we will be hosting on Zoom, “Protest Letters: Then and Now” – a panel discussion with the descendants of those protestors. The discussion will be followed by a free optional workshop, led by Carmel Tanaka, a descendant, where participants are invited to write their own protest letters. Follow us on social media or stay tuned on our website for further updates. SUPPORT 日系文化センター・博物館をサポートする方法 Support our facilities, cultural programs, exhibits, research, and outreach education with a single or monthly donation. Gifts can be made by phone, mail, or online. Contact Nikkei Place Foundation for donation information: 604.777.2122 or gifts@nikkeiplacefoundation.org
NIKKEI IMAGES 日系イメージ Nikkei Images is a publication that focuses on the history of Nikkei in Canada. Continue reading and find past issues: https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/research/nikkei-images/ Included here is an excerpt from Volume 21, Issue No.3, Nikkei Images. Nippon Fujinkai – Japanese Women’s Associations by Eiji Okawa “Women’s associations that were organized by Japanese Canadian women in the early twentieth century were called fujinkai. Seventeen years after the arrival to Canada of the first known Japanese female immigrant, Yo Shishido, the Nippon Fujinkai was founded in Vancouver in 1904. Under Genko Nagamine’s leadership, the initial mandate of the Nippon Fujinkai was to raise funds to send relief for the bereaved families of Japanese soldiers who were killed in the Russo-Japanese war. By 1907, the Nippon Fujinkai had over 170 women who worked tirelessly to support immigrants who came to Canada from Japan. With the growth and diversification of Japanese communities and enclaves in British Columbia, there were over eight fujinkai organizations in different regions of the province.” CURRENT EXHIBITS 展示 SAFE | HOME Hours: Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm $5 admission, members and students free PERMANENT EXHIBITS
On until April 30th, 2022 Through the lens of the historic Vancouver Asahi baseball team, contemporary Canadian artist Kellen Hatanaka explores issues of race, xenophobia, representation, and implicit bias that are relevant in both sport and society today. 2F Kadota Landing – Treasures from the Collection – Taiken: Japanese Canadians Since 1877
MEMBERSHIPS 会員 The Nikkei Centre is always welcoming new members. Membership Benefits Include: • Free admission to the museum • Discounts at the museum shop and for certain events and programs • Attendance to the NNMCC Annual General Meeting Visit: https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/support-us/membership/
NIKKEI CENTRE is located at 6688 Southoaks Crescent • Burnaby, BC | centre.nikkeiplace.org | Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
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38 月報 The Bulletin
Nikkei Place Monthly Update Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society
FALLING – AND HOW TO MINIMIZE YOUR RISK As we move into older age, our bodies and minds change as the “physical ganized classes at community centres and at Nikkei. plant,” as I call it, starts to show the passing of time. It is just a natural And, depending on your age and/or physical condition, process of ageing. it is best to check first with your doctor before embarking on any new activities. One of the risks that increases as we age is falling. The data show that 1 out of 3 seniors in BC experiences a fall annually; that is a high probability. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalizations for seniors. They can result in a loss of mobility, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life. And there is a 30 percent chance mortality rate in the first year for those seniors who break a hip. So yes, falling is a serious matter that we should not ignore. But the risk of falling can be mitigated. Here are a few suggestions. 1. Assess your home environment.
3. Get your vision checked regularly. People with vision loss have twice the risk of falling. Good vision reduces your risk of falling, obviously. Seniors (aged 65 plus) should have a comprehensive eye exam every year so best to consult your doctor when you go for your yearly check up. 4. Have your medications reviewed by your doctor or a pharmacist.
Minimize clutter. That includes stairways if you have them;
Some medications may affect one’s balance and if you are on multiple medications, there may be interactive effects that you are not aware of. If you are taking viUse only non-slip rugs on the kitchen and bathroom floor. Also use nontamins or over the counter drugs (i.e. non prescription), skid mats, decals in the bathtub or shower; you should be mentioning these as well. Install handlebars in areas where you may need assistance, for example 5. Be more aware of how you walk. the bathtub or shower; I have always shuffled when I walk but I notice it has Install nightlights in the bedroom, bathroom, and hallways. There are gotten worse. I bump into things at home; when nightlights that are motion detected or light up only when it gets dark. outside I occasionally stub my toe (maybe some of If you have access to an Occupational Therapist, take advantage of that our sidewalks could use repairing!). I try to pick up resource. my feet more but I tend to forget so I have to make a conscious effort. 2. Keep Physically Fit and Active Remove carpets or rugs or anything that presents a tripping hazard;
Most of the above information (in more detail), you can You are less likely to fall if you are physically robust and even if you do find at www.findingbalancebc.ca fall, better able to endure the fall. There are so many resources on the Internet; this site Physical activity is defined as a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to would be a good place to start since it includes other strenuous intensity aerobic physical activity per week. That is less than sources. a half hour a day (a good investment I would say!) and need not be a Finally, if you have any specific questions or concerns, continuous 30 minutes but can be broken down. always check with your doctor or health care profesThe types of physical activity are: sional. Strength and balance -- can include lifting weights and climbing stairs. Endurance -- can include walking and dancing. Flexibility -- can include tai chi, yoga, stretching. Some of these activities can be done at home or you can check for or-
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February 02月 2022 39
www.nikkeiplace.org
Nikkei Place Monthly Update
N ikkei Place Do n at io n s
NIKKEI PLACE is comprised of three organizations: Nikkei Place Foundation, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, and Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society. Please visit www.nikkeiplace.org — our organizations are making updates on our websites and social media channels in reponse to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We are still accepting donations, but encourage you to give online at www.nikkeiplacefoundation.org to avoid any delays with receiving your tax receipt. For inquiries, please contact gifts@nikkeiplacefoundation.org.
Nikkei Place Foundation Donations | Gifts from December 21, 2021 — January 25, 2022 inclusive DONATIONS Miwako Aoki Dr. Millie Creighton Trevor Christie Kenneth Ezaki Satoshi & June Hamada Tobo & Hiroko Kawamoto Sharon Kawasaki-Chan Ken & Michiko Kochi Tetsuo & Noriko Kumagai Ruth & Bruce Matsuda Gail Mayer Mr. & Mrs. Masao Mizumoto Harry & Akemi Mizuta Mary Murao Sunni Nishimura Dr. Douglas & Marion Oldenburg Antony David John Penikett Vivian Rygnestad Wayne Seller Kazuhiro Shibata Shizuka Tsuzuki Margie Uyeda LEAFS Builder Anonymous
Nancy Okano RE/MAX Real Estate Services Justin Ault on behalf of Kyoko Miyashita & Family Norman Shuto & Patricia Wallace Mark & Paula Waslen Orange Anonymous (2) Yoriko Vickie Fukui Rodney Yutaka Hatanaka Shinobu Homma John Jamieson Ellen K. Kadonaga Yukimasa & Tamiko Kishimoto Yuki Matsuno Bill McNulty Eileen Miyanaga Diane Shikaze & Michael Borowski Keiji & Melody Shudo The Vancouver Japanese Gospel Church Dan Tokawa George & Hiroko Tsuchiya
Green Joan Inouye Karen Read Gold Pat M. Sakai Anonymous Nancy Miki & Adam Smith Thomas D. T. Suzuki Hozumi Takahashi Leigh Ann Shoji-Lee Yoshiko Uwasa Yuko Yasutake Roy Yabuki Copper Keiko Yakumo Anonymous HONOURS & TRIBUTES Bronze Dr. Robert & Molly Akune In Honour of Margaret Miki & Miyako Hirai Foster Frank & Naomi Kamiya Keith Westover Carrie Okano In Honour of Darcy Burgundy Hagan Michael Abe Kathleen Hepburn Anonymous Rickey & Margaret Yada In Honour of Inspiring Founders & Leaders Red Dan & Colleen Nomura Kevin Kochi Lillian S. Morishita
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40 月報 The Bulletin
In Honour of Kaye Kaminishi’s 100th Birthday Theresa Marks In Honour of Cy & Ritsu Saimoto Family Collection Project Debra Saimoto Laura Kumi Saimoto Ritsu Saimoto S. Saimoto Shigeo Saimoto Diane K. Yamaguchi Roger S. Yamaguchi In Memory of Yasu & Tom Asao Grace Asao In Memory of Dale Banno Sandra James In Memory of Robert T. Banno Sandra James In Memory of Atsuko (Hayashida) & Takeo Hirasawa Dr. Kaye Hayashida In Memory of Miyo & Tanejiro Hayashida Dr. Kaye Hayashida In Memory of Dick Atsushi Hiraoka Patricia Jette In Memory of Mastuye Hori RE/MAX Real Estate Services - Justin Ault In Memory of Yoshitada Isojima Port Alice V.I. Shirley Isojima In Memory of Toshi Isotani Noreen Isotani
In Memory of Jiro Kamiya Archie & Marjory Kamiya
In Memory of Setsuko Shoji-Araki Chris & Herb Kikuta
Catherine Makihara Masako & Ken Moriyama Anne Motozono In Memory of Takeo In Memory of Hideo Roberta H. Nasu Craig Natsuhara & Kanako Kariya & Misaye Ui Takeshi & Mizuho Ogasawara Ronald Ui Phil & Pauline Cooper Chris Oikawa In Memory of Jim Hanako Oye In Memory of Jimmy Wong-Chu Linda Kawamoto Reid & Kayoko Kondo Allan Cho Jim & Norma Sawada Kevin & Karey Kondo Howard Shimokura Dan & Caprice Lau NNMCC INSPIRATION Audrey Shimozawa In Memory of Aza & FUNDRAISER Barbara Shishido Nori Kosugi Charlotte Takasaki Kathryn Hayashi Bruce Kosugi Reiko Cheryl Honkawa Sharlene A. Tabata Joyce C. Takeshita In Memory of KenShinobu Kadome Darlene Tanaka neth Matsune Kim Kamimura Dorothy Matsune Frank & Naomi Kamiya & Trevor Jones Grace Tanaka Yuki Matsuno In Memory of Okinu Ginzo & Harue Udagawa Tsuneo & Noriko Miki Miki Hisako Wada Craig Natsuhara Tsuneo & Noriko Miki Dan & Colleen Nomura Fred & Linda Yada Chris, Jan Yamamoto In Memory of Wally Carrie Okano & Family Nagamatsu Nancy Okano Norine K. Yamamoto Ed & Carole Iwanaka Leigh Ann Shoji-Lee Sam Yamamoto In Memory of Yoshiko Keiji & Melody Shudo Tatsuo & Mariko Yamamoto & Ted Nakatsu Jack Yeh MONTHLY GIVING Naomi Nakatsu Gwendolyn Yip & Santa Ono In Memory of Mary & Anonymous (2) Carina Abe Sadao Nishimura HERITAGE ESTATE Ian & Debbie Burgess Shawn Nishimura GIVING CIRCLE Brian & Marcia Carr In Memory of Yoshiharu Hashimoto Patricia H. Chan Miyoko Nose George & Elaine Homma Michael & Ruth Coles Laura Dempsey Betty Issenman Grant Dustin Sato Kobayashi Masami Hanashiro In Memory of Cathy Makihara Junichi & Atsumi Tommy Ono Robert & Jane Nimi Kazuto & Mary Nakamoto Hashimoto Carrie Okano Tad & Mitsuko Hosoi The Maihara Family Linda Kawamoto Reid Shaun Inouye In Memory of Richard & Gail Shinde Kenneth & Bernadine Ray Ota Norman Shuto Isomura Anonymous Haruko Takamori Mary F. Kawamoto Sian Tasaka In Memory of Fred G. Satoko Kobayashi Fred & Linda Yada Randall Greciana Langamon Sam Yamamoto Aileen Randall Tommy Li Shinobu Kadome In Memory of Stewart Kawaguchi Marie Saito We apologize for any errors Ted Kawamoto Kelty McKinnon or omissions on this list.
Nikkei Place Monthly Update 日系シニアズヘルスケア・住宅協会 転倒リスクと予防法 著者:ランディ 近藤 翻訳:保喜 眞弓 高齢になるにつれ、私たちの体と心、いわゆる身体機能が変化してい き、時の経過を感じるようになります。 これは加齢においてごく自然なこ とです。 年齢を重ねるごとに増えるリスクの一つが転倒です。 BC州では毎年、高齢者の3人に1人が転倒を経験するというデータがあ り、 これはかなりの高い確率と言えます。高齢者のケガによる死亡や入 院の主な原因が転倒です。転倒は、運動能力の低下・自立性の喪失・生 活の質の低下を招くことになります。そして高齢者が腰の骨を折った場 合、最初の1年間での死亡率は30%と言われています。 このように、転倒 は無視できない重大な問題です。 しかし、転倒のリスクを軽減することは可能ですので、その方法をご紹 介します。
自宅環境を見直しましょう 周囲に物が散らかっていないようにします(階段も含めて)。 カーペット やラグなど、つまずきの原因となるものを取り除きます。キッチンやバス ルームの床には滑りにくいラグを敷き、浴槽やシャワー室には滑り止め のマットやステッカーを使用します。 また、浴槽やシャワー室など、支え が必要な場所には手すりを設置し、寝室、浴室、廊下などに常夜灯を付 けましょう。常夜灯には、センサーで人の動きをキャッチするものや、暗 くなったら灯りがつくものがあります。作業療法士を利用するのも良い でしょう。
医師や薬剤師に薬の内容を確認してもらいましょう 薬によっては平衡感覚に影響を与えるものもありますし、複数の薬を服 用している場合は、 自分では気づかない相互作用があるかもしれませ ん。ビタミン剤や市販薬(非処方箋薬)を服用している場合も伝えておき ましょう。
歩き方に注意しましょう 私はもともとすり足になりがちだったのですが、だんだんひどくなってき ていることに気付きました。家では物にぶつかり、外ではつま先をぶつ けることもあります(補修が必要な歩道もあるかもしれませんが…)。 も っと足を上げようと思うのですが、ついつい忘れてしまうので、意識して やっています。 上記のより詳しい情報は、www.findingbalancebc.ca をご参照くださ い。 インターネット上には多くの情報源がありますが、 このサイトはさまざ まな情報源が含まれているので、 まずはこのサイトを見てみるといいと 思います。 最後に、具体的な質問や懸念事項がある場合は、必ず医師または医療 専門家に確認してください。
体力をつけ、活動的になりましょう 体力のある人は転びにくく、 また転んでも持ちこたえることができます。 身体活動とは、中程度から激しい度合いの有酸素運動を1週間に最低 150分以上行うことと定義されています。 これは1日30分以下の時間です (優れた時間投資だと言えるでしょう)。30分続けてする必要はなく、小 分けにしても構いません。 身体活動には次のような種類があります。 • 筋力とバランス‐重いものを持ち上げる、階段を上るなど • 持久力‐ウォーキングやダンス • 柔軟性‐太極拳、 ヨガ、 ストレッチなど これらの身体活動の中には、 自宅でできるものもありますし、 コミュニテ ィセンターや日系センターで開催されている講座もありますのでチェッ クしてみてください。なお、年齢や健康状態によっては、新しい運動を始 める前に、 まず医師に確認することをお勧めします。
定期的に視力検査を受けましょう 視力が低下した人は、転倒のリスクが2倍になります。視力が良ければ転 倒のリスクが減るのは当然のことです。 シニア (65歳以上)の方は、毎年、 総合的な眼科検診を受ける必要がありますので、年に一度の検診の際 に医師に相談してみてください。
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February 2022 41 41 February02月 2月 2022
隣組
隣組へのご寄付ありがとうございました。 (2021 年 12 月 15 日〜 2022 年 1 月 21 日 順不同、敬称略) お名前の誤り等があった場合は来月号の紙面にて訂 正させて頂きますので、 ご連絡ください。
対面式プログラムのキャンセル・変更 コロナの規制およびプログラム参加者、ボランティア、 スタッフの安全のため、隣組館内で 行う対面式のプログラムはキャンセルまたはZoomに移行しました。再開については隣組 ウェブサイトtonarigumi.caまたは登録参加者にはプログラム・コーディネーターからの直 接メールでお知らせします。Zoomおよび電話プログラムはこれまでどおり継続していま す。お問い合わせ:604-687-2172 ext. 106 / programs@tonarigumi.ca(リエ)
日本語認知症ケアギバー・サポートグループ [ 無料 ] 認知症のご家族をケアしている日本人を支援するサポートグループがZoomで始まりまし た。 自由に話をしながら認知症に関することを相談したり、それぞれの経験をシェアするこ とでケアギバーの方々の支えとなる集まりを目指しています。 対象:現在認知症の家族をケアしている方(同居または遠隔) ファシリテーター:アンダーソン佐久間雅子(BC州認定クリニカル・ソーシャルワーカー) 日時:第1&3金曜日、午後1〜2時※ アクセス:Zoomズーム(お申込み後に詳細をメールします) お問合せ・お申込み:電話:604-687-2172内線102、 メール:services@tonarigumi.ca(正 子) ※都合が合わなくて参加できない方もご連絡ください。参加しやすい日時など希望を送っ ていただければ、今後の参考にさせていただきます。
2 月の隣組セミナー「移民定住支援団体サクセスのサー ビス紹介」 講師:サクセスSettlement Practitioner
伊藤こずえ
移住者の支援を行う非営利団体「サクセス(SUCCESS)」の定住支援部門の日本人スタッフ 伊藤こずえさんを招いて、 シニア向けのサービスを中心にご紹介いただきます。サクセス は様々な国からの移住者の支援を長年行っている団体で、 日本語のセミナーやサービスに ついては意外に知られていないので、 この機会にPRカードの更新の仕方やその他日本 語で受けられるサービスについてご案内します。 日時:2月22日 (火)午後1:00〜2:30 アクセス:Zoomズーム(お申込み後に詳細をメールします) 会員無料・非会員$8 お問合せ・お申込み:604-687-2172内線102、 メールservices@tonarigumi.ca(正子)
「Japanese Canadian Survivors' Social Club」今春開始予定 1942〜1949年に強制収容を経験した日系人を対象としたJapanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness基金から助成金を受け、春から隣組、GVJCCA(グレーター・バンクー バー・日系カナダ市民協会)そしてスティーブストン・コミュニティ協会が共同で「Japanese Canadian Survivorsʼ Social Club」をスタート、 シニアの皆さんがアクティビティや外出をと おして定期的に集まる機会を提供します。
寄付金 吉田咲子、藤嶋勝世、ハシモト・ジェニファー、関根次 郎、ボッスハルト康代、森冨佐子、高橋タミ、渋沢恭 子、モリシタ・リリアン、上田ロイ&百合子、 クリヤマ・ ポール、 クーパー・ポリン、藤田レスリー、 カキハラ・ヨ シタカ、石川美津男、 カウンター直、中堀忠一、小早川 マーティン&アビー、 シェブロフ静、ホンマ・シノブ、 水元正雄、Mitsui Canada Foundation、West Coast Gardeners Co-Op、WithinUs Natural Health Inc.、匿 名希望 (9) 寄付金 (Canada Helps) オカダ・ジャネット、マキハラ・キャサリン、 ナカイ・エミ リー、 カドナ・ガロベーン、ヒゴ・ケルビン、ハーペン・サ チエ、 ワスレン・マーク、マスハラ・ダグラス、 カドナガ・ エレン、 ノムラ・ダン、 タカサキ・マユミ、ヤスタケ・ユウ コ、鈴木マキコ、Canada Helps/COVID-19 Community Care Fund & Vancouver Fund、匿名希望 (3) モリザキ・ミエコ 追悼記念 タテイシ・ジム&アリス ヤマウチ・ジョー 追悼記念 イップ・スタン&ジェーン オノ・トム 追悼記念 イップ・スタン&ジェーン、 ストゥワート・ヒロコ ヤマモト・マス 追悼記念 ストゥワート・ヒロコ ショウジ・ヨシヒロ 追悼記念 ストゥワート・ヒロコ コヤナギ・シャーリー 追悼記念 ストゥワート・ヒロコ カミムラ・ジェーン 追悼記念 ストゥワート・ヒロコ わが夫、マツネ・ケニス 追悼記念 マツネ・ドロシー シミズ・ミオ&ビクター 追悼記念 シミズ・キャシー・ユミコ カドナガ・トキコ 追悼記念 サコン・マーガレット、 ワカバヤシ・ヘンリー&イボンヌ
詳細はこちら月報や隣組ウェブサイトtonarigumi.caに更新します。 また、担当プロ グラム・コーディネーターも募集中。詳細はこちらからご覧ください。https://tinyurl. com/2p8jy4w9
カドナガ・トキコ 追悼記念 (Canada Helps) カドナガ-フーパ―・カレン、 カド・モナ
外出が困難な方にお弁当を・配達ボランティア募集
ウォング チョ・ジム 追悼記念 (Canada Helps) チョ・アレン
お弁当サービスの希望者が各地で増えるにともない、隣組では現在ニューウェストミンス ター、 コキットラム(南部)、サレー(北部)地域で配達ボランティアを募集しています。 毎週火曜日、隣組キッチンで準備したお弁当を提供するこのサービスは、外出や調理が困 難なシニアの方を対象に配達を行っています。 日本の家庭の味を届ける配達ボランティア にご興味がある方はぜひご連絡ください。 お問合せ・ボランティア登録:電話604-687-2172内線106、 メールprograms@tonarigumi. ca(リエ)
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42 月報 The Bulletin
物品 渋沢恭子、江崎直子、岩浅デービッド、土屋智輝、 カト ウ、野田登美子、 ジョエル・ジェシー/Queen Elizabeth Lions Club、匿名希望 (2) ** MONTHLY GIVING ** 寄付金 (Canada Helps) サトウ・タカシ、鈴木傳、水口光子、 ナガタ・タモツ、山下 里美、モリタ・エミコ、匿名希望 (1)
バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館
お知らせ雑記帳
戦略計画報告 昨年11月30日に開催された理事会主催の戦略計画会議では、40名以 上もの参加者と共にVJLS-JHの将来について考え、様々な意見を出し合 いました。又、25名を超える保護者の方々や、教職員からも個別に意見 を頂きました。 現在VJLS-JH理事会が、それらの意見を踏まえ計画作成に取り組んでお ります。以下、前会議での話し合いのテーマや内容について皆様に共 有いたします。
変革に必要なこと • • • • •
日本語学校、こどものくに申し込みについて 2022年度に向け私たち教職員は、楽しいレッスンや行事を計画中です。 日本語学校、 こどものくにでは、2022年3月19日より申し込み受付を開始 いたします。人数に限りがございますのでお早めにお申し込みください。 また、 こどものくにではスプリングキャンプ(3月14日から18日)のお申 し込みも受けつけております。お申し込みはこちらから:
www.vjls-jh.com/childrens-world/childrens-camp
さらなる文化的行事の開催 学校に焦点を当てる 多様化するコミュニティへとの関わり 長期計画の実施 コミュニケーションの改善
維持管理において必要なこと • • • •
日本語と日本文化の共有 当団体とコミュニティの歴史の伝達 日本語教育の促進 文化交流の場とコミュニティへの場の提供
以上のテーマについて話し合われ、 以下様々なご意見をいただきました: • • • • • • •
若い世代との関わり、 リーダーシップ育成の機会の提供 他の日系カナダ人団体との協同 武道や書道、音楽などの文化的行事の開催 平日夕方の授業、社会や数学の日本語での授業提供 高齢者と若年層のより深い関係の構築 日系カナダ人としてのアイデンティティの形成を導き、生徒や保護 者を支援できる職員育成 その他
皆様からの貴重なご意見誠にありがとうございました。計画が決まり次 第、詳細等皆様に改めてお知らせいたします。
定款について 2020年、VJLS-JH理事会は、最善の措置や基準を達成する目標ととも に、最新の定款について会員向けに提示いたしました。当時会員の方 より、再検討したい項目が幾つかあること、 また、推奨されている変更 事項について話し合う追加の機会を設けてほしいとのご意見が寄せら れました。 新ガバナンス委員会では、それらの項目について再検討し、VJLS-JHの ニーズやBC Societies Act、会員のフィードバックを踏まえ更新作業に取 り組んでおります。 そこで、2月以降ウェブサイトとeニュースを通じて定期的な更新を共有 し、変更点やフィードバックをもとに検討した事項についてお知らせい たします。 また、会員の方が投票前にこれらの更新事項について委員会 と協議できるよう、公開協議についての情報もお知らせいたします。 前会員の有効期限は2021年12月15日の年次総会をもちまして終了とな っております。会員更新をご希望の方はことらより登録お願い致します。
www.vjls-jh.com/membership/membership-form
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《滄海一粟》 航海日誌
元日系ボイス編集者 田中 裕介
デビッド・スズキとSDGs、 そして 「人新生」 コロナ禍3年目の春を迎えた。 この間、 コロナ・ウィルスはDELTAから OMICRONまで新株が出現した。 ウィルスも必死に生き残ろうとしている のだ。人類が地球の地質や生態系に影響を与える時代を「人新生」 と呼 ぶが、人が火を使い森を焼き払い、農業生産を始めた時を紀元とする。 それは人類による自然に対する搾取の時代の到来だった。
●Force of Nature だが、 自然が牙をむいた時、人の存在はまるで虫ケラ以下であること も人間は知っている。だから人間は搾取する一方で自然を神と崇め、ひ れ伏したフリをしてきたのかもしれない。1989年に日系ボイスの編集者 として日系社会に飛び込んだ時、最初に目にしたのが同新聞の発起人 の一人であり、環境保護運動家デビッド・スズキ博士の活躍だった。彼 はCBC番組「Nature of Things」 で注目され、 アマゾンのカヤポ族支援を 積極的に行なっていた。地球温暖化の兆候である 「オゾン・ホール」 とい う言葉を知ったのも彼の講演だったと思う。 1987年、モントリオール議定書によって、 フロンガスの使用禁止の取 り組みが国際的に始まった。デビッドは「イヌイットが日焼けしだした。 異常なことだ」 と北極圏でもオゾンの「穴」が広がっていることや、豪州の 農業地帯の砂漠化の実情などを紹介した。30年前、彼は既に人類が地 球に人為的な悪影響を加えていると警鐘を鳴らしていた。 最近は「SDGs」が喧伝されているが、デビッドは、当時からSustainable Developmentという概念をきっぱりと否定していた。 「開発」 という 言葉の内実は自然の搾取であり、 自然を商品化して売り、利益を追求す ることを意味するからだ。市場経済では樹木、水、空気は商品化されるま で価値はない。逆に言うと、利益がでなければ無価値どころか損益とな る。デビッドは、 これは「INSANE」だと主張し、市場経済というシステムを 根本から変え、地球との新たな関係を築かなければ維持可能な開発な どありえないと断言していた。 だが、市場経済体制を覆すことは、すなわち革命である。それが一番 難しいことを、デビッドはよくわかっている。だからこそ、人の意識を変え ようと執拗にそれを言い続けているのだと思う。 一方で、彼は決して政界に入ろうとはせず、教育者、批判者に徹して きた。それは、北米の白人主流社会の中で、彼が日系人の代表とみなさ れることに違和感があったからではないかと思う。彼の妹アイコによる と、 「兄は日系人よりも先住民たちに親しみを感じていた」 という。確か に、彼はことあるごとに「I have nothing to do with Japan」 と言い続け てきた。 この心理の裏には収容所体験があるのかもしれない。記録映画 「Force of Nature」 (2010)は「デビッド・スズキ最後の授業」 という副題 が付いていたが、 この中で彼はBC州ニューデンバーの日系人収容資料 館を訪れている。展示されている当時の粗末な台所やテーブルに触っ て、 「これは母が使っていたものと同じものだ。Very Japanese!」 と繰り返 し、 こらえきれずに涙を流した。 一方で「子供にとって収容所は天国だったよ。何しろ学校はないし、 森を走り回っていられたのだから」 と語っているが、同資料館では、親た ちが舐めた苦渋が見えてきたのではないか。 「僕は日本とは全く関係な い」 と言い切るデビッドにして、 この「なんて日本的なんだ」 というコメン トは、紛れもなく彼の中の日系人的な心情が露呈した一瞬であり、郷愁 以上の複雑な心理が覗いていたと思う。
NAJCは2021年12月9日に“The Nature of David Suzuki”のオンライン上映会を開いた。
が理解できればそれでいい」 と語っている。 自分たちが言語を捨ててし まったら後がない先住民と、 日本語環境が異なることは確かだ。だが、彼 の頑なな姿勢には、 日本的なものを否定しようという心理的圧力が外側 から加わったように見えるのだ。 ある講演で、デビッドは「中年になって精神的クライシスになり、 カウ ンセラーの世話になった時、心の問題がすべて収容所時代の体験にた どり着くことに気づいた」 と語っている。 この心的傾向が彼の思想形成に どう影響を及ぼしたのだろう。
●先住民への親和性 デビッドは1980年代以降、先住民の世界観に取り憑かれてきた。それ は、人間を地球の生態系の連環の中に位置付けるもので、縄文期の日 本人の祖先が育んだ「八百万の神」、梅原猛が「森の思想」 と呼ぶ自然信 仰と同根である。1989年、デビッドはアマゾンのカヤポ族を絶滅から救 えという運動を展開した。 カナダ社会は見事にそれに応えて寄付金を募 り、 アマゾンでのダム建設を中止させた。同時に、彼はアジア諸国で続く 自然破壊の元凶である日本企業を目の敵にしていた。 アルバータ州ルビ コン族の土地での大昭和製紙による皆伐への反対運動もその一つで、 これも草の根運動が勝利し皆伐は中止された。いずれもデビッドが火 付け役だった。 その後、彼は日本にいってさまざまな活動家と出会い、 日本にも人権 や自然保護と取り組む人たちがたくさんいることを知り、共著で「JAPAN WE NEVER KNEW」 (1997) という本を出版した。 この本には、彼が思い 込んでいた日本的イメージがことごとく壊れていった過程が浮き彫りに されている。 興味深いのは、デビッドの思想的なトーンがその頃に変わりだしたこ とだ。彼自身、 「いくら批判しても人は変わらないものだということに気 づいた」 と書いている。彼は環境改善のための技術や製品を開発した 人や企業を応援する方向に転じた。そして、2002年、あっと驚くことが起 きた。彼がトロント日系文化会館で講演した時のことだ。デビッドは話 し終えて演台から降りると、そのまま最前席のトヨタカナダ社の中谷社 長に歩み寄り、二人はがっちり握手したのである。その頃、 トヨタ製ハイ ブリッド車を運転するデビッドの姿がメディアに載った。いわく、 「デビッ ド・スズキ博士はトヨタ・プリウスの最初のオーナーになった」 という内 容だった。 この時、デビッド・スズキ博士は一人の「批判者」から、健全な生態系 を目指す「現実的な改善者」に役割シフトしたように見える。過去30年 間、デビッドは「人類と地球との関係を根本的に作り変えなければなら ない」 と繰り返してきた。今、やっと地球環境の逼迫さが世界各国に伝わ ってきたようだ。
●Middle Age Crisis デビッドは事あるごとに「僕は収容所の中で初めて差別を経験した」 と語っている。 「しかも、同じ日系人からの差別だった」 という。理由は想 像がつく。収容所で教員をつとめていたある二世が、6歳のデビッドを 印象強く覚えていた。彼は「社会的にも知能的にもとても成熟していた」 と 「Education in Canadian Exile」(2002)に書いている。デビッドは入学 した年に4学年に飛び級した。先生のお気に入りで一人浮いた存在だ った。その上、彼は日本語が話せなかった。二世の両親は「よきカナダ人 たれ」 と日本語を教えなかったからだ。 彼は「日系人が日本語を話せなくても、 日本には一億人も日本語を話 す人がいるのだから問題ない。 日本文学を知らなくてもシェークスピア
“The Japan We Never Knew: A journey of discovery” (1997) デビッドと大岩教授が日本各地でアイヌ、部落民、在日、オ キナンチューなどの活動家と出会い語り合った紀行本
*題字の「滄海一粟」 (そうかいのいちぞく) とは大海原に浮かぶ一粒の粟のこと。
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44 月報 The Bulletin 44 Bulletin
第42回
Eastsideから見える日本と世界 年末年始の生活困窮者支援の現場で気づいたこと
■大勢のボランティアが参加した「寿越冬」 2021年12月末から2022年1月初めの年末年始期間に、横浜・寿町の「寿 越冬」に参加しました。横浜・寿町、寿越冬についてはこれまでも何度か本 欄で紹介してきました。1970年代の不況期に、 日本の都市部では失業し日 々の食事にも困窮し、野宿を余儀なくされる日雇い労働者たちが増加しま した。その時に、寝泊まりする場所と食事を年末年始期間中に提供する支 援活動として寿越冬は始まりました。現在の寿町は住民約5,800人のうち9 割が生活保護受給者で、高齢者、障がいや疾病(依存症を含む)を持つ住 民も増えています。 コロナ禍になって以降、生活困窮の問題がたびたび報道されるためか、 オミクロン株の感染増加が懸念されている時期ではありましたが、多くの ボランティアが寿越冬に参加しました。初めての参加という人も珍しくな く、生活困窮問題に関心を持つ人、 自分も何か役立つことをしたいと考え る人が多いことを実感しました。
■炊き出しに並ぶ人々の顔ぶれが東京とは違う 昨年の同時期の本欄でも書きましたが、寿越冬で炊き出しの列に並ぶ 人たちは、寿町で生活保護を受給して暮らす人たちや野宿(ホームレス) 生活をしている人たちが中心です。寿町では、年末年始でない通常期間で も、毎週、炊き出しが行われており、そこに並ぶ人たちは年末年始の炊き 出しにも並ぶのです。 一方、同じ年末年始の時期に、寿町以外の場所(東京・新宿、池袋など) でも生活困窮者を対象にした炊き出し、食糧配布、生活相談等が行われ、
テレビや新聞、インターネットニュースでも報道されました。 これらの 炊き出しや食糧配布の列に並ぶ人たちと、寿越冬の炊き出しに並ぶ 人たちは、昨年に続き今年も、異なる様相でした。私は報道で見るだ けでしたが、新宿や池袋で開催された炊き出し、食糧配布等には女 性、家族連れ(子ども連れ)、外国人の姿がある一方、寿越冬では中高 年、高齢の男性が中心で、毎週の炊き出しでよくみる顔ぶれが目立ち ました。 もちろん寿町でも若年者や女性の姿もありましたが、中心は 中高年、高齢の男性でした。
■必要とする人たちに支援を届けるために 昨年の寿越冬の後、限られた人にしか寿越冬の情報が届いていな いのではないか、寿町で生活困窮者支援が行われていることや誰で も支援を受けられることをより広く知ってもらう必要がある、 という意 見が出ました。それを踏まえて、昨年末に寿越冬の情報を知らせるた めのインターネットサイトを立ち上げました。 しかし、 まだまだ広くは 知られていないようです。 これまで寿町の支援活動が対象としてきたのは口コミで情報を知 る中高年や高齢者の労働者や元労働者たちでした。 しかし、現在、生 活困窮の範囲は広がっています。あらゆる事柄をインターネットで検 索する人々も増えました。現状では、そうした人たちには寿町での支 援に関する情報はうまく届いていません。いま支援を必要としている 人たちにその人たちが求めている支援や情報を届けるために、 これ までとは違う方法、仕組みが必要だと改めて感じています。
寿越冬で炊き出しの準備を行うボランティアたち (2016 年 1 月撮影)
山本薫子(やまもと・かほるこ) 首都大学東京都市環境学部准教授 (2008年〜)。UBC社会学部客員准 教授(2018年5月〜12月)。専門は都 市社会学、地域社会学。 著書に、 『横浜・寿町と外国人−グロ ーバル化する大都市インナーエリ ア 』福村出版(2008年)、 『原発震災 と避難 − 原子力政策の転換は可能 か(シリーズ 被災地から未来を考え る(1))』有斐閣(2017年)など。
コ
ミュニティ コーナー *コミュニティーコーナーへの投稿はeditor.geppo@gmail.comで受付しておりま す。3月号の投稿締め切り日は2月22日 です。 スペースの都合上、全ての投稿を掲載で きるとは限りません。 また、出版日が変更 になる場合もございますので予めご理解 願います。
「I Know We’ll Meet Again: 強制収容・離散の地から寄せられた 日系カナダ人若者たちの手紙」 パネルイベント
2月の仏事・行事予定(Zoom) 2月 13 日(日)午前 10 時
2月に亡くなった方を偲ぶ 祥月法要
土曜 10AM からの法座 on Zoom 1月2日・16 日・30 日 メディテーション・読経・法話 詳細・参加申し込みはウェブサイトから 法事はご自宅でも、お寺(仏教会)でも営む事が出来ま す。法事・葬儀・密葬(BC 州公式ライセンスによる)仏前
結婚式等仏事のお問い合わせは青木先生までお電話ください。 (604.253.7033) 220 Jackson Ave. Vancouver rev.aoki@gmail.com vancouverbuddhisttemple.com
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46 月報 The Bulletin
日時:2022年3月1日金曜日午後1時から2時30分まで (太平洋時間) 開催方法:オンライン 言語:英語 お申込みリンク:https://bit.ly/gillis22 連絡先:UBCアジア図書館・喜多山知子 (電話604-822-0960 | Email: tomoko.kitayama@ubc.ca) ブリティッシュコロンビア大学図書館及びUBC Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studiesプログラムの共催により、 図書館所蔵の書簡コレクションJoan Gillis fondsを基にした パネルイベントが開催されます。 日系カナダ人の歴史を、若 者の目から映しだすこの書簡コレクションは、2018年にUBC 図書館に寄贈されました。サレー市内のクイーン・エリザべ ス・セカンダリースクール在籍中だったジョーン・ギリスさん が、強制移動が行われた1942年以降、 日系カナダ人の友人 たちから受け取った149通の手紙といくつかの写真が含まれ ています。 日系カナダ人の強制分散・強制収容・財産没収が始まった 1942年から80周年を迎える本年、 日系コミュニティからアー ティスト、研究者、 アーキビストの方々を迎え、 これらの手紙へ のそれぞれの「返答」をパネルイベントの形でうかがいます。 このイベントでは、 ジョーン・ギリス書簡コレクションを紹介す るデジタル展示も公開されます。 このイベントはどなたでも自由にご参加いただけます。下記 のリンクより参加をお申し込みください。
お悔やみ 友人の皆様、 コミュニティーの皆様、 深い悲しみを持って、父の鹿毛達雄が他界したことをお知らせ致 します。 この数年の間に、父の健康は緩慢ながらしだいに低下してい き、2022年1月26日に86歳で安らかに息を引き取りました。最期は、 家族と親しい友人達が囲んで、 ドラムを叩き、歌を歌って父を見送りま した。皆様から暖かなお言葉、お祈り、 ご支援を頂きましたことを、心 より感謝申し上げます。 鹿毛達雄は謙虚で優しい夫、父、叔父、祖父、曾祖父でした。 自然の 中では一人で喜びを味わい、65年近くもの間滑降スキーを、夏にはサ ンシャインコーストでの釣りを楽しみました。 自分の価値観に従って 行動し、信じていること、愛していること全てに忠実でした。 日本料理 を作ることはそのうちの一つでした。 東京では教授、講師として働き、 カナダに移住後は作家、翻訳者、 日 本人移民のアドバイザー、疎外された人々、団体の代弁者、活動家と して活躍し、人権を主張することにためらわない人でした。 今年の春か夏頃に父の生涯を記念する催しを計画しています。詳 細は追ってお伝えします。その準備として、父についてのエピソードや 思い出、あるいは写真を私たちと分かち合い、父の人なりや、父がど のようにコミュニティーに貢献してきたかを想い起こす手助けをして くださる方がいらっしゃれば、大変ありがたく存じます。 kagetatsuo@outlook.com のメールアドレスにお言葉やお手元の お写真を送ってください。あるいはこちらのサイトでお言葉を送ってく ださいますようお願いします。 https://www.korucremation.com/obituaries/tatsuo-kage/
また、 この事を皆様のご友人や同僚の 方々にも転送し拡散してくださいますようお願い致します。 敬具 鹿毛一同 ブリティッシュコロンビア州バンクーバー コーストセーリッシュ・テリトリーズ
編集後記
Kazuho Yamamoto
鹿毛さんの突然の訃報(47ページ)に接し、驚きと悲しみでいっ ぱいです。 Kazuho Yamamoto
私が『げっぽう』編集部に参加する前から長年当団体で精力的に 活動され、鹿毛さんは大先輩の存在でした。当誌にも人権委員会 の活動について毎月寄稿頂き、大変お世話になりました。 また、 日英 翻訳ボランティアの運営と、ボランティアの翻訳指導も先導し、次世代 翻訳家の育成を支援するメンター的な存在でもありました。
Kaoさんも下記でお話されていますが、イベントで会った際にはいつも優しくお声がけし て下さったことが昨日の事のように思い出されます。 謹んでご冥福をお祈りいたします。 写真:2017年パウエル祭のGV JCCAブースでの鹿毛さん(From GVJCCA Facebookより)
「ヒヤシンスとアマリリス」
KAO (a.k.a. SleeplessKao) KAO
「アマリリス」 ってなんか「キリギリス」 と言葉の響きが似てますね。 ま、それはどうでもいいで すね(笑) 年末に箱に入った栽培キットをプレゼントされました。中にはプラスチックの鉢と大きな球根、ホッケーパックの ようなもの。土は?と思いながら箱の説明通りにホッケーパックを水に浸すとモコモコと鉢いっぱいの土になった。 小学校の時の理科の実験のような懐かしい気持ちになりながら鉢の真ん中に球根を埋めた。 1ヶ月近く経っても球根に変化はあまり見られず、果たしてちゃんと咲くのだろうか? ある日起きてリビングに行くと、部屋中がめちゃくちゃ良い香り。窓際を見るとヒヤシンスが3株、 ドッと咲いて いた。 良い香りにテンションも上がり、あまりにも嬉しかったので友達にテレビ電話で自慢する (笑) この日を機になぜか理科の実験のように植えたアマリリスが竹の子かと思うほどぐんぐんと伸びていく。そ の高さなんと75cm。 アマリリスがどんな花か今まで気にしたことはなかったのですが、球根から育てると可愛くてしょうがない です。皆さんにも球根から花を育てるのお勧めです。バレンタインのプレゼントにどうでしょう? 部屋のヒヤシンスとアマリリスが一足先に春の訪れを教えてくれます。今年は寒かった分、春が来るのが 楽しみです。 をもらう smell でパワー credible. The り 香 の in 花 . is e r il e m w s ig po Flower th made me b in of hyac
peace.
最後に、鹿毛さんが亡くたったという悲しい知らせを受けました。 月報マガジンへの寄稿や、励まし などたくさんのサポートをいただきました。 日系のイベントでお会いすると、いつもニコニコと笑顔 で話しかけていただいたのが思い出されます。心よりお悔やみ申し上げます。
Iʼve heard a sad news about Mr. Kage had passed away. He was such a great supporter. He contributed to our monthly magazine, He encouraged our work. I remembered his smile and kindness. May your loved one rest in
The Bulletin 第64巻2号
2022年2月号 げっぽうは毎月1回、 グレーター・バンクーバー日系カナダ市民協会(GV JCCA)によって発行されています。
げっぽう編集長:ジョン・遠藤・グリーナウェイ john@bigwavedesign.net 日本語編集:Kao & 山本一穂 editor.geppo@gmail.com 広告担当:アン・ジュー annejew@telus.net/604-609-0657 配布担当:マイケル・トラ・スパイアー アドミン・アシスタント:岡本光代 GV JCCA げっぽう事務所 249-6688 Southoaks Crescent Burnaby BC, V5E 4M7 Tel: 604-777-5222 Email: gvjcca@gmail.com Website: jccabulletin-geppo.ca
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48 月報 The Bulletin
Board of Directors ケアリー・サキヤマ ピーター・ワラス ウェンディ・マツブチ ロン・西村 エープリル・清水 メイ・浜西 ニッキ・アサノ
げっぽう年間会員費 一般会員:$40 シニア会会員:$30 US在住の会員費:$50 海外会員費:$75
寄稿者募集! 『げっぽう』 では、皆様からの寄稿を常時募集し ております。 ご興味のある方は、editor.geppo@ gmail.comまで[寄稿希望」 という件名でメールを お願い致します。 皆様のご要望にお応えできるよう心がけますが、 必ずしも全ての投稿が掲載されるとは限りません ので予めご了承願います。
Honouring our People: Breaking the silence
Edited by Randy Enomoto
Available to purchase from the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association (GVJCCA) and at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre gift shop. Retail Price: $24.95 + GST. $26.20 with tax. Shipping is extra and cost depends upon location. Please contact us for more information gvjcca@gmail.com
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February 02月 2022 49
PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 400-50782 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: 249 - 6688 Southoaks Crescent Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7 E-mail: john@bigwavedesign.net
JUSTIN AULT Our Community Is Important To Me A portion of commission will be donated to the Nikkei Centre, JCCA or my client’s choice of any other community organization.
CONTACT ME TODAY 604.809.0944 justin@justinault.ca justinault.ca
N410 - 650 WEST 41ST AVENUE VANCOUVER BC V5Z 2M9 Not intended to solicit those home buyers or home sellers that are under a current agency agreement. Each office independently owned and operated
日本語 で どうぞ