Bulletin/Geppo March 2020

Bulletin the

March.2020

a journal of Japanese Canadian community, history + culture

JEFF CHIBA STEARNS

ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY NORI AND HIS TURNS TEN DELICIOUS DREAMS

JOHN OTA

VANCOUVER

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The Bulletin

A Journal of Japanese Canadian Community, History & Culture www.jccabulletin-geppo.ca SSN 1182-0225 v.62 No.03 March 2020 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).

Managing Editor John Endo Greenaway john@bigwavedesign.net

The BC Government and the Dispossession of Japanese Canadians (1941-1949) Part Four . . . 2 Jeff Chiba Stearns: Adding to the Big Hapa Family . . . 4 John Ota: Searching for the Perfect Kitchen . . . 8 Keirokai 2020 . . . 12 | Asahi Baseball Club . . . 13

Japanese Editors Kazuho Yamamoto Kaori Kasai editor.geppo@gmail.com Advertising Manager Anne Jew 604.609.0657 (advertising enquiries only) annejew@telus.net

Keirokai 2020: oldest man, George Uyesugi. Photo by Wendy Matsubuchi.

JCCA Donations . . . 14 | Letter to the Editor JCCA President’s Message / Membership Form . . . 15 Community Calendar . . . 16 ©

Distribution Manager Michael Tora Speier Administrative Assistant Mitsuyo Okamoto JCCA Board Of Directors President: Judy Hanazawa Treasurer: Ron Nishimura Vice President: April Shimizu Recording Secretary: Evelyn Suzuki Directors: Shag Ando, May Hamanishi, Wendy Matsubuchi, Emiko Kordyback, Lily Shinde, Liz Nunoda, Larry Okada Human Rights Committee Tatsuo Kage, Judy Hanazawa, Ron Nishimura, Kathy Shimizu

Vancouver International Dance Festival . . . 20 Ichigo-Ichieh New Theatre . . . 21 | VJLS Monthly Update . . . 22 CrossCurrents . . . 24 | Community Kitchen . . . 26 Tatsuo’s Corner . . . 27 | Terry Watada . . . 28 | NAJC News . . . 30 TorontoNAJC . . . 32 | Tonari Gumi Corner . . . 34 Our Edible Roots . . . 36 | Milestones . . . 37 Nikkei Place Monthly Update . . . 38 | Geppo begins . . . 42

Read online: jccabulletin-geppo.ca Cover Story

April 2020 issue: March 20, 2020

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

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Nori and His Delicious Dreams.

Illustration by Jeff Chiba Stearns

@bulletin_geppo

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March 3月 2020 1

The BC Government and the Dispossession Six-Part of Japanese Canadians (1941-1949) ASeries

by John Price This six-part series, which first appeared in the Times Colonist, examines the role of the provincial government in the uprooting, detention, dispossession and exile of Japanese Canadians, 1941 – 1949.

Part 4: Punishing the Children Perhaps no o t her is s u e cl e a r l y r e v e a l s t h e callousness of the BC government in regard to Japanese Canadians than its maltreatment of the communities’ children.

It began the day after Pearl Harbor when S.J. Willis, B.C. Superintendent of Education, ordered all Japanese language schools shut down on authority of the Council of Public Education, a cabinet agency.

On the basis of a single complaint about Japanese Canadian kids in Duncan schools, B.C. education minister H.G. Perry then ordered school inspectors to undertake a province-wide investigation, indelibly marking Japanese Canadian students in the public school system.

Ironically, A.S. Christie, trustee and chair of the Victoria School Board’s education committee reported “that there had been no signs of antiJapanese feeling in Victoria’s schools, and such tolerance is a credit alike to the white and Japanese pupils.”

Seventy-six Japanese Canadian students attended public schools in Victoria alone and boys in grade six and above had been participating in cadet training. That was not to last, however.

On February 20, 1942, Perry introduced a provincial order-in-council stating it was “not deemed advisable under existing circumstances that any student of Japanese racial origin be allowed to wear the uniform of a school Cadet Corps,” and therefore that “no such student be allowed to enroll in a Cadet Corps or to wear a cadet uniform in the Public Schools of the Province.”

Similarly, UBC expelled Japanese Canadians enrolled in the Canadian Officers Training Corps.

The uprooting that took place in April 1942 saw children torn from schools up and down the coast.

The late Dr. Michiko “Midge” Ayukawa recalled: “I am twelve years old and should be back at Strathcona School. One day, restless and bewildered, I went for a walk with my six-year-old brother. We went to my school and sat on a low fence and I stared at the window from which my Grade Seven teacher had often looked outside. I “willed” her to spot me

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2 月報 The Bulletin

Grade One Students studying in tarpaper shacks, New Denver, circa 1943. Library and Archives Canada, C-067492. Photograph By JACK LONG, THE CANADIAN PRESS

and perhaps wave a greeting; but Government of the Province of to my disappointment, she didn’t.” British Columbia to assume any responsibility, either financial, or Shunted into detention camps, in the matter of administrative Midge Ayukawa and hundreds direction, in respect to the of other youngsters faced an education of children of Japanese uncertain future. Barred from persons evacuated from the public schools, families scrambled protected areas of British to provide some sort of schooling.

Columbia to other parts of the In early 1943, the B.C. government province.” had announced legislation that Mitchell communicated with would exempt the province and Mackenzie King, the prime local governments from providing m i n i s t e r, w h o i m m e d i a t e l y education for Japanese Canadian cabled provincial premier youth in the camps.

John Hart. In the cable, and The New Canadian, the only a longer letter that followed, journal published by Japanese King urged Hart to refrain from C a n a d i a n s d u r i n g t h e w a r, passing such legislation, asking responded: “The British Columbia for the province’s assistance in Provincial Government should establishing courses, directing continue to bear its share in work and training of teachers. educational costs, just as it had Hart agreed to drop the legislation been doing for over forty years in return for King’s promise not to b e f o r e Pe a r l H a r b o r, a n d i n press for the province’s share accordance with its constitutional of education funding but gave responsibility.” no response to King’s request Matters came to a head after f o r p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e Humphrey Mitchell, the federal assistance. l a b o u r m i n i s t e r, l e a r n e d o f the “unqualified refusal of the

teachers in the province. Allies from churches and conscientious objectors also helped.

Communities organized to build schools and many students found school classes offered a semblance of normality. The fact that communities banded together to meet the challenge does not exonerate the provincial government for abandoning its constitutional responsibility, a fact noted in a 1944 Royal Commission:

Pine Crescent Elementary School, Bay Farm, B.C. The provincial government refused to pay anything for these students’ education. NNM 2012.29.2.2.31

High school students faced even greater challenges.

Because there were no qualified teachers, students could only take correspondence courses that their parents had to pay for.

“Your Commission finds that although education is and always has been a provincial right and obligation, the Department of Education of the Province of British Columbia has refused to take any responsibility for the education of the Japanese children in the Interior Settlements although before these same children were evacuated from the Defence area this responsibility was recognized and assumed.”

The incredible story of how families came together to meet the education challenges created by the uprooting and government Mary Keiko Kitagawa, whose family was detained intransigence has been told This series originally appeared in in Roseberry for over two years, recalled her b y F r a n k M o r i t s u g u a n d t h e the Times-Colonist. older sister had to walk miles from Roseberry to Ghost Town Teachers Historical © John Price, Professor Emeritus New Denver to get help with her correspondence Society in their volume Teaching in History, University of Victoria courses. The Kitagawa family scraped together the in Canadian Exile.

John Price taught history at the money to pay for the course – but for them and Volunteer teachers from the University of Victoria and is the others it was an incredible hardship. community, often young women author of Orienting Canada: “One mother sold her sewing machine rather than just out of high school, stepped Race, Empire and the Transpacific ask for help to buy books for her children,” the New in to organize basic education and, more recently, A Woman services for elementary schools in Between: Searching for Dr. Canadian reported at the time. under the supervision of Hide Detained Japanese Canadians, many facing Hyodo (Shimizu), one of the first Victoria Chung (with Ningping Yu). impoverishment, had to pay exorbitant fees for accredited Japanese Canadian Next Month: Part 5, Dispossession correspondence courses. In the legislature CCF MLA Grace MacInnis demanded Perry explain why Vancouver Buddhist Temple Japanese Canadian students had to pay nine dollars 220 Jackson Avenue, Vancouver, BC for a single course that cost others only one dollar?

Telephone: 604-253-7033 www.vancouverbuddhisttemple.com Perry said it was federal matter. Asked why he didn’t Rev. Tatsuya Aoki, minister ask the federal government to cover the cost, Perry declared that letting Japanese Canadians into the Sunday services (English) are held on Sunday starting at 10:30am. schools would be “selling a birthright for a mess For more information on activities, please contact the temple of potage.” or visit www.vancouverbuddhisttemple.com “I would be selling the whole school system for $65 a kid.” This was the yearly per capita amount March the province was supposed to pay for each student 1 Sun Noon Spring Japan Food Fair (Bazaar) enrolled.

15 Sun 10:30 AM Spring Higan/Dana/Shotsuki Such “savings” allowed the province to project a April budget surplus for 1942-43. Non-funding of the 2 Thu 10:30 AM Asahikawa High School Band Concert children’s education over the internment years 5 Sun 10:30 AM April Shotsuki amounted to an estimated $15 million (in current 10 Fri 7:00 PM Public Lecture [Rev. Kodo Umezu] dollars).

Please phone for wedding, memorial and funeral services

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March 3月 2020 3

JEFF CHIBA STEARNS ADDING TO THE

BIG HAPA FAMILY

Clockwise from left: Jeff, Jen, Taka, Yuki

by John Endo Greenaway

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4 月報 The Bulletin

Illustrations by Jeff Chiba Stearns

BULLETIN INTERVIEW JEFF CHIBA STEARNS

Released in 2010, Jeff Chiba Stearns’ feature-length documentary One Big Hapa Family examines the 95% Japanese Canadian intermarriage rate and how the wartime mass incarceration and dispersal of an entire community played a role in the scattering that community across the country. The intermarriage rate has also given rise to a new generation, or generations, Let’s start with One Big Hapa Family. You had been of hapa – people of mixed Japanese/other ancestry. working in the realm of hapa-awareness previously, To celebrate the 10th anniversary of One Big Hapa Family, Jeff is asstarting with What Are You Anyways?, but you really sembling a special program, Hapas, Hafus and the future of Japanesewent all-in with this feature-film-length production.

Canadian Identity – One Big Hapa Family: Special 10 year Anniversary Can you reflect on its impact?

Screening & Discussion,, which will take place at the Nikkei Museum and What Are You Anyways? was released back in 2005 Cultural Centre on Saturday, March 14. In addition and it was the first animated film to address hapa to the screening, a panel will discuss the future (mixed Asian) identity. The film soon began resonatof Japanese Canadian identity, hapa and hafu ing with mixed people around the world and I found identity, with some of the family members featured myself becoming a spokesperson for hapa identity in the film. in the media and at universities. Although, it took me Although best known as a filmmaker/animator and some time to fully understand what it meant to be activist, Jeff has had a life-long love of drawing and a hapa advocate considering that I had only really illustrating. His first book, Mixed Critters,, was publearned about this Hawaiian word and its new usage lished in 2018 and is being followed up with a new to describe mixed Asians a few years earlier from an book, Nori and His Delicious Dreams.. Gorgeously article published in The Bulletin. illustrated, the book tells the tale of Nori, a hapa Knowing that there was a huge thirst for mixed race boy with an incredible appetite who dreams of subject matter back then, I wanted to continue explorsleeping on beds made of delectable dishes. ing this topic and create something longer. So in 2006, I I talked to Jeff about both projects following the began production on One Big Hapa Family. Four years release of his new book. later, the film was completed and released in 2010!

It all started at my Japanese-Canadian mother’s family reunion. I began looking around and realized that everyone after my grandparents generation had intermarried. All of my cousins were mixed Japanese. I soon learned that this was reflective of most Japanese Canadian families where there was a 95% intermarraige rate within the community. I knew I had to make a documentary exploring this and so I started conducting interviews with many of my family members. This was the first time we had ever discussed intermarriage and hapa identity and it was eye opening to me.

better understand our history and heritage. I think this is what unites the mixed community and all of humanity.

I had a lot of Japanese Canadian parents tell me that the film helped them talk to their hapa kids about their identities for the first time. To me that is everything and the reason why I made the film. Now a decade later, we’re seeing more and more hapas having children. I think it’s a great time to revisit how we are self identifying as Japanese Canadians, especially when all our children look less Japanese. This is why I think it’s so important to look back at the film ten years later and have a discussion on how things have changed, morphed and evolved within our community and our families. I really feel that One Big Hapa Family is even more relevant today than it was ten years ago!

It’s wild to watch the film today and see all the kids grown up now. I’ve also invited some of my aunts, uncles and cousins from Maple Ridge to join the panel. It will be a fun discussion and I’m curious how we will reflect on these topics addressed in the film a decade later. Have our thoughts on family changed now that our children are older?

The whole mixed-race experience is so difficult to pigeonhole, just by its very nature. Our backstories are all so different, as are our experiences. Which is part of what’s so amazing about it – but it doesn’t necessarily make for a cohesive community. What is your perception of the hapa community, if there is in fact one?

Yes, hapas are a very diverse group. Although, the one common thread that unites us is that we all have mixed ancestry which shapes and defines our identities. I think this is why it was so important for us to create Canada’s only festival celebrating mixed roots arts and culture, Hapa-palooza, back in 2011. As a co-founder of the Hapa-palooza Festival, we were able to celebrate the many parts of us that make us whole through art, music, literature, film and food! It was a way we could try to bring together a community of mixed people in Vancouver and from around the world. We had such a great response from people who attended even if they didn’t self identity as mixed or hapa. Hapa-palooza is the festival we wished we had when we were children.

It’s important to celebrate our differences but at the same time constantly be questioning who we are to

The film was centred around your large extended family – I’m thinking of that extraordinary family photo – but I imagine you have expanded your hapa family through your work within the community following the release of the film. What are some of the connections you have made over the past ten years?

It is extraordinary to think about all the connections that I’ve made after the film was released in 2010. We screened the film at over 30 film festivals across North America and reached so many audiences. I’ve also connected with many amazing mixed race organizations and attended many mixed race festivals and conferences including the Hapa Japan Festival, Loving Day and the Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference. There are many academics and scholars who have supported my work and I’ve had the fortunate pleasure of presenting One Big Hapa Family at dozens of universities around the world including Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Kyoto to name a few. Even today I get requests to screen the film. Many of these universities have mixed or hapa student clubs and it’s been wonderful to be able to connect with these students about the film.

Whenever I get back from festivals like the Hapa Japan Festival in California, I feel like I’ve found my tribe. It’s a week of hanging out and attending events with other mixed Japanese from around the world. We screened One Big Hapa Family at the festival in 2010 to great reception and now I’m on their advisory board. We’re actually looking at ways of bringing the

I think for hapas with Japanese Canadian heritage, it’s important that we continue to participate in the community. We are the future, even though we may not look as “Japanese” as our parents or grandparents. We can still self identify as Japanese Canadian and that is important for hapa kids to know! I find that with this new generation of hapas, they are more curious about the small part of them that makes them unique which is great because I see more and more of these kids want to learn about their Japanese roots and be more involved in the Japanese Canadian community. I think it’s also the parents’ role to involve their children in more Since its release, the film has had a lot of reach broad- events and activities within the community to help spark that interest! casting in Canada on the Knowledge Network and CBC Documentary and in the US on PBS. The film has On March 14 you’re screening the film at the Nikkei Centre along with been out for 10 years now and I still get people telling a panel discussion that you’re calling Hapas, Hafus and the future of me how much the film means to them and their family. Japanese-Canadian Identity.

I’ve had people tell me that their Japanese-Canadian I’m really looking forward to this upcoming screening. I have spent the last family watches the film every Christmas. The Knowl- three years promoting and touring my last feature length documentary, edge Network has renewed the broadcast license Mixed Match, that it’s kind of refreshing to revisit One Big Hapa Family for a third time which is very rare. It feels great when again after all these years. The film is very dear to my heart. I’ve invited people come up to me and tell me that they’ve seen my family members who live in the lower mainland to join us. We’ll have the film and it had an impact on them and their family. my mother’s cousin, David Koga and his wife Heather joining us. We’ll also So many Japanese Canadians tell me that my family be joined by a couple of their hapa kids who were just children when we is exactly like their family: diverse, mixed and blended! shot the film but now ten years later they are young adults.

I want this to be an interactive experience with the audience so I’m looking forward to having a discussion with everyone about their thoughts on community and identity within their own families. I very much want to involve everyone in the conversation. Although, the sad thing is that many of the elders who are featured in the film such as my grandfather, Roy Inouye and my uncle Suey Koga have passed on. It would have been wonderful to be able to hear their thoughts since first being interviewed all those years ago.

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March 3月 2020 5

Still from One Big Hapa Family. Koga Reunion, 2009.

festival to Vancouver for the first time in the next cou- You’ve been doing your part in ple of years to coincide with a hafu exhibit I’m helping adding to the hapa family yourorganize with the Nikkei National Museum in Burnaby. self. You and your wife Jen have I’ve also been fortunate that my work has connected two kids yourselves. Has having me with many other artists, authors and musicians kids of your own shifted your around the world. This has been great for programming perception of identity in any way? our Hapa-palooza Festival events. This year I’ll be work- Yes, Jen and I have two amazing ing with the Powell Street Festival to bring Hapa Japan children, Yuki and Takashi. Yuki is founder and author of American Sutra, Duncan Ryūken four-years-old now and Taka is a Williams to the present on hafu identity and Japanese little over one-year-old. Jen is also American history. I am truly grateful and blessed for all mixed Japanese so we joke and say the amazing relationships One Big Hapa Family has our children are hapa 2.0 or super hapas! Yuki is very artistic and we helped me establish over the last decade. draw a lot together. She’s also a Do you have any other plans in the works centred great age where she wants to help out with everything. She’s been a around the tenth anniversary of the film?

We have confirmed that we’ll be hosting a screening great big sister for Taka and we’re event and panel in Kamloops with the Kamloops Japa- very lucky we have two great kids! nese Canadian Association on Saturday, May 9 at the The Kamloops Film Society Paramount Theatre. We are also in the planning stages of a screening event in Victoria with the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society and Whitehorse with the Japanese Canadian Association of Yukon. We are also working with the Japanese Canadian Associations in Vernon, Calgary, Regina, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Edmonton to plan screening events later this year if all goes well. I’m hoping to also attend all the screenings in person and moderate the panel discussions. We’re always looking for societies and associations to host a screening so please get in touch if you’re interested. Also, please follow One Big Hapa Family on Facebook for updates on these future screening events. facebook.com/onebighapafamily

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6 月報 The Bulletin

I often wonder what it would have been like to have parents who also self identified as being mixed. It was something I couldn’t relate to with my parents since my mother is Japanese Canadian and my father is of European descent. With my daughter, she’s old enough now to know that she has Japanese ancestry and we have a friend who reads to her in Japanese.

identity, I am definitely comfortable being able to talk to my children about their own mixed identities.

Although, in this day and age and with so many of their classmates and friends also being mixed, they most likely will have a completely different experience growing up in Vancouver than I had when I was growing up in Kelowna in the 80s.

What I love most about my childrens’ mixedness is that it has become the inspiration for my switch from film to writing and illustrating children’s books.

You’ve turned your attention to children’s books over the past few years. I suppose it’s not such a big leap, as it’s still a visual medium.

What prompted you to make the move?

It’s been a life-long dream to write and illustrate children’s books, and now that I have kids of my own, it made sense to create books that could help inspire them. Because my children are multi-ethnic, I knew it was important to create characters and stories that reflect the diversity in their world, which lead to the inspiration of my first children’s book.

Today, there are way more resources made by mixed authors and filmmakers for parents who are raising mixed kids. Being someone who has made a career making hapa In 2018, I wrote, illustrated and media and discussing mixed race independently published my first

children’s book, Mixed Critters, so that Yuki my fouryear-old mixed Japanese daughter could see herself reflected in animals like her and be proud of her own multi-ethnic heritage. With multiethnic people becoming the fastest growing demographic in North America and with the extreme lack of media and books exploring mixed race identity, I really felt it was important to create Mixed Critters as a way to introduce children to notions of racial mixing and blending in an accessible and creative way.

What’s next up for you?

I’ll be busy this year promoting Nori and His Delicious Dreams at various children’s festivals and school presentations. I really enjoy educating and spent years teaching animation in high school and college before creating films and children’s books full time. If anyone knows any teacher librarians who would be interested in having me come visit their school for a reading and drawing workshop, please get in touch with me!

For my second children’s book, Nori and His Delicious Dreams, the main character Nori has a Japanese Canadian mother and father who is of European descent which is reflective of my own parents backgrounds. I created the main character, Nori, to inspire my oneyear-old son with a character that reflected him!

As far as creative projects, I have a few new documentary ideas in development and I’m working with celebrated Japanese Canadian artist Lillian Michiko Blakey to bring her illustrated book about her grandmother, who was a picture bride from Japan, to life through animation. We’re currently working on finding funding for that project and hope to start production later this year. I also have a few more children’s book ideas up my sleeve and look forward to hopefully releasing another book in 2021 if all goes well!

Of course I’ll also be promoting the 10th anniversary of One Big Hapa Family with the screening tour. I’ll have copies of the books for sale with me at the screenings so come pick up some copies and say hello!

How did you come up with the story?

The inspiration for Nori and His Delicious Dreams came when I was in high school. I had a friend who kept talk- Copies of Jeff’s books and films including Nori and His Delicious Dreams ing about how comfortable it would be to sleep in a and One Big Hapa Family can be ordered at www.meditatingbunny.com/ warm chicken sandwich. It sounded strange at the time store. Please follow his adventures on Instagram @meditatingbunny but the visual never left my imagination. Now twenty years later, dreaming of even more ways to sleep in food would be the inspiration for my second children’s book. Plus, I really love food and sleep!

For the book, I’ve showcased food and dishes from around the world in hopes of introducing kids to the joys of exploring their culinary horizons and trying some new foods from around the world.

I’m committed to creating stories that reflect representation! Since I’m mixed Japanese Canadian it was important to me that Nori was also mixed (he’s kinda me as a kid). I firmly believe that our children need positive role models that reflect the diversity that exists in their world today!

I also want to thank a lot of the Japanese Canadian community for supporting the project early on when I ran a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the printing of the book. The book is independently published and I printed the books in Canada, which was really important to me. Having the community’s support meant so much to me.

The rhymes are really fun – I love the falafel/waffle/ donair/chocolate eclair.

When I created Mixed Critters it was an ABC book featuring various mixed up animals. It was a simple book to write because it was more about the illustrations of mashed up animals. This time around for Nori and His Delicious Dreams, I still wanted to have fun colourful illustrations but include more of a story. I love Dr. Seuss books as a kid and thought it would be a good challenge to create a rhyming book. It was a lot of fun coming up with foods that rhymed. It was important for me to pick foods from around the world and a pleasant surprise when I could find two foods from two different cultures that rhymed like shumai and pad thai or bánh mì and spaghetti. I’m also very happy to say that I’ve eaten all the foods featured in the book!

Hapas, Hafus and the future of Japanese Canadian Identity ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY A special 10 year anniversary screening & discussion with director & producer Jeff Chiba Stearns Saturday, March 14, 2020 6:30-8:30pm (doors 6pm) $5 regular | $4 seniors | free for members and students Screening to be followed by a panel discussion moderated by ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY director Jeff Chiba Stearns with special guests from the film.

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March 3月 2020 7

JOHN OTA SEARCHING FOR

THE PERFECT KITCHEN

“In The Kitchen, John Ota celebrates the room that is the heart of every home. As a designer who celebrates minimalism, Ota’s journey challenges him to rethink what’s important. From the warm memories of his mother’s lovingly chaotic cooking space to the premeditated clutter of Julia Child’s iconic kitchen, he digs deep to explore how our idea of the room has evolved; what it has been and what it will become. Impeccably researched and beautifully written, there is no other book I know of that is quite like it.” – Bonnie Stern With degrees from the School of Architecture at Columbia University and the University of British Columbia, John Ota has been involved with architecture and design since 1978, working in architecture offices in Toronto, New York and Vancouver. He has written freelance articles for the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Azure Magazine, Canadian House and Home and Canadian Architect, among others.

John has chaired the awards committee of the Ontario Association of Architects and has served as a Board Member on the Toronto Historical Board. He has worked at the Ontario Ministry of Culture as the government lead on the Renaissance ROM project, the AGO Transformation project and the Revitalization of Ontario Place. In 2004, he was the lead curator on the

by John Endo Greenaway

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8 月報 The Bulletin

exhibition, “Living Spaces, 21 contemporary Canadian houses” that toured Canada. John has acted as a guest critic at the Ryerson University School of Architecture and as an advisor to the Architecture Gallery at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

His new book, The Kitchen, published by Penguin Random House Canada, subtitled, a journey through history in search of the perfect design, is just that.

BULLETIN INTERVIEW JOHN OTA

most comfortable in the kitchen. It had a clean, spare functional look to it. It is my favorite room in the house How did the idea for this book come about? Or so I wanted to write about the evolumaybe I should say, where did the idea come from, tion of the kitchen. It was a calling. It if not the kitchen? was something I had to do.

In many ways, this book is a result of my mom. She loved to cook, eat, entertain and spend time in the The French modernist architect Le kitchen. My mom grew up in Vancouver and after the Corbusier said the house is a mainternment during WW2, she moved to Montreal and chine for living in. What I like about graduated in 1954 in Home Economics from Sir George the kitchen is that it is “a machine Williams University – now Concordia - and she worked for cooking in.” at the cafeteria at the Montreal YWCA. She told me that Oh yes, I also want Fran and me to the highest paid female in the country in the 1950s was be happy in our kitchen too. the dietician at the Eatons Cafeteria and that’s why she What did you learn? went into Home Ec. So my mom could cook.

I learned we are so lucky today. We Fran and I both like to cook and entertain. But we’re in take so much for granted today in a house right now where the kitchen just isn’t working terms of cooking, eating, comfort for us. It’s a little cramped, awkward and things are and convenience. It’s only been in not in the right place. In fact, you could say that Fran the last 60 – 70 years that eating, hates our kitchen. cooking, accessing food and life in the kitchen have become easier.

We want to renovate.

Earlier, eating, cooking and life in But I tend to be obsessive. Before I started to redesign, the kitchen was a struggle – smoke, I wanted to know “everything” about the kitchen. I heat, cleaning, chopping, gutting, needed to know if there were good things from the plucking, heavy lifting. We are so past that we might have left behind. fortunate today and we don’t even So I went on a quest – the quest for the perfect kitchen. know it.

That sounds like an exciting, but daunting, journey.

I travelled all over North America to explore examples of excellent kitchen designs throughout history to learn from them to improve our own kitchen. I wanted to find the origins of the kitchen, historical development, architectural layout, invention of kitchen appliances, origins of different foods, drinks and cooking methods. I visited the historical kitchens of Thomas Jefferson, Georgia O’Keefe, Julia Child, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley and many others. I wanted to cherry pick the best features of all the designs with the hope of incorporating them into our own perfect kitchen. And then I cooked in the kitchens and I ate the food. I had to – how else would I know if the kitchens worked?

Why a book? Why not just design a kitchen?

The goal of The Kitchen is to help people understand the history of the kitchen so that they can fully appreciate their food, their kitchen and their lives.

The kitchen is my favorite room in the house. And I wanted to share that love. When I worked on renovation projects earlier in my career, I had to measure entire mansions to draw up base drawings for the renovation.

Even though I liked the parlours, entrances and conservatories of historic houses, I always like the kitchen the best. The other rooms were designed to impress people with the wealth, power, status and the good taste of the owners. But the kitchen was simple, basic, austere. It had a utilitarian look to it. A place designed for cooking and eating. And I like to eat! I always felt

I learned about the central place that the kitchen, eating and food has played in the lives of men and women over the centuries. Food is central to life. Everyone has to eat to survive. Food preparation is something that has been ignored by historians, yet it has determined so much of the way we live every day.

Right from the beginning of humankind it was men who hunted game and females who stoked the fires and prepared it. It has been this way from 200,000 years ago with homo sapiens in Africa, to the Medieval period, to the Victorian period. Life in the kitchen and gathering food was so difficult. You had to haul logs in to make a fire, cook over an open fire, and hunt game to eat. It was enormous work every day, from sunrise to sundown. It is really only in the last decades in human history that food has become easier to prepare food and the roles of men and women more equitable – and we don’t even realize it.

You recently created an art piece, My Happy Crazy Japanese Kitchen Table, that seems to have struck a nerve with people.

My Happy Crazy Japanese Kitchen Table began as an amusement, but it seems to have touched a sentimental nerve with many people. My dada ate Japanese style. My mom and the kids ate Canadian style. We were a happy crazy mixed up family.

My mom made three meals every night. One Japanese meal for my dad, one Canadian meal for the kids and one meal for my grandmother.

She did this after teaching a full day at Riverdale Collegiate every day.

Some days we ate a Japanese or a Canadian meal together. She didn’t seem to mind until after he was gone. Then she was very resentful about having to make all these dinners every night. She taught me and my brothers to cook (we all cook).

She used to wag her finger at me and say, “I never want you guys to depend on your wives to cook.” She was completely obsessed about that. So today her three boys all cook, love to eat and spend time in the kitchen.

She had a contract with my dad that she could work as long as she had dinner on the table for him at 5pm every day. It was the 1960s. Life was so different then.

So many people have come up to me and commented that they loved the kitchen table and that’s how they ate every night. Personally, it reminds me of sitting around the kitchen table with my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and family, eating drinking laughing, the aroma of cooking in the air and the sizzling of fried rice in the skillet behind me.

Who should buy this book?

If you are into eating, cooking and architecture, this book is for you.

This book uses the kitchen as the vehicle for describing the history of the North American house, kitchen design, role of women, food and cooking. There is no book on the market today that focuses on the kitchen to present these issues.

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The goal of The Kitchen is to help people understand the history of kitchens so that they can fully appreciate their food, their kitchen and their lives.

KEYS TO A GOOD KITCHEN

Was there a surprise during your search for the perfect kitchen?

Taste! The big surprise was that historical dishes taste 1. Sink with a view. Look out to nature, kids, birds. Can have a faas good if not better than we eat today. I thought bland vorite art work or mosaic pattern. You spend a lot of time there, – but no. The food was fabulous. Dishes burst my taste so enjoy it. buds! Complete surprise. Ginger, Cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper. Taste of coriander, cumin, chili, coconut 2. Design in quadrants: Baking, chopping, washing, prep. milk in 1865 curry. We think we’re so sophisticated to3. Everything within a two-foot reach. Knives, cutting boards, day. People originating recipe tastes – no those spices dishes, bowls, vinegars, oils. have been around for hundreds of years. Stronger flavours. More spice, more sugar, more flavour that to4. Nature is a good starting point. Building materials, flooring, views, day. More robust tangier sweeter sour. Today the food smells. Bring outside in. Grow veggies and flowers close by. industry is aimed at a mass market to make money and 5. Never have too much light – natural, overhead, casting no cater to the lowest common denominator taste. The goal shadows. is to sell in enormous volume to as many as possible.

6.

Ergonomics – different levels for different tasks.

The result is that our palette has become blander. But in previous times people wanted hotter, sweeter, spicier.

7. Two ovens are better than one – even a toaster oven.

Historically people demanded stronger flavours that to8. Clean as you go – reduce cluttered counters. day. It was not uncommon to put 5 – 10 spoons of sugar in coffee. The historical food tastes better than today.

9. Magnetic knife holder.

Fresher ingredients, fresh meat and fresh vegetables 10. Subway tiles – they’re a classic, easy to wipe down, have been right out of the ground. Examples: pilgrim duck, quail, in style for over 100 years. Never looks dated. You can never pumpkin, Jefferson mac and cheese, Texas bird pepper go wrong. Shoji screen proportion. hot sauce, heirloom tomatoes, Point Ellice curry from the Victorian period. What a fabulous sensation for Victoria to have pungent Indian curry dinners in the 1890s.

Unglamorous. But basic, homey, discovered my mom’s kitchen. And happy and completely functional for her challenges as a wife, as a mom Which was your favorite kitchen?

I like them all, but the kitchen that had the most impact a person who loves to cook – just and her creative outlet in cooking.

Julia Child’s kitchen gave me a beton me was the Julia Child Kitchen at the Smithsonian like my mom’s kitchen.

Institute in Washington DC. I am a minimalist. But Julia Child’s ter understanding of my mom and the women of her generation. It had Before Julia Child moved back to her home state of kitchen was a revelation. It has an enormous impact on me. changed my whole attitude about California in 2001, she donated the kitchen from her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to the Smithsonian not only about kitchens, but also You visited the homes of Thomas Museum in Washington D.C. It is the actual kitchen, interior design of the whole house. Jefferson, Georgia O’Keefe, Julia including cabinets, appliances, cookbooks, kitchen Not everything has to be put away. Child, Frank Lloyd Wright among many others. Am I right in thinktable, and hundreds of utensils. I went to the Smithso- Not everything has to be perfect. nian, and when I saw the Julia Child kitchen, my jaw But on a larger scale, to me the ing you were especially thrilled dropped. I couldn’t believe it. kitchen tells a story about women to find yourself in Graceland? in the 1960s. The ideal woman of (Answer: “Uh-huh-huh.”)

“My God, it looks just like my mom’s kitchen.” that period was a perfect housewife, I was all shook up! The Elvis kitchen At first glance, Julia Child’s kitchen is mass confusion. with a perfect house, with a perfect says Welcome to 1977! People The walls are covered by beaters, ladles, strainers and family. Through cooking, Julia dem- enter this kitchen and gasp. Next spatulas, all hanging off pegboard. Everything is out onstrated to American women that they laugh. Unlike other rooms in on the counters including bottles of vinegars and olive they didn’t have to be perfect. They the house, designed with flash and oils, countless pepper grinders stashed into every nook could have minds of their own. They pizzazz, the kitchen has a homey, and cranny, dozens and dozens of copper pans, pastry could be smart. And their kitchens unpretentious look. cutters, carving knives, whisks of every size. could be cluttered.

The first thing that hits you is the It is the exact opposite of the white, clean, austere kitch- Julia was an alternate role model. vast amount of color – Tiffany ens of today where everything is hidden away behind Not conventionally beautiful, not lamps. Dark wood cabinets wrap cupboard doors. I expected a supersonic kitchen with blessed with a silver-toned voice, around the room. all the latest gadgets. but totally engaging, and committed There is an avocado green sink

Top 10:

But, gradually, the longer I look, the more it all makes sense. Knives and forks are collected in canisters in one corner. Measuring cups hang next to the counter for baking duty. Multiple frying pans hang within reach of the big black stove. A jar of Skippy peanut butter sits out on the counter.

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10 月報 The Bulletin

to cooking, she was an example of and matching green Kitchen Aid a woman who was successful just dishwasher. The appliance wall being herself. has a harvest gold refrigerator and I went looking for Julia Child’s kitchen, and I found it. But I also re-

electric stove top. Mismatching is most evident on the floor, with the wall-to-wall kitchen carpet.

While in the 1970s, kitchens were an explosion of color, in the 80s and 90s, homeowners began to tire of the colour and turned to a minimalist white kitchen. But the 70’s was also the beginning of the open concept kitchen as the kitchen slowly opened up to the rest of the house as families – not just women began to cook.

I liked the Elvis Kitchen. I am not advocating avocado green or harvest gold, But I like the fun, vibrancy and individual expression of the period. My mom had a bright orange kitchen with orange cupboards and orange kitchen chairs. It has an enthusiasm for cooking and eating and in the book I like to inspire and enthusiasm for cooking and eating like my mom did for me.

JAPANESE CANADIAN BROWN NOODLE CHOW MEIN This is my all time fav JC recipe. I can eat this all day. And the next day, and the next day. I always have happy memories of eating this with college football games on TV because we always ate it on New Years Day watching the Rose Bowl or the Cotton Bowl with my cousins.

INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 clove minced garlic 1/2 tsp minced ginger 3/4 lb chicken or pork 1 large onion 2 stalks celery 1/2 lb mushrooms

1 carrot 1 lb bean sprouts 1 tsp sugar Dash of shoyu 1 tsp onion powder 1 package brown mein noodles salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking is love, it’s memories, it’s culture and comfort.

The kitchen is a vehicle for learning about history, food METHOD and architecture.

In large pot on medium heat, saute garlic and ginger.

It sounds like an amazing journey you embarked on.

Thinly slice chicken or pork and stir fry.

And a lot more than Amy and I put into renovating Cut onion, celery, mushrooms, carrot into slices. Rinse and drain bean our own kitchen! I can’t wait to read the book.

I was so excited and honoured to step into these sprouts. Add onion, mushrooms and carrots to meat and stir fry. Add sugar, kitchens and tried to express my fascination, obser- shoyu and onion powder. Add bean sprouts and mix. vations, taste sensations to readers. I include stories, Add mein noodles and mix. Cover until noodles are soft. Place on serving tips and little tidbits to inform an appreciation of eating platter. and kitchens. The book is written in simple language targeted toward homeowners, home makers, cooks, foodies, history readers, interior designers and architects who are planning to renovate kitchens and who I served this almost as a joke one Christmas dinner for starters. We also are interested in the kitchen. I list the historical features served fancy, expensive French cheeses, pate and baguette. But what do that could be incorporated into a contemporary setting. you think was completely eaten up? Shoyu weiners, of course.

The book includes photographs and renderings about INGREDIENTS the history of the kitchen and the architectural develop- Weiners, sliced on diagonal ment of the house in an innovative and engaging way. Vegetable oil for frying

SHOYU WEINERS

I tried to express pleasures of tastes, smells, sounds, architecture, as well as the agony of carrying waffle iron and boiling pots of water and heavy buckets of coal up five flights of stairs. Step inside the book and be immersed in all these kitchens.

1/3 cup shoyu 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar METHOD Cut weiners diagonally into 1 inch slices.

Every demographic and culture has nostalgia for food. In frying pan on medium, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Saute weiners until slightly browned. Add shoyu and brown sugar. Turn heat to medium-high It is comfort, culture and our roots. and cook until sugar dissolves and sauce is slightly thick. Serve.

Everyone has to eat. It is something we all have in common. And now that the world is so connected we From Just Add Shoyu, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. want to know more about each other, we want to experience what people eat in other parts of the world.

There is a curiousity about each other and each other’s Thursday March 19, 5pm – 7pm food. I applaud it. Food is a vehicle for meeting each Book launch other, learning about different cultures and a vehicle Book launch of The Kitchen by John Ota, one man's quest for for learning about history. Bravo! the perfect kitchen. Inform Interiors Showroom, 97 Water Street, Last question: How’s your renovation coming?

Vancouver Still in the planning stages. We’re looking at expanding RSVP to: johnotahome@gmail.com the kitchen downstairs to the basement. We need more space. We’ve already located a freezer, storage and Sunday March 22, 2pm stove downstaitrs. It just isn’t official yet. Historically, a John Ota at the Saanich Pioneer Museum, lot of people used space in the basement to expand Saanichton, BC, speaking about The Kitchen kitchen activites. I’m looking forward to it!

Email for tickets: saanichpioneersociety@outlook.com

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KEIROKAI 2020 Keirokai 2020 was held on Saturday, February 22 at Nikkei Centre to honour our Japanese Canadian seniors and to celebrate a happy New Year and Year of the Rat. Congratulations to the oldest man, George Uyesugi, and oldest woman, Sue Miyamoto and best wishes to all seniors who were born in the Year of the Rat! Thank you to our special guests, Consul General Takashi Hatori and NAJC President Lorene Oikawa, for joining us. And special thanks to GVJCCA Directors who helped out, especially Vice President April Shimizu, who expertly oversees the Keirokai each year; Director Shag Ando who managed registration; Secretary Evelyn Suzuki, and Kathy Shimizu who assisted with programming.

We also thank our generous donors and supporting organizations which include Tonari Gumi and Nikkei Home. The entertainment program included musicians Martin and Abby Kobayakawa, Sachiko Yamaguchi and Pierre Geumez, singing and taiko by Sawagi Taiko, and the Satsuki Kai Japanese dance group, who led us all in Kiyoshi no Zundoko Bushi, Hanabi Ondo and Tankou Bushi.

Finally, thank you to all the volunteers who assisted throughout the day to make the 2020 Keirokai a happy celebration for our precious seniors.

2020 KEIRO-KAI VOLUNTEERS April Shimizu, Cary Sakiyama, Emiko Lashin, Evelyn Suzuki, Felice Kwo, Fin Lu, Hatsue Swartz, Jean Maeda, Judy Hanazawa, June Nishi, Kathy Shimizu, Kazuyo Hirai, Kevin Akada, Kit Ming Chang Perrier, Larry Okada, Linda Harris, Linda Uyehara Hoffman, Liz Nunoda, Lucy Yoshioka, Martin Kobayakawa, Masako Arima, Masao Kano, May Hamanishi, Nobuko Matson, Pierre Geumez, Sachiko Yamaguchi, Sadie Momoko Root, Shag Ando, Soleil Sakiyama, Victoria Chan, Wendy Matsubuchi, Yoko Matsuno, Yoko Shiaku, Yoko Takahashi, Yoko Watase, Yoshiko Sakurada, Yumiko Christiansen.

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12 月報 The Bulletin

OUR GENEROUS DONORS

Amano Foods (Burnaby & Richmond) Angel Seafoods Baxter-Kobe Florist Beverage Concepts Cake Ya, Canfisco Charlie's Chocolate Factory Cion Bakery COBS Dan-D-Pak Fazio Foods Fortune Cookies Canada Fresh Direct Produce Fujiya Greater Vancouver JCCA Hi-Genki Hills Bakery JTB International Mikado Enterprises Ltd. Murata Japanese Gifts Nikkei Auxillary Oceanview Funeral Home Saint Germain Bakery Select Wine Merchants Sonray Suzu-Ya Tenrikiyo Women's Association Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake Vancouver Buddhist Temple Vancouver Japanese Gardeners’ Association Yamato Trading YK3 Sake Producer

ASAHI BASEBALL CLUB KOICHI KAYE KAMINISHI AWARD The Asahi Baseball Club celebrated Koichi Kaye Kaminishi’s 98th birthday at its Annual New Year’s Party at Nikkei Centre. Mr. Kaminishi was presented with an original painting by artist and Asahi member Steve Hepburn.

Steve and his family were fortunate to participate in the 2019 Japan Tour. Steve is a Vancouver artist who has designed works for Canada Post and Royal Canadian Mint.

The Club and the Kaminishi family are grateful for his generous gift and incredible talent.

Planning has started for the 2021 Japan Tour to be held during Spring Break in March of next year. The Tour will visit Wakayama Prefecture to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the original Asahi Baseball Team’s visit there. We are also planning an event with the Keio University baseball team.

The first tryout for the tour team will be held on March 8.

If you are interested, please contact info@asahibaseball. com.

The Club also presented the Koichi Kaye Kaminishi Award which recognizes volunteers aged 16 to 25 who promote Asahi objectives – inspire, respect, sportsmanship and best effort; and help preserve the Vancouver Asahi legacy. Montaro Ueyama was the recipient of the 2019 Koichi Kaye Kaminishi Award.

Montaro is a long time Asahi member and 2017 Japan Tour team player. He is currently a student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

ABOVE From left: Kaye Kaminishi, Steve Hepburn LEFT From left: Kaye Kaminishi, Montaro Ueyama

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JCCA Donations The Greater Vancouver JCCA and The Bulletin gratefully acknowledge generous donations received during February, 2020. If we have missed your name, please contact us and we will correct it in the next issue.

Kazuo & Marion Arai, Vancouver BC Mary Bellegay, Victoria BC Perry & Shizuko Conlin, Richmond BC Pauline & Philip Cooper, Mission BC Stan & Masako Fukawa, Burnaby BC Karen Geiger, Victoria BC Susan Gratton, White Rock BC Shigeru & Akemi Hirai, Burnaby BC Yoshihito Inaba,Summerland BC Makoto & Kotoyo Ito, North Vancouver BC Rick Isobe, Richmond BC Bill & Toshiko Kajiwara, Vancouver BC Yosh & Gail Kariatsumari, Langley BC Takeo & Midori Katayama, Surrey BC Ken & Michiko Kochi, Burnaby BC Barry & Carol Matsumoto, Richmond BC Patsy Mayede, Coquitlam BC Izumi & Reid Miki-McGruer, Vancouver BC Greg & Brenda Miyanaga, Coquitlam BC Kiyoko Miyanishi, Calgary AB Elmer Mori, Surrey BC Kaz & Mary Nakamoto, Burnaby BC Jane Nimi, North Vancouver BC Yoshiko Sameshima, Richmond BC Keo Shibatani, Toronto ON Eddy & Karla Shimizu, Hope BC Howard Shimokura, Vancouver BC David & Rita Shimozawa, Delta BC Hiroko Stuart, Burnaby BC Mary Tahara, Victoria BC Ken & Peggy Takahashi, Richmond BC Stan & Tsuneko Takaki, Aldergrove BC Jim & Irene Tanaka, Richmond BC Mitsuru & Yuki, Tanaka, Vancouver BC P Tanaka, Kelowna BC Kiyoshi & Mutsumi Tani, Richmond BC Bruce & Nan Tasaka, West Kelowna BC Jack & Tami Tasaka, North Vancouver BC Rika Uto, Vancouver BC Nancy Woodward, Burnaby BC Rickey Yada, Vancouver BC Alan & Barbara Yamaoka, Kelowna BC Dorothy Yamamoto, Burnaby BC June Yamamoto, Vancouver BC Kaz Yamamoto, Vancouver BC Sueko Yamamoto, Pitt Meadows BC Carl Yokota, Gabriola Island BC Yoko Matsuno In Memory of Jim Nishimura.

From Hiroko Stuart, Burnaby BC

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14 ć&#x153;&#x2C6;ĺ ą The Bulletin

TO THE EDITOR I read with interest your article about learning Japanese as a child and the challenges of "convincing" your children to go to Japanese school after school (August, 2019) Well, my story is about my life first growing up in Vancouver after the war when my parents came to Vancouver from Slocan (I was born in Nelson, BC in 1947) I was enrolled at Charles Dickens Elementary and my mother was 'advised/encouraged' to speak only English to me. This was very bad advice.

I only realize this after many years and I believe my parents (my mom in particular) was ashamed they did not have their children learn Japanese. I am now about nine years old and when my mom's mom and dad, emigrated to Vancouver from Hiroshima (they were 'repatriated' after to the war and went back to Hiroshima and my grandfather started a pearl company). Coming off the plane I imagine they were both excited to see their grandchildren for the first time. My sisters (one older, one younger) and I had no idea what they were talking about when we first met them. It didn't matter so much to a nine year old as they were just 'old people.'

However, after many years, I am now a grandparent and if I was not able to communicate with my grandchildren, for me there would be a big hole in my heart. I did not have the chance to speak to my grandparents about their experience of going back to Hiroshima and starting all over again. Lost wisdom.

When we started our family and work took me out of Vancouver, we returned from working and living in Prince George and our son, Paul and daughter Barbara were introduced to the idea of going to Japanese school when they were about seven and nine years old. The deal being I would accompany them to the Japanese School (Jackson St) Saturday AM classes and then be treated to sushi. This lasted for one year and the deal was we would sit down after the one year and decide as a family about the next year. Cartoons/TV and friends won out and regretfully we did not return. As adults now and with our daughter having two children that do not speak Japanese, our son and daughter share that regret. Of interest is that our granddaughter was in the first cohort of the Mandarin program in Burnaby so she knows Mandarin but not Japanese.

Shifting now to my life as a Japanese Canadian, I went to school, university and grad school to complete my degree as a Teacher and School Psychologist (Registered/Certified). I am semi-retired but continue to practice privately as well as contracting work with the Vancouver School Board. I worked for in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Prince continued on page 19 CONTACT US Managing Editor john@bigwavedesign.net Japanese Editors editor.geppo@gmail.com Advertising Manager 604.609.0657 (advertising enquiries only) annejew@telus.net Tel: 604.777.5222 (message only) E-mail: gvjcca@gmail.com gvjcca.org

JAPANESE CANADIAN CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION

Presidents Message

By Judy Hanazawa Hello everyone, over the last month its been challenging to adjust to the incredible changes in weather and we have experienced snow, relentless rain, wind, slush and a bit of sun and warmth. Now the snowdrops are in full bloom and there are the first sightings of crocuses.

Each monthly President’s message needs to be completed by the middle of the previous month to meet timelines for our volunteer Japanese translators.

As I write this, it is actually February 14, Valentine’s Day and the day of the Women’s March in commemoration of the murdered and missing Indigenous women.

It was a beautiful day as we stood amongst thousands listening to traditional songs, hundreds of powerful drums while families of murdered and missing women gave painful tribute to their lost loved ones.

There have been significant events to commemorate over the last two months which hadn’t been included in past messages. One which needs mention is January 27, the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust and the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The preservation of these genocide factories is essential as a permanent lesson so that humanity will eliminate any possibility of resurgence.

Today, preventing any possibility means establishing and sustaining effective strategies to counter the rise of organized hate. Bringing this matter to where we live, there have been reports in the last month of racist leaflets distributed in neighbourhoods and xenophobic encounters experienced by Asian Canadians due to fears about the spread of the Corona Virus. Anti-racism work is never done.

Over February and March perhaps some of us may have gotten stuck in traffic due to protests and others may have supported the hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs who stand to protect their unceded territory against the encroachment of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline continued on page 25

membership up to date? check mailing label on back cover for expiry date!

Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association 249 - 6688 Southoaks Crescent • Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7 • Telephone 604.777.5222 • Fax 604.777.5223 gvjcca@gmail.com

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March 3月 2020 15

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 26 - April 18, 2020 IKI : BREATH Joint art exhibition Newmarket Old Town Hall Gallery, Newmarket, ON Official opening March 7, Walk and Talk April 4 Bryce Kanbara and Lillian Michiko Blakey reflect on Japanese Canadian identity and cultural diversity. national museum

Nikkei

LILLIAN MICHIKO BLAKEY: breathing in Coming to terms with the WW2 forced removal of 22,000 Japanese Canadians from their homes in British Columbia has been a long, tortuous journey for me. This injustice by the Government of Canada took away our identity as Canadians and our right of citizenship, even if we were born in Canada.

Nikkei

cultural centre

BRYCE KANBARA : breathing out This room contains works from three community art projects organized in Hamilton (2011-2017). The photographs attempted to address the insularity of individuals and communities which prevents mutual understanding. They were small steps towards getting to know one another.

•

The participants opened themselves, their families and homes to First Friday of each month these projects. The photographs may appear straightforward and 7:30pm – 10pm unremarkable, but they convey generosity and trust.

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 Re lie the Aoki Legacy Endowment Fund, •I f of nc UBC. ch n The next First Friday Forum will be from 7:30pm to 10pm on Friday March 6th at Tonari Gumi. The theme will be a tribute to Elton John.

Info: wgksoon@telus.net March 6 to 28 2020 Vancouver International Dance Festival Vancouver Playhouse The Roundhouse Woodward’s Atrium KW Production Studio full schedule and tickets: vidf.ca

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16 月報 The Bulletin

ICHIGO-ICHIEH NEW THEATRE | hiromoto ida presents Birthday Present for Myself Nelson February 29 Vancouver International Dance Festival March 26 – 28 Salt Spring Island March 30 | Vernon April 1 | Oliver April 3 Accomplished dancer-choreographer-actor Hiromoto Ida skillfully merges dance, theatre, classical music and voice to tell the story of the old man, raising a glass of sake to himself in celebration on what will be his last birthday. Reminiscing about the richness of his life experience, he is visited by the spirit of his wife, soprano Allison Girvan. Featuring musicians Nicola Everton (clarinet), Sue Gould (piano), Jeff Faragher (cello), and Martine denBok (violin & viola), performing an evocative original score by Russian composer Pavel Karmanov.

CVA 99-925

THE CENOTAPH TURNS 100!

The Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park will be 100 years old on April 9, 2020! The amazing limestone, granite, marble and terracotta masterpiece has seen many visitors and represented so much over the years! From the First World War, Second World War, Korean War and the Afghan War, the cenotaph has represented the sacrifices, the battles fought, the fight for the franchise and the pilgrimages every Remembrance Day to salute these highlights of Japanese Canadian history.

Built to commemorate the incredible contribution of Japanese Canadians at Vimy and Hill 70, the cenotaph lantern was extinguished during the Second World War, and relit decades later in 1985 by Sergeant Masumi Mitsui, MM. Sgt Mitsui lobbied for the franchise in 1931, but this did not prevent the Veterans from the Internment in 1942.

The iconic cenotaph has been lovingly restored and taken care of by the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Committee in partnership with the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Parks Board with funding from Veteran’s Affairs Canada. And the cenotaph is a National Historic Monument and on Heritage BC’s Register of Japanese Canadian Historic Places.

There will be a public ceremony to mark this occasion at the cenotaph on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 1pm.

An invite only reception will take place at the HMCS Discovery site at 2pm following the ceremony. Please be aware that this is an active naval reserve base and photo ID will be compared to a master list of invitees. For further information about the event, contact Chair Linda Kawamoto Reid at lreid@nikkeiplace.org

Saturday, March 28, 2020, 1pm – 2pm Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association Special General Meeting This Special General Meeting is being held to finalize the decision about the qualifications of the GVJCCA president, allowing the membership to vote on the matter of GVJCCA Constitution and By-Laws Section 5.5 Director Qualifications. A motion will be made to amend 5.5 Director Qualifications section (g) from stating, “ be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada pursuant to applicable laws, provided that the Director who is the President must be a Canadian citizen.” to state: “be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada pursuant to applicable laws provided that the Director who is the President must be a Canadian citizen of Japanese descent or partially Japanese descent.”

Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Tsubaki Room 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC Saturday, March 28, 2020, 2pm – 4pm Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association Annual General Meeting Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Tsubaki Room 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC

Dr. Ken Shimizu DIAMOND DENTAL CENTRE 103 – 129 E. Columbia Street New Westminster, BC 6 0 4 . 4 4 9 .7 6 8 9

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March 3月 2020 17

Thursday March 19, 5pm – 7pm Book launch Book launch of The Kitchen

by John Ota, one man's quest for the perfect kitchen. Inform Interiors Showroom, 97 Water Street, Vancouver RSVP to: johnotahome@gmail. com

April 2 – 26, 2020 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival presented by Coromandel Properties and Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation

Saturday, April 18, 10am to 6pm & Sunday, April 19, 10am to 5pm Sakura Days Japan Fair VanDusen Botanical Garden 5251 Oak Street at 37th, Vancouver Sakura Days Japan Fair is presented by the Japan Sunday March 22, 2pm Fair Association of Vancouver (JFAV), the allJohn Ota at the Saanich Pioneer Museum, volunteer organizing committee of this two-day Saanichton, BC, speaking about The Kitchen Email for tickets: saanichpioneersociety@outlook.com event, as part of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, and is held at VanDusen Botanical Garden.

The book will be available for purchase.

For up-to-date information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information visit: www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/566674/theWe are looking for enthusiastic volunteers! If you are kitchen-by-john-ota/9780525609896 interested in volunteering at Sakura Days Japan Fair The Kitchen by John Ota (April 18 & 19, 2020) please submit an application A journey through time-and the homes of Julia Child, (must be min. 16 years old) before March 15 Georgia O’Keeffe, Elvis Presley and many others-in www.vcbf.ca/community-event/sakura-days-japansearch of the perfect design fair Penguin Random House Canada

Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. We stand on the moral authority of Japanese Americans who suffered the atrocities and legacy of U.S. concentration camps during WWII and we say, “Stop Repeating History!”

Never Again is NOW. For details, visit tsuruforsolidarity.org Tsuru for Solidarity: National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps June 2020 | Washington DC “In 1942 when we disappeared from our homes, our schools, our jobs, our farms, and our communities – very few people protested. We were seen as a disloyal, unassimilable race.

Nobody marched; there were no protests. We see the same thing happening today to innocent people and we say: Stop repeating history! We intend to be the allies that we needed during WWII.” – Satsuki Ina

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18 月報 The Bulletin

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Vancouver Buddhist Temple

220 Jackson Avenue, Vancouver 604.253.7033 www.vancouverbuddhisttemple.com Sunday, March 1, 12noon to 2pm Spring Japan Food Fair at Vancouver Buddhist Temple Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a warm bowl of udon noodle soup, a variety of hand rolled sushi, karaage and teriyaki chicken, manju, Japanese style chow mein, and a variety of home made items plus fresh vegetables, fish, plants and many more!

Popular items will be sold out earlier.

Introduction to Buddhism 5 week course - February 26 to March 25, 2020 7 pm to 9 pm - Wednesday Evenings All classes will be held in the Shrine Room (Hondo) of the Vancouver Buddhist Temple Cost: $50.00 (+ nominal booking fee) for the 5 sessions, $35.00 (+ nominal booking fee) for students. No Drop-ins.

Please register on our website: vancouverbuddhisttemple.com/Buddhism Wednesday February 26, 7pm Wednesday March 4, 7pm Wednesday March 11, 7pm Wednesday March 18, 7pm Wednesday March 25, 7pm

Meditation at the Vancouver Buddhist Temple 7pm on Wednesday evenings All meetings will be held in the beautiful shrine room of the Vancouver Buddhist Temple This is a drop-in, one evening at a time Cost: a donation to the Vancouver Buddhist Temple which is kindly hosting this event.

Reminder: It is expensive to operate a large temple and we will be using their light and heat.

The instructor is donating his time because this is important!

We will be using some classic techniques taken from Buddhism, Taoism and Advaita.

January 29 - February 19 (4 Wednesday evenings) April 1 - June 17 (12 Wednesday evenings) Friday April 10, 7pm Public Lecture at VBT Guest Speaker: Rev. Kodo Umezu (former Bishop, Buddhist Churches of America).

Everyone is welcome to attend.

General Buddhism with Casey Collins (PhD Candidate in Asian Studies at UBC) Zen Tradition with Michael Newton Sensei Shin Pure Land Tradition with Tatsuya Aoki Sensei Tibetan Tradition with Lama Sue Salter Theravada Tradition & Meditation with Dr Adrianne Ross

TO THE EDITOR continued George as well as the VSB for 20 years as a Special Education Administrator and Case Manager before leaving Vancouver and 'retiring' to the Sunshine Coast. My contract VSB and private work involves speaking with parents some of who are ESL and I take special note and time to encourage/convince them to speak their first language. I also say this with the students I work with, it is part of their heritage and culture, important aspects of their family life.

So I share this as both an insight and personal experience of "Nihongo or No" and would strongly suggest that language is part of our heritage and there should be a conscious effort to learn our first language so that culture and tradition do not die. It reminds of the work of Indigenous Education where First Nations Language instruction is being taught (Dr. Lorna Williams University of Victoria).

Always appreciate your editorial, Sincerely Larry Koyanagi, R.Psych (CPBC)

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March 3ć&#x153;&#x2C6; 2020 19

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL

TURNS 20

I talked to Jay Hirabayashi of Vancouver’s Kokoro Dance about this year’s Festival – the 20th – to get a sneak peek into what’s in store at this always-provocative, always engaging event.

by John Endo Greenaway

The Vancouver International Dance Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. What are the highlights?

We are proud of living up to our mission of supporting work by equityseeking artists. The Canada Council for the Arts says: Equity is a principle and process that promotes fair conditions for all persons to fully participate in society. It recognizes that while all people have the right to be treated equally, not all experience equal access to resources, opportunities or benefits. Achieving equality does not necessarily mean treating individuals or groups in the same way, but may require the use of specific measures to ensure fairness.

Equity-seeking groups are communities that face significant collective challenges in participating in society. This marginalization could be created by attitudinal, historic, social and environmental barriers based on age, ethnicity, disability, economic status, gender, nationality, race, sexual orientation and transgender status, etc. Equity-seeking groups are those that identify barriers to equal access, opportunities and resources due to disadvantage and discrimination and actively seek social justice and reparation.

In the past 20 years, we have presented 704 performances by 290 local, national, and international dance artists/companies. Of these, 183 were equity-seeking artists. As artists producing work by other artists, we have raised and returned to BC’s economy, $7,757,500, so even though we have lost money producing this festival every year, we are happy to continue doing the work that we do.

What are some of the themes in this year’s VIDF that you think our readers might be interested in?

While we don’t consciously program the VIDF thematically, somehow themes do manifest themselves. Hiromoto Ida pretends to be an old man in Birthday Present for

Myself although he is ten years younger than me. Okay, maybe I’m an old man, but Hiro does do a wonderful job performing as a soon-to-be but not-quite-yetdead 84-year-old that reflects, with humour, on the evanescence of our existence.

Olivia Shaffer’s Senescence also is a reflection, more somber, but not less loving, on her experiences caring for her dying father who had Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Her performance, by coincidence, precedes Hiro’s at the Roundhouse, so should make a provocative contrast.

Shay Kuebler / Radical System Art’s Epilogos, an examination of how moral codes are used as controls by those with power, began with Shay’s initial interest and research in bushido, the samurai code of ethics that includes integrity, respect, courage, honour, compassion, duty and honesty. This opening VIDF presentation at the Vancouver Playhouse contrasts with the closing Vancouver Playhouse performance

by Kokoro Dance. The Japanese concept of wabi sabi has been integral to the work of Kokoro Dance since its inception. Wabi sabi encompasses the seven aesthetic principles of Zen philosophy: kanso — simplicity; fukinsei — asymmetry or irregularity; shibumi — beauty in the understated; shizen — naturalness without pretense; yugen — subtle grace; datsuzoku — freeness; and seijaku — tranquility. I think these are inherent in Hiro’s work too. The movement of the work is set on five different generations of women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, each with their separately arranged scores of the same material. Each has an individual journey within their group journey, much as we live our lives together in separation.

Erika Mitsuhashi, Felicia Lau, and Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien are the three talented members of Farouche, whose Here again – A collection of three scores suggests a choreographic structure not dissimilar to that of Kokoro Dance, but from a next-generation trio of young dancer/choreographers.

Another theme of issues of gender and sexual identity/orientation manifest in inDANCE’s Śiva kissed Viṣṇu and FakeKnot’s HINKYPUNK. The former is “a rare, honest, unapologetic work that subverts the heterosexual, rigid vocabulary of Bharatanatyam, by queering its expected aesthetics.” Ralph Escamillan’s HINKYPUNK is a sci-fi, glam, androgynous exploration of identity and idolatry in a mind-expanding explosion of energy.

There’s more information about these shows and more on our website: vidf.ca

Shay Kuebler / Radical System Art

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20 月報 The Bulletin

ICHIGO-ICHIEH NEW THEATRE

BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR MYSELF

Ichigo-Ichieh New Theatre is based in Nelson, BC, the theatrical vehicle for dancer/actor/choreographer Hiromoto Ida. His newest piece, Birthday Present for Myself, will be performed this month at the 20th Vancouver International Dance Festival.

Birthday Present for Myself takes its title from a piece of the same name by Russian composer Pavel Karmanov, who provides most of the musical accompaniment.

The show merges dance, theatre, classical music and voice to tell the story of the old man, raising a glass of sake to himself in celebration on what will be his last birthday. As he reminisces about the richness of his life experience, he is visited by the spirit of his wife, played by soprano Allison Girvan.

same moment can never reoccur. This idea is built into the philosophy of the Japanese tea ceremony, not unlike a theatre performance, which has a host preparing a ceremony for a guest. Every small thing has a purpose and a position – even imperfections. A tea ceremony’s main focus is always given to perfecting a cup of tea to present to the guest with ichigo-ichieh in their mind. Quite often in performance art, the performers end up at the center of the stage. All of us, including me, tend to become ego-centered. it is unavoidable. So ichigo-ichieh reminds me that I am not the star to shine, I have to become fire, burn myself to give light to other people (audiences). It’s all about the gift to the audience. They are the main focus.

Birthday Present for Myself has been in process for a number of years – tell me what led you to create it.

Many things in my life. The shock of my grandparents passing away. We Hiromoto Ida spoke to The Bulletin from his home in live together in same house, they were like part of the house structure.

But since they disappeared, I have been carrying this sad, almost angry Nelson. question: why do we all die? That’s for sure one of reason this piece was You live a very rural life, how does that impact your created. Also the time I spent during the last week of my father’s life and art, do you think? the time spend with my mother after he passed away.

We take our water from the creek, I know exactly where You took the title from Karmanov’s piece. I’m listening to it as I write the water comes from. I have to fix things and clean out these questions. It’s very evocative. What was it about that music the water box to get water. I fix the house, build some that spoke to you so strongly? furniture, plant a garden. These are all basic but When I heard it the first time, right away I had this image of an old man very important things for living. Now when I create a sitting in a chair in a big field of tall grasses, his memories of life running theatre piece, somehow I have that same strength as around him like Japanese lantern. After that, almost every day, new images doing this other primal living stuff. I learn to see the and stories arrived like presents, I was busy writing them down. And of difference between the real and superficial through continued on page 22 living a rural life.

Ichigo-Ichieh is the Japanese notion of a unique occasion. Tell me more about this concept.

If you meet someone, it is considered a unique occasion that happens only once, in that moment, in an entire lifetime. Even if you meet the same person the next day under the same circumstances, this exact

ICHIGO-ICHIEH NEW THEATRE | hiromoto ida presents Birthday Present for Myself Nelson February 29 Vancouver International Dance Festival March 26 – 28 Salt Spring Island March 30 | Vernon April 1 | Oliver April 3

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March 3月 2020 21

course I was curious of this title. It’s funny, I thought of the old man’s memories and birthday, and of course when you start seeing your life like a Japanese lantern, it means your end of the day is coming close. I told Pavel Karamanov about seeing these images when I heard his music, and he commented that these are things he was imagining when he created this music. That gave me strength to create this show.

of this piece is my question. Are we really come back?

I am listening for the answers when I dance this last part of the show. Maybe the audience will catch the answers for me.

Your work often seems to dwell on mortality and the emotions that come with age and the end of life. Why is this, do you think?

That is one of the biggest questions I have been carrying with me in my life. I still remember when I was age around 13, the first time I watched my grandmother’s day. I watched her from getting up in the morning until she went to bed. I remember feeling some kind of sadness. She didn’t speak much, gardening, sitting quietly . . . Maybe I felt what it means to get old. After that realization, I started to talk to her more. Death is just other side of living. And every one of us has to go through it. I was also always interested in the distance between of two different things. Not their differences, but the thin line where they meet. It is easy to just move and dance, but I am more interested in showing and exploring the line when people stop moving or dancing, start moving. Why do they stop moving?

Then after they stop or shut up, what’s next?

Your father passed away a while back, and you’re a father yourself.

Does this continuity of life play itself out in your creative process?

It’s not so much the father/son thing, but the continuity. When I live close to nature, I really think some part of us will continue forever. I am not talking of religion here. It’s more like I feeling I have when I shovel the snow every winter, raking the autumn leaves, watching the creek never stop running. We are from nature. We are from there 100%. The last scene

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22 月報 The Bulletin

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Community Update 475 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1C6 Tel: 604.254.2551 FAX: 604.254.9556 Email: vjls@vjls-jh.com

CHILDCARE, PAST AND PRESENT

by Laura Saimoto, Community Relations Committee school, I realized a few things: many Japanese Canadian women, like my grandmother for example, worked in a family business or were super busy having babies and raising large families like my father’s family, who had nine siblings.

My grandmother was a skilled seamstress who worked with my grandfather at their dry-cleaning shop on Main Street. Or in the case of Mary Kawamoto, one of our senior alumni, whose family owned Victory Rooms, a rooming house on Powell Street, the entire family, her dad, mom and Mary and her younger brother, helped to run the rooming house business, cleaning, cooking, running the front desk, keeping the furnace fuelled with coal and doing the books.

In 2012, we completed the heritage rehabilitation of our 1928 Heritage Building which we designed for childcare. We launched Children’s World Childcare Centre, a licensed childcare facility with daycare, and Japanese immersion preschool and toddlers programs.

Today, eight years later, our centre has 135 children under age six years operating in Historic Powell Street in the heart of the Downtown Eastside.

The second thing I realized is that childcare for toddlers was actually provided by Christian churches who offered preschool in the children’s second language, which was English. Kid’s first language was Japanese, which was spoken at home. They then walked their children to the United Methodist Church kindergarten (Powell & Jackson) for example, which introduced children to their second language: English. In particular, the United and Catholic Churches preschools and kindergartens were what we would call in modern terms, English immersion childcare.

Once children reached grade school age, they attended the nearest public school, like Lord Strathcona Elementary. 600 of the 1200 students in 1941 were Japanese Canadian children. There, they learned formal English. After school, everyday, from Monday to Friday, the children then walked over to Japanese School to learn Japanese. In modern day terms, we could call it Japanese immersion after school care. Then the students after two immersion programs during the day, would play or walk home for dinner. So in effect, childcare and after school care were language As a new childcare provider, we researched other immersion programs. childcare facilities and infused childcare practices in Japan, integrating the best of Canada and Japan in our In today’s modern world, childcare seems like a fairly modern social need beautiful heritage building. One of the most treasured with ‘gender equity’ and most moms working outside the home. According heritage features of our building is the second floor fir to the City of Vancouver’s 2019 licensed childcare stats, for ages 0-4 years, floors, which are the original 1928 tongue and groove the city has 5476 licensed spaces, whereas the need is actually 13,134 floors. When we gutted the building, we pulled up (covers 42%). It’s a shortfall of 7,600 spaces. Childcare, while it had a about four layers of linoleum and carpeting before we different name prior to World War II, was in actual fact immersion language reached the original floors and with careful restoration, programs serving as de facto childcare for hardworking immigrant parents. were able to restore them. I can picture the thousands Food for thought when something old changes its name and becomes of children who ran on these floors just as I did, racing new again! down the bannisters at recess to see who reached the ground floor first!

WHAT’S COMING UP? As Vancouver’s new National Historic Site, we have done a deep dive into the history of the neighbourhood.

As we did so, a lightbulb went on in my head: what did families do for child-care??? After interviewing senior alumni about their lives as children growing up in the area and attending the school everyday after public

Adult Spring Term start dates: Tuesday, April 7 Adult Intermediate & upper levels Thursday April 9 Beginners Contact T. Bailey, Continuing Education: tbailey@vjls-jh.com

Photo: Miyo Nishihata and friends from the Japanese Language School on Alexander Street; Vancouver, BC, circa 1940. NNM. 2010.80.2.59

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March 3月 2020 23

CrossCurrents

with Masaki Watanabe

TWO SECRETS TO LONG LIFE: SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR AND GETTING TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS OFTEN Though my age is already in the mid-70s, I always strive as a professional writer for content that would stimulate and entertain not only those readers in my “senior” age group but those middle-aged in the prime of their lives as well as young men and women including students. This time, I want to discuss what makes

our life “worth living.”

for no longer being able to work.”

It then said, “What can our church do in response? We believe we can let them know that there is significance in life itself and let them feel that they are not all.” Personally, I’ve never doubted at any point in my life that there is a meaning to my existence, my immediate reaction when I read it was “???”. But maybe I was too opinionated, so I showed it to my friend Mr O. who works as an “itamae (chef behind the counter)” in a popular Japanese restaurant on Broadway. Originally from Kyushu, he’s lived for a long time in Canada and speaks English too. His reaction was “What the heck is this all about?”

In my own experience, most of those youngsters who are still students or who have just started working probably probably don’t have the time to think or discuss “what they are living for” or the “significance” of their lives. Particularly for those lucky souls who are enjoying the spring of their lives, there’s probably no time to delve into such philosophical issues as the significance of life. Only when we reach our late middle age or senLest you readers misunderstand, ior age, we may start thinking about how much of our he, like me, was not criticizing the life is there left, or how many more years we may live. church itself. Rather, he felt that it What we live for is a matter of our values, so it must was arrogant of this church to tell involve religion. In my case, I was raised as a Christian the seniors it can teach them the (Lutheran Church). For various reasons I was attracted significance of their lives. to Buddhism in middle age, and several years ago I Are there so many seniors in Japan became a member of the Pure Earth sect thanks to today who are lonely and lack confian older man I consider my teacher. As is well known, dence so much that they have to be Japanese Canadians from the early years have foltaught about the meaning of their lowed either one of these faiths. Personally, I believe existence? Both Mr O. and I could that since Lord Buddha and Christ both preached “love only feel sorry for them. they neighbour,” the two are essentially the same.

Fortunately, there is in Japan a Be that as it may, there is a Lutheran Church not far from place where the people, particumy childhood home in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward, where larly women, are striving to reach my family have been members since my grandparents’ the grand old age of 100. This time which regularly sends me periodicals, even though community in Okinawa Prefecture I have told them some time ago that I’m now a Budwas recently featured in the ondhist. As far as the church members are concerned, I line edition of BBC News. Every am still a remaining member of the Watanabe family year, the resident male and female even though I live abroad. who have reached the age of 100 A recent issue carried a list of 40 church members receive a citation from the governover the age of 80 along with a message for them. ment. According to them, the secret It asked, among other things, “In our old age, aren’t of longevity can be summed up in financial matters, health and loneliness the things we two key words. One is ikigai (what worry about?” For sure, Japanese society is not an easy makes life worth living) and the place to live, especially for senior citizens. It went on, other is moai in the Okinawa dialect “In the case of men, there may also be a sense of loss which means regular get-togethers.

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24 月報 The Bulletin

Ikigai means something that one has to do by oneself, and something that one lives for. The woman interviewed by BBC is now 93. Her husband, who passed away, lived to be 100, receiving a government citation. Fully intent on living past 100, one of her ikigai is the love she receives from her many grand children and great grandchildren.

Another is what makes her get up every morning to water and care for the vegetables she is raising. To be able to sell fresh vegetables at the local market is also ikigai.

For you readers of the young generation or in the prime of your lives, you are probably too busy with your studies, extra-curricular activities or work to devote enough time to think seriously about your ikigai. It would be fortunate if you have something you truly love outside of work that you can pursue for the rest of your lives.

Here in British Columbia the northern hemisphere far from Okinawa, we also enjoy beautiful nature and a mild climate. Many of you readers are probably finding ikigai in activities like raising flowers or vegetables or get-togethers with old friends. One example is Tonari Gumi, the facility for seniors run by volunteers. There you can meet like minded-souls who enjoy raising vegetables or flowers, or composing haiku or painting or making music. Why not enjoy together something you like and enjoy getting together. Why not follow the example of our Okinawan compatriots who are enjoying their remaining years, or rather their lives, with the aim of living to be 100?

Last but not least, we’re now amid the coronavirus epidemic that will not peak until May according to

experts, so let’s take the necessary precautions like washing our hands with soap frequently. One note of hope is that the reported cases in British Columbia have stabilized and even heading to recovery. Be safe everyone.

JCCA continued – a project supported by BC and Canada while both governments endorse the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. Senator Murray Sinclair, former chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recently commented, “ The argument that Chiefs and band Councils along the route may have signed Benefit Agreements can hardly be said to be proper consent, for I have seen some of them…the failure to recognize the traditional law of the Wet’suwet’en in these deals is a fatal flaw to anyone who argues otherwise.” He affirms that traditional chiefs have an overall say over unceded territory and concludes “Positive acts of resolution will be needed…Police and military enforcement will only serve to enfl ame matters. “As a settler community with roots in unceded territory, Japanese Canadians could gain understanding from examining the facts and relevant laws about this matter. There is responsibility to be informed and support a just resolution in the Wet’suwet’en situation.

February 22, 2020 was also the GVJCCA Keirokai Luncheon to express our appreciation and celebrate Japanese Canadian seniors. Best wishes to our Seniors for 2020, and the Year of the Rat! The GVJCCA Annual General Meeting is March 28 from 2 to 4. We urge the Membership to attend and be updated on GVJCCA programs, activities and operations. In addition, there will be an earlier special general meeting on March 28 from 1 to 2 for the Membership to vote on a motion regarding whether GVJCCA president qualifications shall be “ a Canadian citizen of Japanese descent or partially Japanese descent”. See you on March 28 and enjoy the coming of spring.

update Spring Nikkei Artist Mixer- March 28th, 6pm - 9pm at the Russian Hall (600 Campbell Avenue, Vancouver) Are you a Japanese Canadian artist or associated with Nikkei arts and culture? Study a Japanese art form? Curious about Japanese culture? Want to get involved in the Japanese Canadian/Nikkei community? If you said yes to any of the above, then we invite you to the Nikkei Artist Mixer produced, curated, and hosted by June Fukumura. The mixer will feature up and coming Japanese Canadian artists: Erika Mitsuhashi, Shion Carter, and Tomoyo Yamada who will present talks about their practice. Whether you identify as JC/Nikkei or not, this is an inclusive opportunity to celebrate JC/Nikkei culture and mingle with some amazing artists and community members!

Snacks and light refreshments will be provided at this FREE event.

PSF + Artist in Residence Yamanashi (AIRY) Project Kathy Shimizu, this year’s artist in residence at AIRY Project, is creating a book about meanderings at the Powell Street Festival. As a part of this new artistic project she is collecting anecdotes about your favourite activity at the Festival. If you would like to share and be included in this project, please email kathys@powellstreetfestival. com with 2-3 sentences (eg. “I like to watch the sumo tournament” or “my favourite activity is the Asahi pitch game!”).

Please note, not all contributions will be included in the content of the book, however, if your contribution is selected, your anecdote will be anonymously included in the content of the book and your name will be listed in the credits. Should you wish to remain anonymous please include a note when making your submission to Kathy.

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March 3月 2020 25

Alice Bradley CommunityKitchen with and Lea Ault

lea@hapaizakaya.com

I grew up eating a fairly wide range of cuisines - apart from the obvious Japanese home food (oyako donburi, teriyaki chicken, gyoza, etc.) we also ate a lot of Chinese food and typical “Canadian” food (meatloaf, pork chops, roast chicken, etc). My aunt is Italian and we learned to make Italian food which I still find incredibly exciting. Periodically we’d make forays into Russian cuisine thanks to our Russian neighbours; Mrs. Tikinoff made amazing borscht (in February issue) and blueberry tarts which were served with a dollop of sour cream - to die for. The neighbours on our other side were Chinese via Fiji, and they introduced us to curries and chapatis, introduced to them by their Indian neighbours. I love it when cuisines bump into each other like that!

heat, shaking a lot and taking them off when they get just lightly golden and start clumping together and smelling brown and toasty.)

In the 1990s we started exploring more Asian cuisines – Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian restaurants started popping up in Vancouver and we were intrigued by the mysterious herbs and thrilled by the juxtapositions of savory, sweet, spicy and fresh and of course we had to make it for ourselves. Neighbours from the Philippines brought pancit and chicken adobo to potlucks and taught us novel ways to cut up a mango. Friends who had lived in Seoul introduced us to Korean food, another surprise. At first this struck me as Japanese food made wrongly with extra, pungent ingredients (Chili! Garlic! Something else I couldn’t identify!) but it grew on me and now I’m devoted to this delicious and exciting cuisine and therefore – after this long introduction – Korean food is our focus this month.

Boil noodles for about 5-6 minutes (check packet for instructions, don’t take our word for it), drain well, rinse with cold water to stop cooking and drain well again. Cut into manageable lengths, toss with a teaspoon of oil. Set aside.

Bulgogi

1 bag baby spinach 1 onion, thinly sliced 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into slivers 1 red or green pepper, in slivers 1 c shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (you can also use button mushrooms)

This is a delicious treatment for thinly sliced beef, either top sirloin or flank steak.

Marinade 3 T shoyu 2 T brown sugar 1 T honey 2 T sake 1 T sesame oil 1 tsp ground black pepper 2 or more cloves of garlic, finely minced 2 T toasted sesame seeds 1 green onion, finely chopped 2 T pear puree (optional) 1 onion, sliced 1 lb mushrooms, sliced Garnish: more chopped green onion and toasted sesame seeds - in fact, if you’re going to be making Korean food, toast a lot of sesame seeds because we’re sprinkling them on everything! (How do you toast sesame seeds? Carefully! In a frying pan, over medium

Combine marinade ingredients, add beef, mix well and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Drain on paper towel before cooking.

Saute onion and mushrooms in a little oil on high heat, remove. Heat more oil, quickly sear the beef in batches - don’t let it boil! - and then throw it all together and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and another vegetable dish for balance.

Japchae Every cuisine has its iconic noodle dish and this is Korea’s pancit/pad thai/yakisoba/chow mein.

300g dangmyun (Korean yam noodles)

200g thinly sliced or slivered beef sirloin Marinade: 1 T shoyu ½ T sugar ½ T honey 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1 t sesame oil ½ t black pepper Marinate beef for at least 30 minutes, then drain on a paper towel before cooking.

Seasoning for noodles: 4-5 T shoyu 2 T sesame oil 3 T brown sugar ½ T honey Mix together and have ready.

Steam spinach to cook (I put it in a bowl in the microwave and give it 1 minute) and chop if needed, toss with ¼ t salt and 1 t oil.

In a wok, heat a dash of oil and lightly stir fry the vegetables. Set aside.

Heat another tablespoon or so of oil and cook the meat, in batches if necessary to prevent boiling, which makes the meat tough. When it’s all done, add the vegetables and noodles and the seasoning and toss until it’s all heated through. The noodles will absorb the sauce. Garnish with more chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

These recipes are generally made with beef but you can substitute chicken if you’re trying to cut back on red meat consumption. continued on page 27

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26 月報 The Bulletin

Tatsuo’s C o r n e r by Tatsuo Kage

ORGANIZING ACTIVITIES AMONG POST-WAR IMMIGRANTS 40 years ago, when I immigrated to Canada in the mid-1970’s, Nisei were community leaders even though generally speaking, Issei were also active and I got to know a number of them through TONARIGUMI. They were brought up in Japan and spoke Japanese as the first language.

What they told me about their experience in the early days in Canada was interesting for me, a recently immigrated postwar immigrant.

For example, when the Redress movement started in the early 1980’s, some of them were afraid of a backlash from the mainstream Canadian society and told me that Issei should not support the Redress movement.

They argued that the movement might jeopardize the finally obtained position of Japanese Canadians in the society after World War II. However, I did not agree with them: I felt the legitimacy of the Redress movement which we could develop in a way being understood by Canadians in general who would give their support for democracy and the promotion of Human Rights. With these ideas in mind I supported and joined the movement.

Most leaders of the movement at the time were either Nisei or Sansei, they had difficulty in communicating with Japanese speaking Issei people. So, as a person with translating and interpreting skills I was able

to help them, i.e., I was able to play a certain role in the movement. Since then, I felt I was a member of the community and joined the movement. Such an activity was beneficial for me as I got to know the various generations and interacted with them.

One of the result of my activities was research in a certain aspect of the community – those Japanese Canadians who were expelled from Canada to Japan soon after the end of World War II. My research was published in both Japanese (1998) and English (2012). The latter’s title is : Uprooted Again: Japanese Canadians Move to Japan After World War II. Translated by Kathleen Chisato Merken.

TI-JEAN Press, Victoria, BC. 2012.

Correction: When I mentioned an year-end party of 1977 in the February issue in this corner, I made a mistake. It was Mr. Hideki Akitaya, not Mr. Akio Aoki, who commented: “It was the first time for me to be so relaxed since I came to Canada.”

Garlic Chili Cucumbers I first had this simple yet addictive dish in Ippudo, a ramen joint in New York. I couldn’t believe how simple it is, how tasty it is, and that I hadn’t figured it out sooner. It’s easy, refreshing, pungent and very more-ish.

6-8 small crunchy mini cucumbers – regular cucumbers are also fine but not quite as good 2 T sesame oil ½ tsp red pepper flakes or 1 red chilli, seeded and chopped butter and pasta, it’s a base for Indian food, Vietnamese 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped food, Thai food, and it’s been a gift when I’ve made 1 t salt these Korean dishes. I used it for a salmon marinade Combine everything but the cucumbers and let it all soak. If you don’t like and also for the garlic chilli cucumbers. A Korean the garlic and chili to be strong you can modify by slicing the garlic and salmon marinade is basically teriyaki with garlic, chilli, chilies and taking them out before adding the cucumber. sesame oil, chopped green onions and sesame seeds Cut cucumbers into ½-inch lengths, either straight on or rolling a quarter added. I make my teriyaki with honey or brown sugar turn each time. Toss in the oil dressing and serve. Taste and add more for a darker flavour, and add sake, mirin and ginger salt if desired. We’ve sprinkled everything else with sesame seeds, and to the shoyu. you can do that here as well if you want more garnish.

Note: whenever I buy chilies, I hate to waste the nine left after the one I needed is used. I chop them in a food processor with a handful of peeled garlic cloves and freeze in dollops to be stored in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This mixture has many uses – it’s peperoncino when tossed with

I don’t have a dessert for you because I don’t know any Korean desserts and sweets aren’t really featured in Korean restaurants. If you know one (that is easy to make), please share!

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March 3月 2020 27

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS

NAJC.CA

TERRY WATADA

LONG-TIME GONE: TORONTO’S J-TOWN | PART ONE

by Terry Watada Though not widely acknowledged, J-Town Toronto did exist.

Very little of it can be found today and, back in the day, no one called it J-Town or Little Tokyo or anything. Probably because it formed for a relatively short time just after 1949 when Toronto’s City Council lifted its restriction of Japanese Canadians living photo: Tane Akamatsu within its confines. It continued through to the early 1980s when most had moved out of the area.

Many Japanese Canadian families and individuals lived in the area roughly bordered by Bay Street in the east, Spadina in the west, Queen in the south and Bloor in the north. My family lived in the attic of a rowhouse on McCaul Street near Dundas, a few steps away from Orde Street Public School and the Art Gal- The location (north side of Dundas St. just west of Huron St.) of Furuya and Nikko Garden as lery of Ontario. The Nikkei didn’t live in grand estates; it is in 2020. Nikko Garden was on the top floor. instead, they inhabited row houses or apartments-tolet. I recall visiting the Sugimotos on Dundas. Their It could’ve been the reverse, actu- Japanese grocery stores dothouse was so narrow, I could spread my arms wide ally. In any case, the place was a ted the landscape. Inhabitants and touch each wall. I’m sure this is a false memory, must for families to celebrate major needed their rice and tofu. The but the point is clear. birthdays and anniversaries. The Toronto Buddhist Church, which The community started as a Jewish immigrant area. backroom was a meeting place started on Huron Street, running A garment district flourished there as a result. Jewish for JC organizational work. The south of Dundas near Spadina, delis, like Shopsowitz Delicatessen and Switzer’s, two Japanese Canadian Cultural Cen- opened a food co-op at Huron of over 100 delis in the early 1960s, drew me to the area tre Building Committee held their and Dundas to supply essentials in my early adulthood. I mention the Jewish community first meetings there. The Japanese to the neighbourhood. The Cobecause Jewish landlords and businesspeople were Canadian Citizens Association con- op was eventually taken over by the only ones in the city to rent to and hire Japanese ducted heated discussions about private interests and reopened Canadians. I once heard that Sammy Taft, a Spadina redress there as well. That’s where as Furuya Japanese Food. It haberdasher who invented hockey’s “hat trick” (score the redress movement split into two featured an endless array of Japathree goals in a game and you get a free hat), would factions, each with different goals. nese products. The butcher in the stand in front of his store every morning to entice back was Mr. Ishida (don’t know A Japanese cafe sat near the coranyone with black hair inside as his first customer. his first name) and his wife took ner of Bay and Dundas. The Ginza Superstition had it that if a black-haired customer was care of customers at the counter. featured a long counter and some the first of the day, the sales would be plentiful that Mrs. Ishida always had a smile for tables and chairs. They served day. It doesn’t matter why, but they sure welcomed the me. She was wonderful. simple teishoku and even ochaNikkei community. The real reason may have been the zuke! Tsukemono like denbatsuke Other grocery stores in the area fact that the Jewish people understood oppression. (invented in the New Denver, BC included Sanko Trading and DunThe first Japanese restaurants were established in the internment camp during WWII) and das Union. Dundas Union was a area. Nikko Gardens above Furuya (more on it later) karashina. I understand they also transplant from Vancouver where was a fancy place serving only the best Japanese food. served “Canadian” food, like ham- it started life as Union Fish, a coLegend has it that the owners, Gus and Jim Kadonaga burgers and chopped steak. Got to op on Powell Street for BC fisher(brothers), hated each other. Gus stayed in the front as survive after all. men. They served the finest and the maître’d and Jim in the back to manage the kitchen. freshest fish. The Ryojis owned

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28 月報 The Bulletin

the store to serve the Nikkei community in Toronto. I heard a rumour that it started on the Danforth in the east end but soon moved to J-town since the customer base was there. In any case, Dundas Union, a dark interior with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves lining the walls, was packed with Japanese products. The tofu was freshly made every day as well as manju and mochi. Sacks of rice lined the basement. Someone there came up with the brilliant idea to pack a van with the products and drive it around to the various Nikkei families in town. Very convenient, especially for fresh tofu.

An interesting anecdote came to me via an old friend, the brilliant musician and United Church minister (retired) the Rev. David Kai. The owner of Sanko, William Mizuno, started out by delivering Sapporo Ichiban to Nikkei around Toronto in the early ‘60s. As Dave relates, “That was the first we heard of it (early 1960s) and we thought it was the greatest thing since Kraft Dinner.” It ended when Mizuno-san opened his store Sanko. Reminds me of that old Dundas Union van that brought Japanese goods right to your door. I hated carrying the 100-pound bag of rice to the basement, but we never ran out. A wonderful service which ended when the Nikkei community became too spread out to make the service profitable or the driver, a tall, thin man with a sad face, retired.

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I will continue next month with more about our lost J-town.

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March 3月 2020 29

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS

NAJC.CA

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Keirokai with Satsuki Kai Japanese Dance Group. Centre (l to r) Lorene Oikawa, Judy Hanazawa, Shag Ando

by Lorene Oikawa I was pleased to speak at this year’s Keirokai in Metro Vancouver. When I was president of the GVJCCA, it was one of my favourite hosting duties, to pay tribute to our Japanese Canadian elders. It continues to inspire me when I see so many Japanese Canadian seniors attending. During the entertainment I could see them swaying to the contemporary music and some participating in the traditional Radio Taiso and Tankō Bushi. I was reminded that Tankō Bushi is a Japanese folk dance about coal mining. The dance mimics movements made by workers in the mines such as digging the coal and pushing a cart of coal. Tankō Bushi is also known as a Bon Odori dance, performed during Obon festivals which pay tribute to the spirits of departed ancestors.

How appropriate for my mother’s side of the family who came to Canada in the 1800s and worked in the coal mines in Cumberland. Thank you to the Satsuki Kai Japanese Dance Group for guiding us in the dance moves. Thank you to all the wonderful performers and volunteers especially lead volunteer GVJCCA Board Director April Shimizu, and GVJCCA President Judy Hanazawa for continuing this important tradition.

One of the messages I shared at Keirokai is the importance of sharing our stories. I urged everyone to document their family stories so they wouldn’t have regrets about missed opportunities. The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) is committed to ensuring that the stories of Japanese Canadians are known and not forgotten. Japanese Canadian history is an important part of Canadian history, yet our stories

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30 月報 The Bulletin

are often not included. The lessons of history are also important for today and for future generations so that the injustices are not repeated. This is one of the reasons why our work on BC Redress is so personal for us and one of our priority initiatives. We recently met with the BC government who received our report of findings from the community consultations we held last year. We are building on the collection of ideas and working on a strong evidence-based proposal.

On April 1st, 1949, four years after the Second World War ended, Japanese Canadians were finally allowed to return to the West Coast and given the franchise, the right to vote. 2020 will mark the 71st anniversary. The NAJC will be co-publishing with the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives a collection of articles about the BC Government and the Dispossession of Japanese Canadians (1941-1949) written by Dr. John Price. We will have more information posted on our website, najc.ca later this month.

Currently on our website, najc.ca/najc-statement-regarding-wetsuwetenterritory, you will find our statement in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people. The NAJC supports non-violent actions and call on all levels of government to meet with all affected Indigenous peoples and to come to a peaceful resolution now, and to work toward a greater understanding for future relationships.

Keep an eye out for our next NAJC newsletter. We will have an article about two of our respected Japanese Canadian elders, Setsuko Thurlow and Dr. Henry Shibata, who attended the Enthronement Ceremony for the Emperor of Japan. Birthday celebrations for Emperor Naruhito took place recently. The Emperor was born on February 23 during the Year of the Rat. We thank Setsuko and Henry for representing Japanese Canadians, and look forward to hearing about the Sokui-no-Rei Seiden-no-gi for the new Emperor and the Reiwa era.

Happy March! Some of the days we are commemorating: Hinamatsuri, Girls’ Day on March 3, International Women’s Day on March 8, and International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21.

NAJC STATEMENT REGARDING WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) is alarmed by recent RCMP incursions into the sovereign and unceded territory of the Wet’suwet’en people. We affirm the right of the hereditary chiefs, who hold legal title to their land, to refuse to allow construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on their territory.

We recognize that the situation today is not an easy one. While the hereditary chiefs oppose the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the chiefs of elected band councils along the pipeline’s route have supported it. But the chiefs’ differing stances does not justify moving ahead forcefully. If anything, it underscores the importance of consent.

To Japanese Canadians these events are disturbingly familiar. We, too, were betrayed by the governments of British Columbia and Canada when our homes were taken from us out of racism and greed, and were rounded up and removed by the RCMP. We know, all too well, the lasting toll this kind of dispossession takes.

As both the bearer of the legacy of internment and a voice of Japanese Canadians today, the NAJC joins others in expressing solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people. We support non-violent actions calling on our Governments to respect the rights and law. We also urge anyone affected by acts of protest to consider the injustices, past and present that have forced people to take such actions.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRCC) called for a new “Royal Proclamation” to make Indigenous nations full partners in Canada’s confederation. We urge all levels of government to meet with all affected Indigenous peoples to come to a peaceful resolution to the present situation, and to work toward a greater understanding for future relationships.

The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) was founded in 1947 and is a Canada-wide organization that represents Japanese Canadians and Japanese Canadian member organizations. The NAJC supports the development of our communities and a strong Japanese Canadian identity. We strive for equal rights and liberties for all persons, and in particular for racial and ethnic minorities.

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March 3月 2020 31

TorontoNAJC www.torontonajc.ca

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE by Lynn Deutscher Kobayashi This year we celebrate Freedom Day, April 1, 1949, the day Japanese Canadians were given the right to vote and move freely in Canada with a luncheon. The day is shaping up nicely. Relatives of Hide Hyodo Shimizu will be joining us, as will Frank Moritsugu, lead writer for Teaching in Canadian Exile, who will give a short talk on some of the remarkable accomplishments of activist, educator Hide Hyodo Shimizu CM. Hide, along with her sister Kay spoke at the Toronto Freedom Day event organized by the Toronto NAJC at City Hall in 1986.

She was a very active member of the Toronto NAJC and her dedication to justice for Japanese Canadians is one for our history books. In 1936 she travelled to Ottawa as part of a Japanese Canadian Citizens League (JCCL) delegation that lobbied for JC enfranchisement. We look forward to keeping her memory alive and seeing many of you on April 4.

Hide Shimizu in the House of Commons on April 14, 1988, filling mailbags with postcards of support to be delivered to Brian Mulroney by NAJC members as part of the Rally on Parliament Hill. She was one of the speakers at the pre-Rally dinner and was introduced by my father Bill Kobayashi

Japanese Americans have organized the Tsuru for Solidarity initiative to protest against the American governments racist policies in particular the immigration detention centres at the southern border. The symbol of the tsuru, which is crane in Japanese, is meant to symbolize peace, compassion, hope and healing.

Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians have experienced internment and are in a position to push back and say Never Again and Stop Repeating History. Now is the time for us to step up and push back against injustices.

The goal of Tsuru for Solidarity is to bring 125,000 tsuru to Washington D.C. and hang them on the Whitehouse fence of as a form of non-violent protest against. The number 125,000 is significant because it represents the number of Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. The pilgrimage to Washington D.C. is expected to be the largest gathering of Japanese Americans since redress was won.

Here in Toronto there are several fold-ins being organized to help them accomplish their goal and to further amplify the message against the racist policies that are being implemented. Members of the community here in Toronto who are planning on attending the pilgrimage in Washington to show our solidarity and support. The YJCTO is partnering with several groups in the fold-ins to continue to build awareness and show as much support to the Japanese Americans and those interned in the southern United States as possible. If you would like to coordinate with YJCTO please contact yjctoronto@gmail.com.

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32 ć&#x153;&#x2C6;ĺ ą The Bulletin

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March 3æ&#x153;&#x2C6; 2020 33

TONARI GUMI CORNER

Japanese Community Volunteers Association

#101-42 West 8th Avenue | Vancouver BC | V5Y 1M7 | 604.687.2172 | www.tonarigumi.ca

TONARI GUMI’S JAPANESE LUNCH PROGRAM & JAPANESE LUNCH DELIVERY PROGRAM (MEALS ON WHEELS) Tonari Gumi offers delicious volunteer-produced Japanese lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays (participants are asked to phone Tonari Gumi in advance to make reservations). Thanks to major Funding from the Vancouver Coastal Heath Authority and kind donations from various local Japanese and Canadian food companies, we are able to serve between 40 to 50 very reasonably priced lunches on each day. Those having difficulties cooking their own meals, or who are looking for a “Home Cooked Meal” instead of menus from typical Japanese Restaurants, gather twice a week for a “Tonari Gumi Family Lunch”, where they can not only enjoy lovingly produced Japanese food, but socialize with other seniors.

Wednesday’s lunch program also includes a Japanese Meals on Wheels service provided by dedicated volunteer drivers. The program aims to assist members with mobility issues, and is available in Vancouver on Wednesdays. In Richmond and Burnaby, Japanese

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34 月報 The Bulletin

meals provided either by Izumi-Ya Japanese Foods or If you are interested in sharing Hi-Genki Restaurant are delivered by our volunteers a new idea please contact us. on Tuesdays.

Tonari Gumi is always seeking Luncheon participants and all of our volunteers benefit to upgrade current programs, to from delicious food and a chance to socialize at Tonari create new ones including new Gumi. Our volunteer drivers also provide a much club activities. Tonari Gumi is called the “Japanese Community needed weekly contact with isolated seniors.

Volunteers Association” in Similar to all of our other programs, we have a dedicated English. team of volunteers who run both our Japanese Lunch and Japanese Meals on Wheels Programs. However, 604.687.2172 like many other volunteer-based programs, this long- info@tonarigumi.ca running program faces many challenges, among them being the retirement of our core volunteers. We are looking for new volunteers! Why not volunteer together with your friends? Can’t imagine preparing a lunch for 40 people? Don’t worry. Newbies are teamed with experienced volunteers and everyone benefits. There’s always fun in trying, learning and creating together.

UPCOMING NEW PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AT TONARI GUMI!

by David Iwaasa, TG Chairperson • Learn to speak Japanese: Are you embarrassed that you can’t speak any Japanese? This class is your chance to learn how to speak Japanese with other 2nd, 3rd and other generation Japanese-Canadians in a friendly, helpful atmosphere. Classes are on Tuesday evenings and are taught by experienced native-speaking teachers. Register at Tonari Gumi: tel. (604) 687-2172 or email: info@tonarigumi.ca.

• Want to meet other Japanese Canadians? We have regular Saturday afternoon get-togethers that are casual, friendly and always feature good food. We call this an “Afternoon at TG” and the next event is on Saturday, March 21. Cost is by donation. Please register at Tonari Gumi.

• Have an interest in the Japanese Canadian community? Want to get involved? Please visit our center at 42 West 8th Avenue to become a member and get involved as a volunteer. There is always something for everyone.

• Interested in a fun day of golf? Register as a single or a foursome for our upcoming Tonari Gumi & JCCA Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, June 27th at the Meadow Gardens Golf Course. Serious golfers can register in our handicapped flights while more casual golfers can join our Texas Scramble flights.

Register at Tonari Gumi or email development@ tonarigumi.ca.

The Japanese Community Volunteers Association, “Tonari Gumi” gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following people for their generous donations received from January 17, 2020 to February 14, 2020.

Although we try our best, we may miss your name. Please contact us and we will make correction in the next issue.

Monetary Donations Ken Shinozaki, Fumiko Okuro, Urban Impact Recycling LTD, Lily M Haraga, Yoshiteru Yamamoto, Anonymous (1) Monetary Donations: Services Kaori & Mas Yano Monetary Donations (Canada Helps) Tamotsu Nagata In memory of the late James Nishimura Teruo Kitamura, Irene Yano, Mike & Judy Matsuba, Kuni & June Ikuta, Evelyn Takasaki, Diane & Stephen Tasaka, Rick Yodogawa, Nobby Ishikawa, Tommy & Mary Ono, Takashi Hamatake, Dave & Arlene Yoshida, Mr. & Mrs. D. Cheung, Alan Ohashi, Shelley Hayashi, Ed Hayashi, Iwata Art & Family, Sam & Virginia Tanaka, Dale Murao & Lena Oliveira, Janice McCormick & Gary Hirose, Casey Uyeno, Julie & Roy Matsuyama, Cindy Ishikawa In memory of the late Tom Madokoro Chuck Tasaka In memory of the late Umeko Kozai Chuck Tasaka In honour of Toshio Murao’s 100th birthday (Canada Helps) Henry Tanaka In Kind Donations Mika Ozaki, Yumi Nishimura, Michiyo Noma, Ynonne Wakabayashi, Yoko Toki, Naoko Ellis, Yasuyo Bosshardt, Mamiko VanHorn, Fukiko Inoue, Yukie Aratake, Taeko Yamamoto, Sharon Seki, Jean Kamimura, , Anonymous (5)

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March 3月 2020 35

OUR EDIBLE ROOTS

The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden

JAPANESE AMERICAN FARM VISITS

by Makiko Suzuki Looking for an early spring accessible getaway full of sun, adventure, nature’s gardens, and culture? Start off at Palm Springs; travel southward along the Salton Sea and then head west on Highway 78 through AnzaBurrego Desert State Park towards the California coast near La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe. While the exact timing of desert cactus and desert flower blooms varies year-to year there is a good chance to catch the colourful landscape mid-March. When near the coast a short detour will take you to one of the most famous farm market stands in USA – The Chino Farm.

Chino Nojo — nojo means farm in Japanese — traces its history to the early 1920s, when Junzo Chino emigrated from the small Japanese fishing village of Hashiguii. Eventually settling in Los Angeles, Junzo married Hatsuyo Noda, who had emigrated from Wakayama, Japan. After working in the farming community in LA, Junzo and Hatsuyo later moved southwards, first to Carlsbad and subsequently to the San Dieguito Valley, which was then a rural expanse of fields near Del Mar, where they rented land. After WWII, during which time the family was interned in Arizona, the Chinos returned to the area and resumed farming, soon purchasing 56 acres of choice land in the San Dieguito Valley. There they raised their nine children and established Chino Farm….

For all its importance to the American culinary scene, Chino Farm has also retained its connection with Japan, where the farm is well known. During the last half century, the family has hosted over 1,000 Japanese trainees who have come to work in the fields and greenhouses, and to study the Chinos’ ideas, techniques, and guiding principles. Those principles are also evident to everyone who encounters Chino Farm: respect for tradition balanced with farsighted innovation; deep dedication to the land; and passionate commitment to good food. – from a recent regional newspaper article Tom Chino operates the farm along with his brothers Frank (Koo) and Fred (Fumio) and sister (Kazumi). When we arrived in February 2019 Tom was at the farm market stand along with his wife Nina and their son Makoto.

Tom, a soft-spoken rather shy Nissei kindly gave us a tour. We noticed he was a bit distracted.

An unusually wet January saturated the soil and delayed work in many Chino Farm plots. Cultivation was limited yet there was an impressive array of cooler weather vegetables available; many featured in Edible Roots: The Japanese Kitchen Garden. Beating the typical late March to April harvest in Vancouver backyard gardens, kabu (Japanese turnip) and mustard

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36 月報 The Bulletin

greens (like mizuna, komatsuna, plus shungiku (edible chrysanthemum)) were on display. Surprisingly, red and green shiso along with shungiku were being sold as sprouts and microgreens! We noticed, as did sister Mamiko when she visited over twenty years ago, Chino Farms specializes in delicate and tender baby vegetables for their bursting natural flavour.

A greenhouse tour revealed rows of flats containing starts waiting improved soil conditions. In the orchard, sakura was in full splendour. All other fruit trees were in bud. We gifted Tom the Tonari Gumi Garden Club book Edible Roots and departed with a precious bundle of fresh greens heading northeast towards Irvine, California for a tour of Tanaka Farms, a successful agritourism farm. Tanaka Farms began with great-grandfather Teruo who immigrated from Hiroshima-ken, Japan. The 30-acre farm is now run by Glen Tanaka, a Sansei – 3rd generation Japanese American.

The radio revealed what was distracting Tom. More flood warnings were forecast. With rain soon pelting down we decided to bypass Tanaka Farms and make a run for Palm Springs before the mountain pass was closed.

Tanaka Farms and a visit to Riverside Citrus in search of the elusive kabosu citrus will have to wait until next time.

MARCH GARDENING For gardeners who planted out cold weather vegetables last fall now is time to harvest overwintering greens. Soramame (fava beans), kabu, assorted mustard greens, and shungiku will offer flavourful new growth.

The tender tips of soramame can be snipped-off, leaving two sets of true leaves. Trimmings are special treats eaten either as salad greens or cooked as a delicious side dish. Pruning beans ensures shorter and bushier plants that are less prone to falling over from the weight of new growth. Readers interested in planting Japanese vegetables are encouraged to follow instructions and growing tips presented in the Tonari Gumi Garden Club book: Edible Roots: The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden. Growing these traditional vegetables, can also be a wonderful way to connect with your family. My hapa son’s rooftop garden has started many new conversations on our family history. As we share the harvest together, for him it’s not “oishi’i ne” but rather “oishi eh!” Very Japanese Canadian.

Milestones FUJISAWA, Sr. Margaret Chizuko, SA Sister Margaret Chizuko Fujisawa, a Franciscan Sister of the Atonement, died on February 2, 2020 at Brock Fahrni Pavilion, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Sister Margaret was born in Vancouver on April 7, 1922 to Shima (Wakano) and Masayoshi Fujisawa.

Survived by her siblings: Eugene Uji, A. Kayoko, Marie Itsuko, Geraldine Keiko and nieces and nephews, Sister was predeceased by her parents and siblings: Hiroshi, Mary Satako Ibaraki, Sr. Catherine Marie SA, Francis Nobuo, John Yasuo, George Kiyoshi and Anna Yukiko Maeda.

Having entered the Congregation on November 5, 1951, Sister professed First Vows on May 16, 1953 and Final Vows on August 30, 1958. As an Atonement missionary, she served in parish, catechetical, and pastoral ministries in the United States: Lyon Mountain, NY, New York City, and California (Arroyo Grande, San Juan and Lindsay), in Kawasaki, Japan, and in Canada (Steveston, North Vancouver and Vancouver) before retiring to Brock Fahrni Pavilion in 2015. Sister’s body was transferred to the Motherhouse in Garrison, NY where services were held on February 11 and the funeral Mass on February 12. Sister Margaret was buried in the Sisters’ cemetery at Graymoor. On Saturday, February 15, 2020 a Memorial Mass was held at St. Augustine’s Church, Vancouver, BC. Kobayashi, Frederick Masayoshi March 25, 1945 - February 8, 2020. passed on the morning of February 8, 2020. He is survived by his daughters, Tamiko and Christie, and his grandchildren Darian, Tatum, Violet, Nora, and Finnigan. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Fry home March 7 at 1pm. For location information please contact Tamikofry@ gmail.com.

KUMITA, Yoshiro (Yosh) January 26, 1938 - December 17, 2019. In his 82nd year, Yosh Kumita passed away suddenly but peacefully on December 17, 2019. Remembered for his independence, intellect and passion for books, photography and travel. Yosh will live on in the memories of his brothers Kozo and Yuji (Jane), nieces Debra, Darlene, Janet and Lynn and his remaining family and students whose lives he touched. He has been cremated and will rest with his mother, father and sister in Hamilton, Ont. There will be no service.

Madokoro, Tom June 8, 1932 - January 6, 2020. With deep sorrow, we announce that Tom passed away peacefully on January 6, 2020 at the age of 87. Survived by wife May, son Bruce, daughter Gail (Glen), grandson Michael (Robyn), brother Mamo and many nieces and nephews. As per his request, there will be no service, flowers and koden gratefully declined.

YESAKI, Shiro August 21, 1939 - February 8, 2020. Shiro passed away from heart failure after a period of ill health. He was predeceased by his parents, Miyakichi and Sunae, eldest sister, Kiku and sisters-in-law, Suzy and Masami. He is survived by his siblings Sachiyo (Joji) Yamanaka, Tadashi (Mae), Tamotsu, Mitsuo, Itsuo, Arthur and Misao (Philip) Murray and many nieces and nephews. He started commercial gillnetting while still in high school on the Fraser River with ‘mosquito’ skiffs and continued to do so after graduation and until 1969 when he built the gillnetter ‘Hungri Eye’.

He fished the entire coast with this boat until he sold it in 2017. Shiro was the most gregarious of the siblings with many friends, especially from the commercial fishing, sport fishing and hunting communities. He did not drive, but never seemed to lack transport because of his many friends. He fished for steelhead salmon on the Kispiox and Thompson Rivers and for spring and coho salmon in the Gulf of Georgia. He hunted ducks, geese and pheasants primarily in the Lower Mainland and big game in the interior of British Columbia. A service will be held at the Richmond Funeral Home for family and close relatives and friends. Donations of koden and flowers are gratefully declined.

NISHIMURA, Saburo (Bob) Beloved father and grandfather. Saburo passed away peacefully at Langley Memorial Hospital at age 94 after a brief illness.

Predeceased by wife Ayako and daughter Deborah. He is survived by his son Ron (Cheryl); daughters Jo-Anne (Rod), Dayle (Fred), Jacqueline (Dennis), and son-in-law Roy; grandchildren Kendrick (Mandy), Masaru, Tami, Courtney, Alex, and Ryan; and siblings Shiro (Yaeko), Akiko, Kaz, Goro, and brother-in-law Yosh Uno. Saburo was an avid gardener and enjoyed fishing and golf, but his greatest pleasure came from spending time with his family. We will miss him. Special thanks to Dr. Don McDonald for the wonderful care he gave dad during the last years of his life, and to the staff at Avalon Gardens who created a loving home for him. A private family service has been held. In lieu of flowers or “Koden”, donations may be made to the Vancouver Buddhist Temple or charity of choice.

NISHI, Charles S. Passed away peacefully into the presence of his Lord and Savior on Saturday, February 8, 2020 in Vancouver, BC at the age of 77. Survived by his wife Shirley, daughter Jennifer, sister Miyoko, brothers Ron (Judy) and Terence (Susan), brother-inlaw David (Paula), sisters-in-law Janie and Marilyn, and nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents, Shoichi and Hatsuko Nishi. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 29 at 2:00pm at Marpole Baptist Church, 8010 Osler Street in Vancouver. Flowers and koden gratefully declined. In lieu, donations may be made to the “Charlie Nishi Memorial Scholarship” at Northwest Baptist Seminary and College at 7600 Glover Road, Langley, BC, V2Y 1Y1 or online at www. nbseminary.ca/donate.

WHAT’S COMING UP Oishi eh! Afternoon @ TG Saturday March 21, 11am – 2pm Join the TG Garden Club as we feature a conversation circle and storytelling afternoon. Come share your stories or memories of growing your favourite Japanese vegetables or comfort foods. That giant daikon you grew or the Japanese ginger taking over your back yard? Obaachan’s gobo kimpira, daikon tsumono, nira gyoza, vegetable curry? We will have

seeds to share and some vegetable starts. Plus, a delicious lunch featuring some of these vegetables.

Please reserve early to avoid disappointment. Please contact Tonari Gumi to reserve at 604-687-2172 or by email at tg.spevents@gmail.com. By donation ($10 suggested).

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Nikkei Place Monthly Update Nikkei Place comprises Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society and Nikkei Place Foundation.

FEATURED PROGRAMs Register: 604.777.7000 or at Info Desk

N E W S nikkeiplace.org

MUSEUM SHOP Shop for unique gift items which are only available here – a wide selection of Nikkei books, Japanese pottery and fun items.

NNMCC members get a 10% discount.

New gift items at the Nikkei National Museum shop: Nikkei blend soap by Beauty Secrets of Japan with hinoki cypress, and a hint of yuzu; locally produced honey by bees fed on sugar upcycled from the 2018 Beta Vulgaris - Sugar Beet Projects exhibition.

ONLINE 24 HRS squareup.com/store/NNMCC

*NEW!* Kids’ Chado: Japanese Tea Ceremony Class For ages 6-8 Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm: beginning April 7 $50/month; drop-in during April for $15/session Urasenke Tankokai Vancouver Association Tea ceremony combines many aspects of Japanese culture into a single experience: from etiquette to art appreciation, attention to seasons, traditional sweets, and of course matcha tea. In this class, kids ages 6-8 will learn the basics of the “chado” philosophy, or the “way of tea”. Parents are encouraged to observe the class, and may enjoy matcha while observing for a small additional fee.

Chanoyu practice Ages 16+ Tuesdays 5-7pm: beginning April 7 $20/session; NNMCC members $16 “Chanoyu”, literally “hot water for tea”, refers to the method of making matcha tea for tea ceremony. Practice making the perfect bowl of matcha tea in this informal class. Materials included in fee.

Kimono Dressing Fumiko Horan Wednesdays: March 4,11,18,25, 6:30-8:30pm $100, $80 (Members) Learn to wear a kimono and obi in this 4-session class! Please bring your own set – you’ll learn how to make your own obiita, koshihimo and datejime in the first class. Rental available: contact NNMCC Info Desk.

EXHIBIT | Nikkei 日系 The term nikkei originated in Japan during the Meiji imperial restoration, beginning in 1868, to identify Japanese immigrants and their descendants residing in foreign countries. In this exhibit, you will find stories by and about Japanese Canadians – nikkei in Canada - drawn from the Nikkei National Museum’s archive. Meet the people behind stories of arrival, the resilience of community, and the experience of generations through the intersections of migration, racism, identity, and belonging. Objects and stories will be refreshed in late January. Exhibit continues through July 2020. Gallery admission $5 or free to NNMCC members COMMUNITY Blood Donor Clinics Friday, March 13, 12-8pm For eligibility criteria, contact Canadian Blood Services at 1.888.236.6283 feedback@blood.ca www.blood.ca.

On March 28 North Shore Numismatic Society presents Coins, Stamps and Collectible Show at the Nikkei Centre from 9am-3pm. 40 tables of coins, stamps and collectibles.

Buy – Sell – Free Appraisals - Displays.

NNMCC Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00am - 9:30 pm; Saturday 9:00am - 5:00 pm; Sunday 10:00am - 5:00 pm; Monday Closed. Museum Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 5pm NIKKEI NATIONAL MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTRE 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7 Tel: 604.777.7000 Fax: 604.777.7001 E-mail: info@nikkeiplace.org NIKKEI SENIORS HEALTH CARE AND HOUSING SOCIETY 6680 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC, V5E 4N3 Tel: 604.777.5000 Fax: 604.777.5050

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38 月報 The Bulletin

SPECIAL EVENTS Hapas, Hafus and the future of Japanese Canadian Identity ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY Saturday, March 14, 2020 6:30-8:30pm (doors 6pm) $5 regular | $4 seniors | free for members and students | Tickets on Eventbrite or by phone 604.777.7000 ext.109 (Tue-Sat) After its release in 2010, ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY became the quintessential documentary on mixed Japanese Canadian identity while also highlighting the high intermarriage rate within the community. Now ten years later, how are mixed Japanese Canadian youth self-identifying? Have things changed in the last decade? Join us for an in-depth evening of engaging dialogue and discussion inspired by this pivotal piece of Japanese Canadian cinema with director/producer Jeff Chiba Stearns and special guests from the film.

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT NIKKEI NATIONAL MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTRE • Purchase a membership for yourself or a loved one.

• Volunteer! Download an application at: centre.nikkeiplace.org/ volunteer.

• Shop at the Museum Gift Shop.

• Attend one of our upcoming fundraising events.

• Consider us as the venue for your next party, meeting, or special event.

• Donate to the Tree of Prosperity or Nikkei Place Foundation.

Please contact Nikkei Place Foundation at 604.777.2122 or gifts@ nikkeiplace.org if you would like information on becoming a donor.

O Hanami Friday, April 3: O Hanami Eve, 6pm-10pm Saturday, April 4, 11am-4pm Gather with us to welcome spring at Nikkei Centre! On O-Hanami Eve, take a virtual-reality workshop with the creators of world-famous Japanese virtual idol Hatsune Miku, visiting Greater Vancouver for the first time, and see a screening of her performance. On O-Hanami Day, we’ll be full of the usual favourites: tea ceremony, kimono kitsuke, a mini Japanese cultural marketplace, and various performances and demonstrations. Keep checking our website for more details!

Nikkei Centre Volunteers Go Bowling!

In late January, Nikkei Centre volunteers took to the nearby bowling alley and blew everyone away with their skills! Thank you to everyone who came out, ate pizza, won prizes, and made it an unforgettable night.

We appreciate everything you do, and could not think of a better way to show it!

If you wish to become a part of our wonderful volunteer team and join events such as these in the future, please fill out our online application form on our website centre.nikkeiplace.org/volunteer or email Emiko at volunteer@nikkeiplace.org.

Charles H. Kadota Resource Centre Interested in exploring our collections? The easiest way to search the collection is by looking through our online database at nikkeimuseum.org. You can also access the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, the New Denver Internment Memorial Centre, and the Kamloops Japanese Canadian Museum & Archives’ collections on our database. We update the collections weekly so check back often to watch the collections grow. To visit in person, make an appointment with our Research Archivist Linda Kawamoto Reid at 604.777.7000 / lreid@nikkeiplace.org. Curious about donating your collection to our museum? Make an appointment with our Collections Manager Lisa Uyeda at luyeda@nikkeiplace.org. Thank you to the Adhoc Redress Committee for their support.

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Nikkei Place Monthly Update Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA

by Dr. Melissa Carr, Doctor of Chinese Traditional Medicine Dementia is a degenerative progressive brain disease that has different types depending on the diagnosis. No matter what the type, since it affects brain function, the person will display different problems dependent on what part of the brain is affected. The difficult aspect is that the brain part being affected is not openly visible to anybody communicating with them.

Therefore, the way the person acts and responds are the only tangible indicators that anyone communicating with them is able to “see” there is a problem. Think of it this way… if the person didn’t have any legs, would you ask them to get up and walk with you? No! So why would you ask a person with dementia to do a task that cannot do like balancing their bank books. Just because you cannot see the problem doesn’t make it non-existent. Additionally, each person with dementia has their own ways of presenting or coping with their dementia that may make it even more problematic to understand what to say or do.

Short-term memory loss is often one of the most common symptoms that is experienced and present as a challenge to those communicating and/or caring for them. The person may present with one or all of the following: 1. Frequently repeat many times a thought, a story or mistaken person 2.

Not recall something that you had just told them or reminded them about even a few minutes before 3. Forget completely about the passing of a relative or friend although they were at the funeral or celebration of life 4. Get lost especially if they are in a different location or environment 5. Believe that they are still able to do physical (e.g. walk without help), cognitive (e.g. pay bills) or social things (e.g. organize an event) that they did previously but currently can no longer manage to complete.

person and gives that person a feeling of satisfaction for being able to contribute to the conversation.

2. Every moment is a new moment: Another example is giving multiple directions to do something and expecting that the person will remember each step.

Give only one instruction or direction at a time, allow time to complete and then give next step to do. Both of you will come away feeling satisfaction once all is completed.

3. Unrealistic expectations: When the person with dementia asks about a deceased person or starts to talk about an event that is painful to you to remember or talk about, please understand that it’s the dementia disease talking NOT them. For example, an uncle with dementia who keeps asking about how their sister is doing and that sister is your deceased mother. Please understand that the uncle doesn’t remember even though he may have been told many times before. It may be best just to say that they are resting well and move on to a different topic.

4. Getting lost: Familiarity is what the person knows and often this is what keeps them safe in their own environment because they function on “auto-pilot”.

Any change is difficult because it relies on memory to recall the change that the person no longer has. Be very aware that if you ask the person to find a new place or you changed where they usually go, it is highly likely that they may get lost. There are GPS personal locating devices available that track a person’s whereabouts should you have concerns that the person may wander out on their own and get lost.

Several general things to try to keep in mind when communicating with someone with a dementia is that: 1. The person still has abilities which are their strengths. Please remember to always communicate and work with what they CAN do rather than what they can no longer do. Distant or remote memory usually lasts for quite a long time and is an ability. tt 2. When a person with dementia can no longer remember what you think they should remember, it’s your problem not theirs. 3. For a person with dementia, every moment is a NEW moment to them as they cannot 5. Future Planning: It is best for everyone to plan early for future decision making about finances, health care remember the moment before even happening. needs and living arrangements. While the person is still The following are a few tips that may help both you and the person with able, ensure Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of dementia have a wonderful and rewarding communication rather than Attorney for management of finances and properties frustrating both you and that person. are in place. Representation Agreement ensures that 1. Repetition: Acknowledge that you are listening and provide a comment when the person can no longer speak on their own like “That sure sounds interesting”. Then direct conversation to a positive behalf related to health care and living arrangements past memory. For example, “Auntie… do you remember when we all went that they have their legally appointed representative on picnics to Stanley Park?” Having old family photos available as con- to speak on their behalf and ensure their wishes are versation pieces are good ways to find out more family history from the followed.

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40 月報 The Bulletin

Nikkei Place Monthly Update Nikkei Foundation N i kPlace kei P l a c e D o nDonations a tio 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. The Foundation acknowledges gifts we receive for Nikkei Place on our Tree of Prosperity. Donate or contact us at www.nikkeiplacefoundation.org or 604.777.2122!

Thomas Shoyama Sakura Gala SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020 / COAST COAL HARBOUR HOTEL

www.nikkeiplacefoundation.org/gala-tickets Tree of Prosperity LEAFS Visionary Yoshiko Karasawa Bronze Makoto Kubo Orange Yukimi Makihara Green Terry & Sumiko Nakano GENERAL Anonymous Kikuye Inouye Helen Duckworth Brian Fujimoto Tosh Kitagawa Wade Kitagawa Keiko Kobiyama Jennifer Madoc-Jones Douglas Munday Aileen Randall Harge & Irene Suga

HONOURS & TRIBUTES In Honour of Yoshiko Hirano’s 100th Birthday Anonymous Teresa Chapell Linda & John McGarvie In Memory of Sung Kwan Eum Won Shik Eum

Thank you! Gifts listed from January 29, 2020 — February 24, 2020 inclusive.

In Memory of Jean Kobayashi Masako Hori Minoru Tanaka In Memory of Tami Matsunaga Frances & Mark Glover In Memory of Tom Madokoro Enkatainers Roberta H. Nasu In Memory of James Nishimura Anonymous Esther Ayukawa Lyle Cheng Hiro & Kaz Hasebe Mot Tanaka & Doris Nishizaki Harold & Sachie Sato In Memory of Sam Minoru Oyama Ruth Ikoma Minoru Tanaka In Memory of Yukio Tony Nasu Roberta H. Nasu

MONTHLY GIVING Anonymous Carina Abe Ian & Debbie Burgess Brian & Marcia Carr Patricia H. Chan Michael & Ruth Coles Grant Dustin Junichi & Atsumi Hashimoto Tad & Mitsuko Hosoi

Kenneth & Bernadine Isomura Tomoko Ito Mary F. Kawamoto Satoko Kobayashi Katsuko (Kitty) Kodama Greciana Langamon Tommy Li Stewart Kawaguchi Ted Kawamoto Catherine Makihara Masako & Ken Moriyama Anne Motozono Daigo Naito Roberta H. Nasu Takeshi & Mizuho Ogasawara Chris Oikawa Hanako Oye Linda Kawamoto Reid Jim & Norma Sawada Audrey Shimozawa Eva Shiho Barbara Shishido Charlotte Takasaki Sharlene A. Tabata Joyce C. Takeshita Trevor Jones & Darlene Tanaka Grace Tanaka Ginzo & Harue Udagawa Hisako Wada Fred & Linda Yada Mary Yamada Chris, Jan Yamamoto & Family Norine K. Yamamoto

Sam Yamamoto Tatsuo & Mariko Yamamoto Gwendolyn Yip

HERITAGE ESTATE GIVING CIRCLE Tamiko Corbett Yoshiharu Hashimoto Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi George & Elaine Homma Betty Issenman Sato Kobayashi Gordon Kadota Cathy Makihara Robert & Jane Nimi Carrie Okano Linda Kawamoto Reid Richard & Gail Shinde Norman Shuto Haruko Takamori Sian Tasaka Fred & Linda Yada Sam Yamamoto

As always, THANK YOU for your continuous support of Nikkei Place!

We would not be able to accomplish all that we do without YOU.

We apologize for any errors or omissions on this list. Please call us at (604) 777-2122 if you have any concerns.

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March 3月 2020 41

Nikkei Place Monthly Update 日系プレースは、日系文化センター・博物館、日系シニアーズ・ヘルスケア住宅協会および日系プレース基金で構成されています。

日系文化センター・博物館ニュース お勧めプログラム お申し込み：604.777.7000・又は日系センター受付にて

* 新クラス！ * キッズ茶道 ：茶会教室 6 ～ 8 歳対象 火曜日 午後 3 時半～ 4 時半：4 月 7 日から ＄50 ／月、4 月のみドロップイン可。一回＄15 裏千家淡交会バンクーバー協会 茶会では、礼儀作法から芸術の鑑賞、季節に対する意識、伝 統的な和菓子、そしてもちろん抹茶まで、日本文化の様々な 側面を一度に体験することができます。このクラスでは 6 ～ 8 歳のお子様が、茶道の哲学「茶の道」の基本について学び ます。保護者の方も是非教室をご見学ください。少額の追加 料金でご見学の間に抹茶をお楽しみ頂けます。 茶の湯教室 16 歳以上対象 火曜日 午後 5 ～ 7 時：4 月 7 日から 一回＄20、日系センター会員 ＄16 「茶の湯」は文字通りに読むと「茶に使う湯」ですが、茶会 でお茶をたてる作法を指します。形式ばらないリラックスした クラスで、完璧なお茶をたてる練習をしましょう。受講料に道 具代も含まれています。

展示 日系 2020 年 2 月から 7 月まで展示される、新しい物語と展示物を見にお越 しください。 午前 10 時から午後 5 時 ( 定休日：日、月 ) 最終入館時間：午後 4 時 30 分 「日系」という言葉は、1868 年から始まる明治維新の時期に、外国に 住む日本人の移民及びその子孫を表す言葉として使われ始めました。 この展示では日系博物館のアーカイブ収蔵品から、日系カナダ人（カ ナダに住む日系人）が語る自身についての物語が展示されます。カナ ダへの来航の経緯や、逆境を乗り越えてきたコミュニティーの力、移民、 人種差別、アイデンティティ、帰属意識が交錯する中での世代を通した 経験、それらの背後に存在する人々一人ひとりを知ってください。 ギャラリーの入場料は＄５、日系センター会員は無料です。

特別イベント ハパ 、ハーフと日系カナダ人のアイデンティティの未来 ワン・ビッグ・ハパ・ファミリー（ひとつの大きなハパ・ファミリー）

着物着付け教室 ホーラン文子 3 月 4，11，18，25 日（水）午後 6 時 30 分～ 8 時 30 分 費用：$100、$80 ( 日系センター会員 ) 用意するもの：着物一式（長襦袢、肌襦袢、帯枕、帯揚げ、 帯締め、帯板、腰紐、伊達締め、タオル 2 枚、足袋） 着物は持っているが、自分で着られない、着てみたいという方 を対象にした 4 回のクラスです。帯板、腰紐、伊達締めがな い場合は、自分で作ることができますので、最初の授業で説 明します。* お稽古用の着物のレンタルも可能ですので日系セ ンターへお問い合わせ下さい。

2020 年 3 月 14 日（土） 午後 6 時半～ 8 時半（午後 6 時開場） 一般＄５、シニア＄４、日系センターメンバーと学生は無料 ｜ チケットは Eventbrite またはお電話で（604.777.7000 ext. 109、 火曜～土曜） 2010 年の公開以来ワン・ビッグ・ハパ・ファミリーは、日系カナ ダ人コミュニティー内での異人種間の結婚率の高さに焦点を当てる とともに、日系カナダ人の多様なアイデンティティを最もよく表す映 画となりました。10 年がたった今、若い世代の日系カナダ人は自 己のアイデンティティをどのように認識しているでしょうか。この 10 年で変化はあったでしょうか。ディレクター / プロデューサーのジェ フ・チバ・スターンズとこの映画からスペシャルゲストをお招きして、 日系カナダ人映画の中枢となるこの作品のテーマから、より深い対 話とディスカッションを行う夕べにご参加ください。

ミュージアムショップ 日本から仕入れた品物や地元日系アーティストによる作品を多数扱っています。日系カ ナダ人の著者による書籍もそろえています。日系センター会員には 10％の割引があり ます。日系博物館ギフトショップの新着ギフトアイテム：ビューティー・シークレッツ・ オブ・ジャパン (Beauty Secrets of Japan) の日系ブレンドの石鹸（ヒノキとほのかな ユズの香り）、2018 年の Beta Vulgaris：シュガービート・プロジェクトからアップサイ クルされた砂糖を摂取した蜂のハチミツ。どうぞお試しください。 https://squareup.com/store/NNMCC/

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42 月報 The Bulletin 42 Bulletin

O Hanami | お花見 4 月 3 日 ( 金 ) 前夜祭 午後 6 時から 10 時（TBA) 4 月 4 日 ( 土 ) 午前 11 時から午後 4 時 日系センターで春の訪れをご一緒に祝いましょう！前夜祭では、世界で人気の初 音ミクのワークショップが初登場のワークショップ、パブリックビューイングを開 催予定！そしてお花見当日は、毎年ご好評いただいているお茶会や着物着付け、 各種日本文化作品の展示、パフォーマンス・デモンストレーションなどイベント が目白押し！詳しくはウェブサイトにて随時アップされます。

日系センター・ボランティア・ボーリング大会 1 月下旬、日系センターのボランティアがボーリング場に繰り 出しました。一緒にピザを食べ、ボーリングの技を競いあい、 思い出に残る夜となりました。日ごろの皆様のボランティア・ サポートに感謝を示し、このようなイベントを企画しました。 参加してくださった皆さま、ありがとうございました！ 日系センターの素晴らしいボランティアチームの一員とな り、今後のこのようなイベントに参加したい方は、ウェブサ イト (http://centre.nikkeiplace.org/volunteer/) のオンライ ン申込書にご記入いただくか、メールでエミコ (volunteer@ nikkeiplace.org) までご連絡ください。 新規ボランティアの方は、http://centre.nikkeiplace.org/ volunteer/ をご覧ください。

常設展 「体験：1877年からの日系カナダ人」 2 階入場無料

コミュニティ

チャールズ門田リサーチセンター 私たちのコレクションをご覧になりませんか。コレクションを検索するの に一番簡単な方法は、nikkeimuseum.org からオンラインのデータベー スにアクセスして頂くことです。データベースからは、日系文化センター、 ニューデンバー日系収容メモリアルセンター、カムループス日系カナダ 人博物館のコレクションにもアクセスできます。コレクションのデータは 毎週アップデートされますので、日々成長しているコレクションをチェッ クしてみてください。日系センターにお越しになる場合は、リサーチ・ アーキビストのリンダ・川本・リードまで予約のご連絡をお願い致しま す（604.777.7000 / lreid@nikkeiplace.org）。寄付をされたい方は、コ レクションマネージャーのリサ・上田まで予約のご連絡をお願い致します （luyeda@nikkeiplace.org）。戦後補償特別委員会からのサポートに感 謝いたします。

献血クリニック 3 月 13 日（金）正午～午後 8 時 献血できる適 性基準がありますので、詳しくはカナダ献血サービ ス（1.888.236.6283/ feedback@blood.ca / www. blood.ca）まで。 日系センターウェブサイトにて、さまざまな特別イベ ント・プログラムなどの詳細をご覧ください！(www. nikkeiplace.org) 3 月 28 日 （土）午前 9 時～午後 3 時まで日系センター にて、ノースバンクーバー貨幣協会（ノースショア・ ニュミスマティック・ソサイエティ）が見本市・展示 会を開催します。40 テーブルに及ぶコイン、切手、 その他収集品の数々。売買、展示ほか、無料査定も ご利用ください。

日系文化センター･博物館をサポートする他の方法 ご自身またはご家族や親しい方へ当協会のメンバーシップを 購入する。 ボランティアに参加する。 お申込み：centre.nikkeiplace.org/volunteer 博物館ギフトショップでお買い物をする。 今後開催される募金イベントに参加する。 パーティー、会議、特別なイベントの会場として日系プレー スを利用する。 繁栄の木や日系プレース募金に寄付をする。 ご寄付に関する詳細は、日系プレース基金にお問い合わせ下さい： 604-777-2122 または gifts@nikkeiplace.org。

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March 43 March 3月 3月 2020 2020 43

Nikkei Place Monthly Update 認知症の方とのコミュニケーション 執筆：マーシャ・カー 翻訳：プラッツ 博美 認知症は進行性の脳の変性疾患で、診断結果によっていろいろなタイ プに分類されます。どのタイプの認知症であっても脳機能に影響を及 ぼすため、脳のどの部分が侵されているかによって異なる症状が現れ ます。難しいのは、侵されている脳の部分が認知症の方と会話してい る人には一見わからないという点です。その為、問題に気づくにはそ の人の動作や受け答えが唯一の具体的な手がかりとなります。こんな 風に考えてみてください。仮に足のない方がいたとして、あなたはそ の方に「立って一緒に歩きましょう」と言いますか？そのようなことは しませんよね。同じように、お金の出入りの管理など本人ができない 作業を勧めないでしょう。目に見えないからといって、問題がないとい うことではありません。更には、認知症の方それぞれで、症状の出方 や付き合い方も違う為、彼らの言動を理解する事を更に困難にしてい ます。 短期記憶の低下は最もよく聞く一般的な症状の一つですが、認知症の 方と会話したり世話をしたりする側にとって難しい課題でもあります。 認知症の方は、次にあげる項目の一つまたは全部が当てはまる可能性 があります。１．考えや話を繰り返したり、人違いを頻繁に何度も繰り 返す。２．さっき言われた事や少し前に念押しされたことを思い出せ ない。３．お葬式や故人を偲ぶ会に出席したにも関わらず、その親せ きや友人が亡くなった事を忘れてしまう。 ４．見知らぬ土地や環境で 迷子になってしまう。５．過去にできていた身体機能（介助なしで歩く）、 認知機能（支払いをする）、社会面（イベントを主催する）に関するこ とが、今はもうできなくなっているにも関わらずまだできると思ってい る。 認知症の方とコミュニケーションをとる際に知っておきたい心得をいく つか紹介しましょう。 １．本人は認知症になってもまだまだいろんな能力を持っています。 そしてそれは彼らの強みでもあります。常に、出来ないことではなく、 出来ることに焦点をあててコミュニケーションを図ってください。遠い 昔の記憶や遠隔記憶は、通常かなり長期にわたって保たれる能力の一 つです。 ２．あなたが覚えるはずだと思っていることを認知症の方が思い出せ なくても、それはそう考えるあなたの問題であって、彼らの問題ではあ りません。

反復： 「それは面白そうね」などのコメントを添えて、ちゃんと聞い ているということを伝えます。そして、楽しかった過去の思い出に話を 持っていきましょう。例えば、「叔母さん、昔みんなでスタンレーパー クにピクニックに行ったね」 など。昔の家族写真を会話のきっかけと して用い、その人からさらに家族の話を聞いて、会話に参加している という満足感を感じてもらうのも良い方法です。 いつも初めて： 例えば、何かをする際に複数の指示を一度の伝えな いように。一回に一つの指示を与え、それが出来たら次のステップに 進むのです。お互いすべてのステップを終えた時には、満足感を得る ことができるでしょう。 非現実的な期待： 認知症の方が亡くなった方の話やあなたにとって 話題にするのも思い出すのも辛い話を始めたとしても、それは彼らが 話しているのではなく認知症という病気が話させているということを分 かってください。例えば、認知症の叔父さんがあなたの亡くなったお 母さんである彼のお姉さんの近況を何度も聞くとします。叔父さんは 前に何度も聞かされていますが、全く覚えていないのだということをわ かってあげてください。そんな時は、その人はゆっくり休んでいると伝え、 別の話題に移るのが一番かもしれません。 迷子： 慣れ親しみが認知症の方が知っているすべてです。認知症の 方は、この慣れ親しんだ環境の中にいるから安全なのです。なぜなら、 考えずに「オートパイロット」で行動できるからです。どんな変化も記 憶に頼ることができない認知症の方にとっては難しい事なのです。もし 新しい場所を探したり、いつもと行く場所を変えたりした場合には、高 確率で迷子になってしまうということをよく覚えておいてください。もし 認知症の方が一人でどこかを徘徊してしまう心配があるのでしたら、個 人の居場所を見つけるＧＰＳ機器があります。 将来の計画： 資産、医療やケア、そして生活環境といった将来の計 画を早期に立てておくことは最善の策だといえるでしょう。まだ意思決 定能力があるうちに、金銭や資産の管理のために委任状（Power of Attorney）や永続的委任状（Enduring Power of Attorney）を作成し ておきましょう。代理人契約（Representation Agreement）は、認知 症の方が自分の医療・ケアや生活環境について自分で意思表示出来な くなった際に、法的に指名された代理人がその方に代わって意思の遂 行をすることを保証してくれます。

３．認知症の方は、以前起きた出来事を記憶に留めて置くことができ ないため、彼らにとってはその時その時がいつも初めてなのです。 あなたと認知症の方が、お互いにイライラせず素敵なコミュニケーショ ンを図れるようなコツをいくつか挙げてみましょう。

日系ヘルスケア＆住宅協会では、ロバート新見日系ホームや新さくら荘、またシニアの健康に関する質問やご意見を歓迎いたします。 下記の連絡先までご連絡ください。電話 604-777-5000 またはげっぽう記事執筆者トム・寺西 604-732-9458、604-816-1500。

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44 月報 The Bulletin 44 Bulletin

隣組 隣組ランチプログラム、お弁当配達プログラム （Meals on Wheels） 隣組では毎週水曜日と金曜日に予約 制のランチプログラムを提供しています。 Vancouver Coastal Health からの助成金と 日系企業やカナダの食材加工会社からド ネーションを頂きながら、毎回 40 食から多 くて 50 食を準備。自分一人ではお食事の 準備が難しいシニアや、またレストランでの 日本食とは違った家庭の味が恋しい会員が、 週二回「隣組家族」と一緒に取るランチに 参加しています。 また水曜日はお弁当配達プログラム（Meals on Wheels）も提供。隣組で食べるラ ンチに加えて、ボランティアドライバーによるお弁当配達も行っています。隣組まで 出かけることが困難なシニアへの同プログラムは、バンクーバー市内では毎週水曜 日、リッチモンド市内（サポート団体 Izumi-ya）とバーナビー市内（サポート団体 Hi Genki）では毎週火曜日に、それぞれの地域からボランティアドライバーを募り配達 サービスを提供しています。 気持ちのこもったお食事を隣組でとりながら、参加者もボランティアも皆さんがお しゃべりに花が咲き楽しい時間を過ごし。ランチ配達を受けるシニアも、配達ボラン ティアとの会話を楽しみにしていらっしゃいます。 隣組が提供する数々のプログラムはボランティアにより支えられています。特に今回 ご紹介するランチプログラムもボランティアの献身なくして成り立ちまん。 毎週手に 入る食材を利用し献立を考え、一緒に調理や片付け、そして配達をしてくださるボラ ンティア。残念なことに、隣組創立当初から続いているこのプログラムも、ベテラン ボランティアの引退等の課題に直面しています。隣組では随時ランチプログラムをサ ポートして頂けるボランティアを大募集しています。友人と一緒にボランティア参加し てみたい方。家庭料理は得意だけど、40 人分のお食事準備には自信がないという方。 大丈夫！ベテランボランティアも最初はみんな初心者でした！皆で試行錯誤しながらプ ログラムを組み立てていくのも楽しみの一つです。皆さんのアイディアを隣組で育てて みませんか？ 今回ご紹介したランチボランティア以外にも、こんなプログラムを作ってみたい、ク ラブ活動の場が欲しいなど、ご興味のある方はお気軽にお電話 (604) 687-2172 また はメール info@tonarigumi でご連絡下さい。隣組は「日系コミュニテイー・ボランティ ア団体」です。

新プログラムとイベントのご紹介 隣組理事長 岩浅ディビッド

のんびり日本語会話レッスン： 日本語での会話に自信がないあなた。同じように感じている日系二世・三世と一緒に 日本語会話レッスンに参加しませんか？隣組では毎月 2 回火曜日の夜、経験豊富な日 本人講師による会話形式の日本語レッスンを開催しています。ご興味のある方は隣組 までご連絡下さい。

隣組へのご寄付ありがとうございました （2020 年 1 月 17 日～ 2020 年 2 月 14 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。

寄付金 シノザキ・ケン、大黒富美子、Urban Impact Recycling LTD、ハラガ・リリー M、ヤマモト・ヨシテル、 匿名希望 (1) 寄付金：サービス ヤノ・カオリ＆マス 寄付金 (Canada Helps) ナガタ・タモツ ニシムラ・ジェームズ追悼記念 キタムラ・テルオ、ヤノ・アイリーン、マツバ・マイ ク＆ジュディ、イクタ・クニ＆ジューン、タカサキ・エヴェ リン、タサカ・ダイアン＆ステファン、ヨドガワ・リック、 イシカワ・ノビー、オノ・トミー＆マリー、ハマタケ・ タカシ、ヨシダ・デイヴ & アーリーン、D. チェン夫妻、 オオハシ・アラン、ハヤシ・シェリー、ハヤシ・エド、 イワタアート＆ご一家、タナカ・サム＆ヴァージニア、 ムラオ・デイル＆オリヴェイラ・レナ、マクコーミック・ ジャニス＆ヒロセ・ゲイリー、ウエノ・ケイシー、マ ツヤマ・ジュリー＆ロイ、石川シンディ マドコロ・トム追悼記念 タサカ・チャック コウザイ・ウメコ追悼記念 タサカ・チャック ムラオ・トシオ百寿記念 (Canada Helps) タナカ・ヘンリー 物品、サービスご寄付 オザキ・ミカ、ニシムラ・ユミ、野間ミチヨ、ワカバ ヤシ・イボン、土岐洋子、エリス・ナオコ、ボスハルト・ ヤスヨ、バンホーン・マミコ、井上蕗子、荒武幸恵、 山本多恵子、セキ・シャーロン、カミムラ・ジーン、 匿名希望（5）

日系カナダ人交流の場「Afternoon at TG」 ： 定期的に気軽に集まれる日系カナダ人交流の場を持ちたいという希望にこたえて、隣 組では「Afternoon at TG」という社交プログラムを月一度開催しています。友人と一 緒に会話と美味しいお食事を楽しみませんか？。次回は 3 月 21 日を予定しています。 詳細は tonarigumi.ca をご参照下さい。

日系コミュニティとその活動にご興味がありますか？： ご興味おありの方は是非一度隣組へご来館下さい。2020 年度会員登録、そしてボラ ンティア登録も随時受付ております。

隣組のご案内 イベント、プログラム、ワークショップのお申し込 み、お問い合わせは、お電話またはご来館にて。 住所：101-42 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver ウェブサイト：tonarigumi.ca 電話：604-687-2172 （月～金 午前 9 時～午後 4 時 30 分）

隣組・JCCA共催チャリティーゴルフコンペ、Meadow Gardens Golf Courseに て6月27日開催： 今年で 8 回目となるチャリティーイベント。素晴らしい Meadow Gardens Golf Course にて友人・家族と楽しむゴルフと、ブッフェディナーの一日。ご参加申し込みは隣組に お電話、または development@tonarigumi.ca まで。

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March 3月 2020 45

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

幼児教育の過去と今、そしてカナダと日本を想う ローラ・サイモト、コミュニティ・リレーションズ委員会 2012 年、1928 年建立の幼児保育用に建てられたヘリテージビルの修復を完了 しました。そして託児所を兼ねたこどものくに認可保育園、幼稚園クラス、幼 児クラスが始まりました。8 年後にあたる今日において、6 歳未満の児童 135 人が通園しています。 新しい保育施設となった私たちは開く前に他の保育施設を調べ、日本の保育慣 行を取り入れ、カナダと日本の良いところをこの美しいヘリテージビルにて融合 させました。この建物においてヘリテージであるゆえんのひとつとして特記すべ きは、二階にある 1928 年製のタング＆グルーブ（さねはぎ形式）で作られた モミ材の床です。建物を改造した時、リノリウムとカーペットを四層ほど引きは がした下にあったこの床材でした。これを慎重に修復し改装後に活かすことが できました。私が子供の頃にしたように、休み時間には手すりを滑り降りて誰 が一番に一階につくか競い合ったり、この床の上で走りまわったであろう何千人 もの子供たちの姿が目に浮かびます。 バンクーバー市の新国定史跡認定の施設として施設近隣における歴史について さらに深く勉強しています。その中で、“昔の保育についてどういうことをしのか” についての気づきがありました。シニア世代卒業生へのインタビューから、い くつかの事がわかってきました。近隣にて幼少期を過ごし、小学校が終わると 毎日その足で日本語学校へ通っていた。日系カナダ人女性達の多くは、私のお ばあちゃんのようにお店の家族経営をしていたり、九人もの兄弟を持つ私のお じいちゃんの家族のように大家族の中での子育てに忙殺されていたということ です。 私のおばあちゃんは、メイン St. にて経営するドライ・クリーニング店で腕利き の仕立て屋として働いていました。また、シニア卒業生であるメアリー・川本 さんの場合は、パウエル St. にて貸し部屋ヴィクトリー・ルームズを家族経営し ており、両親とメアリーさん、そして弟の家族全員で貸し部屋業を運営し、清掃、 調理、フロント業務、石炭での暖房運転、そして会計に至るまですべて分担作 業していたといいます。

デイケアでマイクさんを迎えて スペシャルサークルタイム！

二つ目の気づきは、幼児保育はその頃クリスチャンの教会により提供されてお り、使用言語は第二言語の英語だったということです。その頃の子供たちの第 一言語は日本語で、家庭では日本語を使っていました。そして第二言語の英語 取得の為に、パウエル S ｔ . とジャクソン St. の角にある統一メソジスト教会幼 稚園などへ子供を通わせていました。そのうちでもとりわけ、ユナイテッドおよ びカトリック教会系列の幼稚園は、現代風に言えば、英語教育保育機関でした。 子供たちが就学年齢に達すると、ロード・ストラスコナ小学校のような公立校 へ行きました。1941 年当時 1200 人の児童のうち 600 人が日系カナダ人の子 供たちで、そこで正式な英語を学びました。そして放課後は月曜日から金曜日 の毎日、日本語学校へ日本語を学びに徒歩通学しました。これは今でいう放課 後日本語教育に当たります。２つの語学教育学校へ行った後、子供たちは遊び にでかけたり、夕飯の為に家に徒歩で帰りました。つまり、当時の幼児教育と 放課後教育は両方とも語学学習プログラムだったわけです。 現代社会において、幼児保育はかなりモダンな社会的ニーズのように思えます。 ですがその昔語学学習プログラ ムは、働く移民の親たちにとっ て事実上の育児として役立って いたのです。これは、古いもの が名前を変えて新しいものに生 まれ変わった今、思考の糧とな るのではないでしょうか。

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46 月報 The Bulletin

ＢＣ州認可こどものくにからのお知らせ スプリングキャンプ参加者募集 3 月 16 日―20 日、9：30 - 13：30 ピザを作ったり、宝探しゲームをしたり。。。楽しいプログラムいっ ぱいです。 お問い合わせ : 園長 芳賀みつるまで 604-254-2551 cw@vjls-jh.com ●「こどものくに」は、施設の広さ、莫大な規定の教材、登降 園時の安全性、保育士資格などの全ての基準を満たし、BC 州 認可の日本語環境プリスクール、デイケアです。 ●デイケアは、ダウンタウンにも近くて、働く親に便利な場所です。 ●プリスクールは、幼児期に本当に必要な事は何かをじっくり 考え、情緒豊かな子どもに育てる事を保育目標にしています。 豊富な教材、園庭、大ホール、改築し新しくなった教室など贅 沢なスペースを是非見にきてください。

475 & 487 Alexander St. Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1C6 Tel: 604.254.2551 Fax: 604.254.9556 Website: www.vjls-jh.com

達雄のコラム 日系人社会における世代間の意思疎通 周知のように当地の日系人社会は様々な世代、構成要素から成り立っ ている。私が当地に移住してきた約 40 年前、1970 年半ばには二世の 世代がコミュニティの指導的な役割を演じていたが、一世の世代も健 在だった。隣組を通じて多くの一世と知り合いになった。大戦前の日 本で生まれ育ち、日本語を第一言語として話す人々たちから昔話を聞 かせて貰うなど、当地に移住して間もない私たち戦後移住者にとって 興味深い体験だった。 例えば、1980 年代初めに大戦中の日系人に対するカナダ政府の移 動収容に対する補償の運動が始まった頃、その人達の一部から、この 運動に対するカナダ人社会からの反発を予想して、補償の運動に反対 する見解を聞かされたことも記憶に残っている。その人たちの中には、 日系人が大戦後、ようやくカナダ社会の中での地歩を獲得した成果を 脅かすことになりかねないと考える人たちがいたのである。 しかしながら、当時、私自身は民主主義、人権擁護の観点から一般 的なカナダ人からの支持が得られるよう運動を推進することが可能で、 しかも正当なものと理解していたので、補償の運動に参加した。当時 の運動の指導者は概ね二世か三世で、特に一世との日本語での意思 疎通が容易ではなかったので、一世や戦後移住者とのコミュニケーショ ンのために英日の翻訳者の資格を持っていた私は、通訳や翻訳者とし て補償の運動に参加してお役に立てたことを誇りに思っている。 その時以来、私は戦後移住者として日系人コミュニティの中で少数派 でありな がら、常にコミュニティの一員であることを意識しながら活動 に参加してきた。そのような活動を通じてコミュニティの各世代と付き 合い、その人たちをよりよく理解できるようになったと思っている。 そうした活動の一端として、大戦直後に日本に追放された日系人に関 する小著を発表することが出来た。(「日系カナダ人の追放」東京、明 石書店、1998 年。初版第二刷、2012 年。 同書の英語版、Uprooted Again – Japanese Canadians Move to Japan after World War II. (Translated by Kathleen Chisato Merken. TI-JEAN Press, Victoria, BC. 2012.) 訂正 : このコラムの先月、2 月号で触れた 1977 年の 移住者の会の パーテイについてコメントされたのは、青木昭夫氏ではなく、秋田秀 樹氏でした。謹んで訂正させていただきます。

鹿毛達雄 T: 604.777.5222 E: tkage@telus.net

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March March3月 3月2020 2020 47 47

PRADO cafe

勝谷 志織さん

ガスタウンの PRADO café kitchen でシャキシャ キとかっこよく働いている日本の女性がいたので 声をかけてみました。 で働いてどのぐらいになりますか？ —PRADO

ここでは１ヶ月働いています。

日本で「食の東大」 と言われる『辻調理師専 門学校』を卒業後、東京・大阪とシェフとして 働き経験を積んだ後、大阪の天満橋で友達とカ フェダイニングを４年ほど雇われオーナーとし てマネージしていました。店のデザインメニュー 等もこなしていたんですよ。 バンクーバーに来た目的は？ —

もともと映画が好きで海外に憧れがあったん です。海外の飲食店で働きたいなって思っては いたんです。 あとコーヒーが好きでコーヒーの勉強をしたい なって思って、バンクーバーに来てカフェリスト を作って毎日のようにカフェ巡りをしました。 料理も多国籍なので、料理の勉強をするかバ リスタかと考えてバリスタのコースのある学校 に行きました。 東京の時の上司にシアトルのコーヒーロース 」を紹介してもらって、 ター「 Lighthouse roasters シアトルに行って飲み歩きテースティングした り、焙煎の仕方とかを教えてもらったりもしま した。ジュースや水よりもコーヒー！っていうぐ らい大好きなんです（笑） ここの仕事にはどのようにして就けたんです — か？ 学校で学んだ後はシアトルの他にハワイにも 行って満喫した後に仕事を探し始めたんです。 レジュメをカフェに持って行って渡してダメなら 次の店、という感じで渡してたのですがその方 法だと１ヶ月に３件しか配れなかったので方式 を変えて片っ端からカフェやレストランに 配り まくりました。 件は配ったと思います…バリ スタとして 件、キッチンスタッフとして 件 …できれば英語が使える海外っぽいカフェで働 きたかった。 40

10

料理の経験があるのでキッチンスタッフとしては決 まるのですが、バリスタだとなかなか仕事が見つから なかったんです。でもやっぱりバリスタの経験を積み たかったので粘りました。 は有名だから無理かもと思って PRADO café kitchen たのですがレジュメをダメ元でだしたんです。そした ら数日後連絡が来たんです！ 気さくなマネージャーさんが面接してくれて、面接で は経験とパーソナリティ重視で採用が決まりました。 やはりパッションがあると伝わるものですね — 英語に自信がないことを伝えたらキッチンスタッフ でスタートして次はキャッシャー、そのあとバリスタを 任せてもらえる予定です。お店の人たちは皆な良くし てくれてとても働きやすいです。褒めてくれるし私の ことをファミリーだと言ってくれる。フルタイムで半 年働く予定です。 バンクーバーに残る気はありますか？ —

ワーホリを終えたら日本に帰るつもりだったんですが、カ ナダに来てホームステイをしたステイ先のファミリーがとて も素敵でいまだに自分をファミリーのように接してくれてい るのでカナダに残りたい気持ちが芽生えました。 カナダも凄く好きですが日本の友だちや家族と離れて感謝す る事も増え恩返ししたいので迷っています。 残るかどうかは残りの半年かけてゆっくり決めたいと思っ ています。 将来は？ —

ワーホリが終わったらコーヒーの勉強をしながらお金を 貯めて、以前は雇われオーナーだったので、今度は一人で １００パーセント自分のやりたいようにカフェを開きたいと 思っています。結婚もしたいですね。

余暇はスノボや釣り、ダイビングにキャンプととてもアクティ ブに過ごしている志織さん。頑張る彼女がとても眩しかったで す。彼女の淹れるコーヒーを飲みに行くのが今から楽しみです。

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ワーホリの期限が残り半年しかないとわかる と仕事がなかなか決まらなくって…

48 月報 The Bulletin

Title・Photos・Interview：Sleepless Kao

ミーツ vol.62

Eastsideから見える日本と世界 第20回 当事者から学ぶこと ■ホームレス経験者の話を聞く 私は大学で都市社会学を教えています。授業では日本の外国人住民 や移民、ホームレス問題、都市の貧困について話をする機会が多くあ ります。先日、学部 1 年生対象の授業で「日本のホームレス問題」を テーマとして取り上げ、10 年ほど前に実際にご自身が路上生活を経験 されていた男性をゲストスピーカーとして授業にお呼びしました。 その方は、これまで限られた場においてのみご自身のホームレス経 験について大学生や一般市民に話をしてこられました。自分にとって 馴染みのない場で話をすることは初めての経験で、最初に打診をした 際は躊躇され、すぐにはお返事をもらえませんでした。結局お引き受 けいただき、とても熱心に準備をしていただいて、授業のその日を迎 えました。 事前に学生には「ホームレス経験のある方をお呼びする」と伝え、 その前の授業では日本でのホームレスに関する状況や支援制度、課題 について紹介しました。そのかいもあってか、多くの学生は真剣な表 情で話を聞き、授業後も熱心にコメントや質問を記載していました。 学生からの感想文をその方にお返ししたところ、返事を書くとのお返 事で、私は当初、学生全員に向けての返事なのだろうと思っていました。 しかし、その方は 30 数名の学生一人一人に向けて手書きで返事をし たためてくださったのです。 そのことに私はとても驚くと同時に、感動し、 また、当初、全員に向けての返事だろうと思った自分の想像力を少し 恥ずかしく思いました。また、とても緊張しながらも、これまでしたこ とがないことをしっかりやり遂げたその方に人としての強さや責任感を 見た思いがしました。もし私が同じ立場に立ったら、果たして同じよう な強さを持てたかどうか、とも思いました。

ホームレス状態にある（あった）人たちと直接の交流、やりとりを経 験したことのない大学生たちの中には、かつて路上生活者だった人と の間で話が通じるのだろうかと思っていた者もいたかもしれません。け れど、その方のお話はすべて自分の経験に基づいていながら客観的、 論理的な視点もあり、説得力がありました。そうしたこと自体も学生た ちには驚きだったようです。

■難民経験者の話を聞く 私は大学院でも授業を担当しています。大学院の授業の一部で、東 京のビルマ（ミャンマー）コミュニティ、ビルマ（ミャンマー）から日 本へ難民として亡命した人たちについて学びました。関連するドキュ メンタリー映画を見て、知識を深め、実際にビルマ（ミャンマー）の 食材店やレストランが集中する街を歩きました。そして、ドキュメンタ リー映画の主人公でもあった、ビルマ（ミャンマー）の民主化活動に 長く携わり、現在は日本とビルマ（ミャンマー）の間で教育支援の活 動を行なっている方を訪問し、1 時間半にわたってお話をうかがいま した。これらはすべて大学院生たちにとって忘れがたい経験になった ようでした。 事前に情報収集をしたり、関連するドキュメンタリーを見ても、実際 に当事者に会って話を聞けばもっと多くのことを学べます。そして、そ の時の印象が強ければ強いほど記憶は後々まで残ります。 ホームレス問題、難民問題に限らず、広く社会問題と呼ばれている 事柄についてインターネットには多くの情報が溢れています。ともすれ ばそれを見ただけで「知っている気」になってしまうこともあります。 しかし、実際にそのことに関わる当事者の方々に会ってじっくり話を聞 くこと、現地を訪問することから学べることは、自分が思っている以上に、 数多いのです。

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。

実際に現地を見て回ることも大事です。日本、中国などアジア数カ国の学生たちと 一緒に東京・丸の内を歩いて都市景観について考えました。（2016 年 12 月撮影）

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March 3月 2020 49

《滄海一粟》 航海日誌

元日系ボイス編集者 田中 裕介 船で 3 日もかけてバンクーバーに出てきて、日系紙に訴えて日系社会 から支援を得ようとした。 それは大英断だった。大陸日報主幹・鈴木悦が即座に立ち上がり 支援を訴える記事を掲載し、浮田郷次領事も労働組合結成を訴える記 戦前の日系労働組合運動（1） 事「切に同胞の覚醒を促す」を投稿したのである。これが、それから 20 年以上にわたる日系労働運動の幕開けとなった。だが、佐田らの 自治領カナダと日系労働者の自立 不在の間に会社側は日系人を含むスト破りを使い、あえなく争議は潰 今からちょうど 100 年前の 1920 年 7 月 1 日、バンクーバーで「日 された。 本人労働組合」が結成された。BC 州スワンソンベイの製紙及び製材 日系人内部の致命的な問題は「ボス」制度が確立していたことだ。 工場での人種を超えたストライキに呼応した動きだった。第一次世界 英語のできる請負師が「親分」となり会社と折衝し日本人労働者を雇 大戦が終結すると軍備需要が激減し、一方で復員兵が急増し労働市場 用した。ボスたちは横のつながりによって会社側と裏取引し、白人たち は混乱した。資本の寡占化がさらに進み貧富の差が顕著になった。カ のストライキには加わらないことなどを配下の日系労働者に了解させて ナダの総人口は、移民の大量流入により 1901 年からの 10 年間で 500 いたのである。 万から 700 万人に激増した。日本と英国は 1902 年以来同盟関係にあっ 鈴木悦は週刊「労働週報」を大陸日報社から創刊した。加えて、日 たが、自治領カナダは隣国アメリカの影響下にあって、宗主国離れが 本人会や領事館が賛同すると、労働者のみならず日本人会の旅館業者 加速され日英同盟の延長に反対した。1922 年、 日英同盟は破棄された。 や飲食店主も一緒になって、労働組合というよりは主流社会に親和的 ブリティッシュ・コロンビア州（BC) にあっては、第一次世界大戦中 な互助会の様相を呈した。 は日系義勇兵 200 名がカナダ兵として従軍し、日本海軍が西海岸の安 この寄り合い所帯の内部矛盾は、じきに編集長・鈴木悦が自ら日本 全を保障しているという大義の恩恵を被ってカナダ日系社会への差別 人会の保守性を攻撃し始めて明らかになり、請負師の「ボス」たちは も緩和されていたという。だが、戦後は一転して日系社会の同化適応 排除された。1924 年、鈴木と労組リーダーたちは大陸日報を去り、日 が進んでいないことが指摘された。1906 年に開校した国民学校は、 刊「民衆」の創刊を決意する。同時に、日本人労働組合は日本人会に 文部省の綱領に沿って全日制教育をしてきたために、卒業生の英語能 対抗する、労働者とその家族や教員、使用人たちによるサンジカリズム 力が低すぎて高校レベルで支障をきたしていることが明確になり、共 （組合主義）に基づくコミュニティ（最大会員数 1000 名）を形成する 立国民学校は廃止された。以後、二世たちは毎日放課後の 2 時間ほど ようになっていった。 日本語学校に通う「白主日従」に転換された。 年号が昭和に替わると日本の軍国主義、中国大陸への侵略の影響が 実は、これは 1896 年以来、日系キリスト教会の鏑木五郎牧師が主 カナダ社会にも及ぶようになった。1933 年、左派の雄、鈴木悦は日 張していた、今でいう「継承語」としての日本語教育のあり方に戻った 本帰省中に病死した。他方、賭博場「昭和倶楽部」支配人・森井悦 ことになる。この「白主日従」か「日主白従」かは、1906 年の共立 二が日系社会の右派の「親分」として君臨し出すのもこの時期だ。森 国民学校の設立時に大論争となっており、 この点に対する 「加奈陀新報」 井は柔道場「帰道館」での RCMP 警察官の委託訓練を通じてカナダ の社主・鏑木五郎と新任編集長・飯田道左の意見の相違により、飯田 政府の信頼を獲得し、一方で日系退役軍人会を率い、多額の寄付を通 は同社を去り「大陸日報」の創刊にかかわったとされる。また、領事 じて日本語学校の理事となり、「時局委員会」の会長として領事館の代 館がそれまでの鏑木牧師支持を捨て、仏教会の佐々木千重や、後に大 弁者となっていった。つまり、日系社会のドン、黒幕となったのである。 陸日報を引き継ぎ、日本人会を立ち上げた山崎寧（やすし）と組んで こうして、カナダ日系社会は忠君愛国、皇国主義一色に染まっていった。 一挙に「日主白従」に転換させていたのだ。言い換えると、日露戦争 それから 100 年、スワンソンベイ工場は跡形もなく森の中に消えて 勝利に酔いしれて日本ナショナリズムに流れた日系社会が、やっとカナ しまった。グーグル・マップで見えるのは、一本の煙突とかつて高床 ダのエスニック・マイノリティであることを自覚し始めたようにも見受 式の家が並んでいた海岸に沿って立つ杭だけである。 けられる。 鏑木はキリスト教に帰依し白人社会に同化することが差別を避ける ＜訂正＞ 2 月号同コラム（P44）の文中、 「書記ノブオ・ヒガシ」を「書 唯一の道だとしていたが、1906 年、仏教会が 4000 名の会員を募り大々 記シノブ・ヒガシ」に訂正、また「米国ではが両院を通過し」は「米 的に発足したことにより少数派に転じてしまった。1919 年、鏑木は一 国では『市民自由法』が通過し」に訂正します。筆者・田中 切を諦めて加奈陀新報社を売り渡し日本に帰国した。 一方、日系労働運動のリーダーとなった新任の大陸日報主幹・鈴木 悦は、宗教ではなく白人の労働運動に合流することで人種差別を回避 しようと試みた。それは功を奏しただろうか。日系内部の動きを見て みよう。

●「賃下げ反対」闘争 1920 年、BC 州バンクーバーの北西約 400 キロの地点にあるスワン ソンベイ工場では日本人 150 名を含む 500 名が雇用されていた。製 品の大部分が三井を通じて日本に送られていたという。5 月、会社側が 「賃金引き下げ」を発表すると、白人労組はストライキに訴えた。そ れでなくても白人よりも 30％近く賃金は安く抑えられていた日本人労働 者たちにとっては（因みに中国系は日系よりもさらに 20％低かった）、 死活問題であった。それまではストライキの度にスト破りとして会社側 から使われがちだった日系人だが、この時ばかりは賃金引き下げ反対 を叫ばざるをえなかった。 日系労働者 79 名が「連判状」を書いて同盟罷業に加わった。その 中心となったのが佐田種次や神野専だった。佐田が大陸日報に寄稿し た記事によると、「賃金が第一の問題なのではなく、白人労働者と意 思感情の疎通をはかるのが第一の目的」だと書いている。ところが会 社側も一歩も退かず交渉は平行線をたどった。そこで、佐田ら 2 人は *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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50 月報 The The Bulletin Bulletin 50

写真：スワンソンベイ・パルプ製紙工場: 大口の顧客は三井物産だった が、関東大震災以後受注が止まり工場は閉鎖され現在は跡形もないと いう。(photo courtesy of「鈴木悦」)

長寿の秘訣は二つ 生き甲斐と友達仲間との連帯 年齢はや 70 サムシングとなる当方ですが、物書きの意地として、同 年輩の方々や高齢にさしかかる方々のみならず、中年の働き盛りの 方々、青年男女や学生の皆さんにも楽しんで頂ける内容を目指してい るのですが如何でしょう。今回は人生の＜生き甲斐＞について考えて みます。 自身の経験で言えば、学生さんや就職したての若い皆さんの中で、 ＜私は何の為に生きているのだろう＞とか＜我が存在の意義は＞など と真剣に考えたり議論したりする輩は恐らく少数でしょう。とりわけ青春 を謳歌する人生が楽しくて仕方がないラッキーな輩に、存在の意義な ど哲学的問題に取り組んでいる暇もなかろう。では中年や高齢、当方 と同年輩の読者の方々は。健康状態にもよるが＜余生はあと何年だろ う＞とか＜あと何年生きられるだろう＞などと思い悩んだり始める年頃 かもしれぬ。 生き甲斐とは価値観の問題、宗教も絡んでくる。当方はたまたまキ リスト教徒（ルーテル教）として育てられ、考える処あって中年頃から 仏教に惹かれ、数年前にある恩師のお陰で浄土真宗となった。ご存 知のように、日系人は昔から概両宗教のどちらかを信じてきた訳だが、 個人的には仏様もキリスト様も＜隣人愛＞を説いているので根本的に は同じ価値観を分かち合っていると信じている。それはともかく、東京 は品川区の実家付近に当方の祖父母の時代から会員だったルーテル教 会があり、かなり前から「仏教徒になりましたので」とことわってある のだが、先方では海外に住んでいても渡邉家の末裔だからと、定期的 に会報を送ってくる。

若い世代の皆さん、中年の働き盛りの皆さん、おそらく毎日勉強、ク ラブ活動やバイトで、又毎日の勤務で忙しくて＜生き甲斐＞などとじっ くり考える時間もないかもしれない。でも、学業や仕事以外に一生通し て追求できる＜好きな事＞があれば幸いだ。 沖縄とは違い北半球だが、風光明媚で気候もマイルドなＢＣ州、こ うした野菜栽培や旧友たちとの会合に生き甲斐を感じ人生を楽しんで いらっしゃる読者も多いことだろう。一例として、当方も時々訪れる高 齢者向きボランティア施設＜となり組＞がある。会員の皆さんも多いだ ろう。そこでそれこそ野菜栽培でも俳句でも絵でも音楽の同好会でも、 心から楽しみにできる事を分かち合って、機会がある度に集い団欒を 楽しもう。沖縄の同胞たちが「百歳を目指そう」と余生、否人生を今 尚謳歌しているのを見習おう。 最後に、例の恐ろしい冠状ウィルスの世界的伝染がピークを越すの は 5 月頃と専門家は言っているから、頻繁に石鹸で手を洗う等の予防 が大事だ。だが一つ希望の種があるとすればＢＣ州における患者達の 症状が安定し回復に向かっているとの報道だ。読者の皆様どうぞお元 気で。

最近その会報に 80 歳以上の高齢者会員 40 人のリストと共に彼等に 送るメッセージが載っていた。一部引用すると「高齢になって心配なこ とは、経済的なこと、健康、そして孤独ではないか」とある。確かに 今日の日本はとりわけ高齢者にとり住み難い社会になっている。「主に 男性はこれに加えて仕事の喪失感が加わるかもしれません」とも。 そして「教会が応えられることは何でしょうか。それは生きることそ のものに意味があることを伝えること、孤独ではないという事を感じて いただくことだと思います」と続く。 物心がつく頃から＜生きることに意義がある＞なんて信じて疑うこと がなかった当方、それを読んで＜？？＞と感じた。でも独断かも知れぬ と、某和食店の板前さんの友人Ｏ氏に見せた。九州出身でカナダ生活 も長いＯ氏、「これって何のつもり？」という。 誤解がない様に、彼も当方同様、教会自体を批判しているのではない。 高齢者に存在の意義を教えてあげます、との言い方が傲慢だ、という のだ。高齢者の多くは、生きる意味をわざわざ教えて貰わなけれはな らぬ程、孤独で自信喪失になっているのか。二人共＜可哀想だな＞と いうのが実感だった。 幸いに日本でも人生を楽しみつつ、百歳までは生きようと頑張ってい る住民、特に女性が多い処がある。沖縄県のあるコミュニティをこの 程英国ＢＢＣ放送オンライン版が特集していた。毎年百歳を超えた男 女の住民が政府に表彰されている。彼等いわく、長寿の秘訣は＜生き 甲斐＞と沖縄弁でいう＜も会い（会合）＞という二つのキーワードに 集約されるそうだ。 生き甲斐とは、自分しか出来ない事、その為に生きている事だ。Ｂ ＢＣがインタヴューした女性は今 93 歳、亡くなった旦那さんは 100 歳 になった時に政府から表彰状をいただいた。 少なくとも 100 歳までは生きるつもりの彼女の生き甲斐は、大勢の孫 とひ孫たちの愛情だ。また毎朝起きて育てている野菜に水をやる。新 鮮な野菜を青物市場で買って貰えるのも生き甲斐だ。

和文英訳 英文和訳 信頼おける翻訳をいたします。 Tel: 604.221.7393 Fax: 604.221.7333 E-mail: masaki.watanabe11@gmail.com

渡辺 正樹

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コミュニティ コーナー バンクーバー仏教会より 東日本大震災追悼法要

日時：３月 15 日（日）午前 10 時 30 分 会場：バンクーバー仏教会（220 Jackson Ave Vancouver V6A 3B3） 詳細・問い合わせ : (604) 253-7033 vancouverbuddhisttemple.com 2011 年 3 月 11 日、東日本大震災が起こりました。バンクーバー仏 教会でも、彼岸会と併修して「東日本大震災物故者追悼法要」を 営みます。どなたでも参拝・御焼香できます。

おれんじカフェ・バンクーバー 「噛めば噛むほど元気な脳に - 炒り玄米の効用 -」

日時 : 2020 年 3 月 5 日 ( 木 ) 午後 1 時から午後 3 時 場所 : Raven Song Community Health Centre 地下 1 階 (2450 Ontario St, Vancouver) 参加費 : $10 味わい体験 & 試食費 : $3 定員 : 先着 30 名様 申込締め切り : 3 月 2 日 ( 月 ) 申込先 : orangecafevancouver@gmail.com 主催 : 日本語認知症サポート協会 (Japanese Dementia Support Association） ＊茶菓あり。マイカップをご持参ください。 昨年も好評だった田中先生が、帰ってきます！デトックス・食べ過ぎ 防止効果もある「炒り玄米」の作り方、効能について触れながら、 再度「噛むことの大切さ」を学び、いつまでも元気な脳に！他にも、 健康維持に役立つ、季節に合った身近な食材の摂り方を教えて頂き ます。 講師 : 田中小百合 2013 年にマクロビオティックに出会い、美味しく、且つ、心と身体 の健康管理に役立つ食生活を学ぶ。リマ・クッキングスクール師範 科修了。現在、ビーガンシェフとして活動中。

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月報 The The Bulletin Bulletin 52 月報

Otakufest: A teen anime & manga celebration 日時：3 月 20 日（金）午後 12 時 30 分～ 5 時 30 分 会場：バンクーバー公立図書館 （350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC） チケット購入・詳細：vpl.ca 漫画やアニメが好きな、あるいは興味のあるティーン（13 ～ 18 才）向けのイベント。コスプレ、トリビア、漫画をテー マにしたクラフト、映画の上映が予定されている。 コスプレコンテストも開催されるので、コスプレでの出席大 歓迎！ 事前申し込みもウェブサイトから可。

* 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。4 月号の投稿締め切り日は 3 月 24 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ので 予めご理解願います。

Kotodama Night Club 日時：3 月 21 日（土）午後９時～ 11 時 会場：Guu Davie （1239 Davie St, Vancouver, BC） チケット：$15（１ドリンク付） チケット購入：eventbrite.com 高山宙丸さんによる詩の朗読、スティーブ・フロストによる VJ、レゲエ・スカ・ダブ・J ポップ音楽のマッシュアップパー ティー。 ハッピーアワーは 10 時から。ワイン $5、ビール $4（パイント） $3（スリーブ）。

Sakura Days Japan Fair 2020 日時：4 月 18 日（土）＆ 20 日（日） 会場：バンデューセン植物園 （5251 Oak Street (37th & Oak), Vancouver, BC） チケット購入・詳細：japanfairvancouver.com 桜やチューリップ満開で春一色の植物園で開催される日本の お祭り。パフォーマンス、体験テント、日本酒テイスティング、 日本食の屋台、クラフト販売等内容盛りだくさん。ファミリー フレンドリーなイベント。 イベントボランティアも現在募集中。

バンクーバー国際ダンスフェスティバル Birthday present for myself

日時：３月 26 日（木）・27 日（金）・28 日（土）午後８時 会場：ラウンドハウス・パフォーマンスセンター チケット：$20 - $30 詳細：vifd.ca ３月６日～ 28 日にバンクーバー各地でバンクーバー国際ダンスフェ スティバルが開催されます。ネルソンを拠点に活動している IchigoIchie New Theatre（Hiromoto Ida 主宰）が「Birthday present for myself」を公演します。 この作品は 2015 年にネルソンとゴールデンで初演され、今年度２ 月のネルソン再演を始めに、バンクーバー、ソルトスプリングアイ ランド、バーノン、オリバーのツアー公演をすることになりました。 Photo by Masayoshi Suzuki

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連載 ３５歳からは美しく生きる！ 現代女性は、家庭も仕事もキレイもすべてハッピーに輝ける

もっと自分を好きになる人生を♡ Hello beautiful ♡ ライフ＆起業コーチのモレッティ夏子です。 女性が自分をもっと好きになって 人生を楽しんだなら 世界は本当に素晴らしい場所になると 本気で思っています。

起業でも男性的な量で勝負！ 競争相手とどう差をつけるか？みたいなやり方は 女性は絶対バテてしまって長続きしません。

どうやればもっと好きになれるのか？ その答えはもちろん人それぞれ。 けれども、まだまだ男性社会の世界で男性のやり方を真似たり 男性と肩を並べて競争したり それは女性を幸せから遠ざけてしまうと感じています。 女性はもっとリラックスして 緩んで喜んで楽しんでいる♡ことで 本来のパワーを発揮して仕事で成功したり 私生活でもハッピーになれると実感しています。

ワクワクすることをして 自分を喜ばせることをしていると 自分でも気づかずにいた大いなるパワーが ぐわーーーん！と出て そのエネルギーに光に集まる虫のように人は惹きつけられます。 自分は無理。 なんてあきらめているあなた。 やり方が間違っていただけだと思います。 自分と向き合って 純度１００％の自分が出てきて そんな自分の心に本当に正直に生きられたならば 人生すっごいことになりますよ。＾＾

３月の仏事・行事予定 ３月１日（日） 正午 春のバザー ３月 15 日（日） 午前 10 時 30 分 春彼岸会・祥月法要・ダーナ ３月１日（日）のサービスはありません。

常時参拝 毎週日曜日 午前１０時３０分（英語） 毎週木曜日 正午（日本語）

２０２０年度年忌表（亡くなった年） １周忌 （2019 年） １７回忌 （2004 年）

３回忌 （2018 年） ２５回忌 （1996 年）

７回忌 （2014 年） ３３回忌 （1988 年）

１３回忌 （2008 年） ５０回忌 （1971 年）

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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54 54 月報 The Bulletin

モレッティ・夏子 2002 年よりカナダ在住 その後休暇先でイタリア人の主人と出会 い、イタリア・ミラノで４年間暮らす。 その際、人種差別や義理家族との問題に 苦しむが、コーチングに出会い救われる。 その経験から自身もアンソニー・ロビン スのもとで、心理学の知識も持つマスター コーチとなる。そして今では皆ハッピー仲 良しファミリーである。 現在は、ママの幸せを応援するコーチ、 そしてママの起業を成功させる起業コン サルタントとして活動している。 Web: https://www.beauty-insideout.ca/ Blog: http://ameblo.jp/bio-natsuko/ Email: natsuko@beauty-insideout.ca

ジュディ・花沢

JCCA会長からのメッセージ

皆さんこんにちは。先月は大きな気候の変化に順応しなければなら ない挑戦の月でした。雪、雨、風、氷に加え、少しですが、晴天や暖 かい日もありました。今では、スノードロップやクロッカスも咲き始め ています。

2020 年の敬老会

2020 年の敬老会は 2 月 22 日に行われ、日系人のお年寄りが子年の 新年をお迎えになられたことを お祝いいたしました。とくに参加され た最年長の上杉ジョージ氏、最年長の女性、宮本スウ氏にお祝いを申 毎月この会長のメッセージは、ボランティア翻訳者に時間が必要 し上げます。そして、子年の年長者の皆様にお祝い申し上げます。ま なために、前の月の中旬までに書き終えなくてはなりません。これを た、この子年の敬老会に羽鳥隆総領事と全カナダ日系人協会会長のロ 書いているのは 2 月 14 日のバレンタインデー、また murdered and missing indigenous women を追悼する記念日です。殺害された、ま レーン及川氏にも参加していただきました。そして、ＧＶＪＣＣＡの たは行方不明の女性達の家族が、失った愛する者達に追悼の言葉を送 理事会にご支援いただいた皆様、とりわけ、毎年の敬老会を取り仕切っ る中、数千人の観衆と共に伝統的な歌や力強い太鼓の音を聴取する素 ていただいている副会長の清水エイプリル氏、参加者登録を担当して いただいた安藤シャグ理事、当日のプログラムを取り仕切ってくださっ 晴らしい一日でした。 た鈴木エヴェリン理事（書記）と清水キャシー氏にもお礼申し上げます。 更に、ご寄付をお寄せいただいた皆様、そした隣組や日系ホームなど 重大な出来事を追悼する過去二か月のメッセージではお伝えできな の支援団体にも感謝いたします。当日の楽器演奏の催し物にご参加い かったものがあります。そのうちの一つは 1 月 27 日のホロコ－スト犠 牲者の国際追悼記念日、またアウシュヴィッツ＝ビルケナウ強制収容所 ただいただいた小早川マーティン氏とエイビー氏、山口幸子氏とピエー の解放 75 周年でした。このような悲劇の再来の可能性を無くすために ル・ゲイメズ氏。歌や太鼓の演奏のサワギ太鼓の皆様、五月会日本舞 も、私たちへの恒久的な教訓として大虐殺が起きた当時の工場を 保存 踊の皆様にもお礼申し上げます。さらに今年の敬老会を楽しい催しに しておく事は重要です。今日、このような可能性を阻止する事は、組織 することにご協力いただいたボランティアの皆様にも感謝いたします。 的な憎悪に立ち向かうべく、効果的な戦略を立て持続して いくという事 を意味しています。この問題を我々の生活に照らし合わせて考えると、 年次総会のお知らせ コロナウイルス感染拡大の脅威によって、先月当地で配布された人種 差別的なリ－フレットや、アジア系カナダ人が経験した外国人恐怖症が GVJCCA の年次総会（AGM）は 3 月 28 日の 2 時から 4 時に行われます。 挙げられます。しかし、人種差別反対運動は一切起きていません。 JCCA 会員の皆さんは出席されて GVJCCA のプログラム、活動、運営 2 月と 3 月は、歴代の Wet’ suwet’ en 族のチーフが保護しようとし ている政府に譲渡されていない地域への、Coastal GasLink パイプラ インの侵略（先住民の権利に関する UN の表明に署名しているにも関 わらず、BC 州及び連邦政府がサポートしているプロジェクト）への反 対運動や、この運動の支持者によって 起こった交通渋滞に影響され方 もあるでしょう。The Truth and Reconciliation Commission の前委員 長でもある、ムラリー・シンクレア上院議員が次のように発言していま す。「先住民のチーフとバンド・カウンシルがパイプラインの利得契約 に署名したという議論は正当な合意とは到底言い難く、私もいくつか 見てきているが、詳細部分で Wet’ suwet’ en の伝統的なルールの認 証に失敗したことは、誰が見ても致命的な欠陥だろう。」シンクレア氏 は、先住民の歴代チーフ達は譲渡されていない地域ついて全面的な発 言権があると断言しており、「解決のためのポジティブな行動が必要に なるだろう。警察と軍隊による実力による執行はこの問題を煽るだけ であろう。」と結論づけています。日系カナダ人は、譲渡されていない 地域に根を降ろした移住者コミュニティとして、この件に関して事実や 適用される法律を調べることで理解できるでしょう。私たちには Wet’ suwet’en の状況に対して正義に基づく解決がどのようなものかを知り、 それを支持する責任があるのです。

の最新情報を得てください。加えて、それに先だって、特別会議が 3 月 28 日 1 時から 2 時にあります。メンバ－の皆さんには、GVJCCA 会 長資格が「日系または一部日系のカナダ市民」という動議への同意の 是否を投票していただきます。それでは 3 月 28 日にお会いしましょう。 春の訪れを楽しんでください。 翻訳協力：チェン晶子

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March3月 3月2020 2020 55 55 March

編集後記

Kazuho Yamamoto

Kazuho Yamamoto

Wet'suwet'n 族を筆頭に始まった天然ガスのパイプライン建設に反対するデモ活 動 * が BC 州だけではなく、カナダ各地に広がり、現在も続いています。2 月初めに 先住民の若者たち、環境活動家、それを支持する一般市民が BC 州議事堂の前で 6 日間キャンプした際、たまたまビクトリアに滞在していました。私も議事堂に行って 短時間ではありましたが、この活動に対する支持を示してきました。

ニュースで取り上げられる映像や写真を見ていて気がつくと思いますが、この一連の活動

で気がつくのは先住民の若者達が先導となって活動が進められていることです。ビクトリア の議事堂の階段に集まる若者達は静かに、一体となって声明を発している姿はとても力強く、エネルギーをも らいました。また、デジタル世代ということもあり、ソーシャルメディアが効果的に利用され、活動が広く拡 散されました。 日本では水道水を心配することなく飲料水として飲んだり、料理に使ったりできます。カナダの大部分でも それは同じですが、先住民の住む地域の中には水に対する勧告が出されていて煮沸の義務や飲食には全く使うことのできない状況下に住ん でいる人々がいます。 産業革命や高度成長期に国家の発展や企業の利益を優先とした結果、環境が破壊され、公害が発生し人々に影響をもたらしたという事実 が既にあります。こうした歴史を繰り返したくはありません。現在も続いている Wet'swet'en 族に対する一連の支持活動でこれから交通以外 にも影響が出るかもしれません。そこで不便さ、フラストレーションを感じるかもしれません。そこで感情的に終わるのではなく、冷静になっ て目や耳に入ってくるメディアを消費し、現在起こっている一連の動きが我々や次世代にどのような影響をもたらすかを考慮して判断・行動 をしていく必要があると思います。 *ニュースでは「デモ(demonstration)」 「抗議運動(protest)」 という言葉が使われますが、活動者側では「保護者(protector)」 という言葉が頻用されています。

「運動を始めました」

KAO (a.k.a. SleeplessKao)

「cardio exercise 有酸素運動をしてください」とドクターに勧められたので、早速コミュニティーセンターに行ってきました。以前にジ ムのメンバーになったことがあるのですが、 アニュアルでフィーを払ったらそれで満足してしまい、 自ら筋トレに通うことはほぼなかった（笑） KAO あれは勿体無かったな～。今回は自分の好きなクラスをドロップインで体験。コミュニティセンターは施設もとても綺麗でクラスも充実して いるんですね。 ヨガやズンバなどを体験して、自分の落ち着いたのは「Ballet for Adult」でした。 ビギナーのクラスはバーレッスンから始まってストレッチ中心なのですんなり入れました。 とは言え音楽に合わせて” ルルベ、パッセ” と掛け声をかけられ “ジュテをドゥバンから１回ずつアンクロワして～” なんて早口で言われたらもう意味がわ からん（笑汗） バーレッスンだけでも結構な汗をかきます。来月からはアドバンスクラスと合体して動きも複雑になってくる そうでついていけるだろうか。 とにかく何か体を動かしたくてしょうがないのです。先日テニスを友人と初めてやったら結構面白くて、家 に帰ってから Amazon でラケットをポチってしまいました。テニスを一緒にやってくれる人募集中です。 バンクーバーの良いところはびっくりするくらい施設が充実していて、無料テニスコートがあちらこちらにあ ること。日本では考えられないことですね。 トレッキングも充実しているのでお天気の日が増えてきたので、楽しみです。 コロナウイルスにおいて経済や産業、暮らしに深刻な影響をもたらしています。とりあえず自分の心身を 鍛えてメディアにも踊らされず、もしもの時に対処できるような体作りをして手洗いうがいにも心がけてく ださい。

The Bulletin 第62巻3号 2020年3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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56 月報 The Bulletin

Board of Directors ジュディ・花沢 エープリル・清水 エヴェリン・鈴木 ラリー・岡田 シャグ・安藤 メイ・浜西 ウェンディ・松淵 カーメル・田中

エミコ・コーディバック マナ・村田 リリー・新出 リズ・布田 ロン・西村

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・翻訳ボランティア募集！ 『げっぽう』 では、皆様からの寄稿、 日英＆英日翻 訳ボランティア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」あるいは「翻訳ボランティア」 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 Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 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

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 400-50782 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: 249 - 6688 Southoaks Crescent Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7 E-mail: editor@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