The Komori’s did not move after the war when the orders to relocate yet again came down. They stayed in the Cariboo rebuilding their lives. I find it interesting that the government did not seem to worry about the many Japanese Canadians who did not comply with official orders as long as they remained outside the 100 mile restriction zone from the coast. Why were those in the government sponsored camps forced to move east of the Rockies or to Japan? They couldn’t have been much of a security threat.
There were several Japanese Canadian families in Taylor Lake and other close-by self-supporting communities. Many stayed in the area and worked in logging and sawmilling. Some for the fledgling operation started by my father and uncles. They formed a small, insulated community of their own. We would gather to pound mochi on Boxing Day and go from house to house on New Years day drinking and eating sushi, ebi, chow mein, chicken and salmon teriyaki and more.
When we moved to Vancouver, my family connected with the JC community which re-established in the Powell Street area. Just like my father, we were sent to the Vancouver Japanese Language School and the Vancouver Buddhist Church. We shopped along Powell Street at Kay’s Seafood and at Shimizu Shoten on Hastings. It wasn’t the same flourishing pre-war community, but remnants continued to thrive throughout my childhood and teen years. Growing up, I had a very real sense of my identity as a Japanese Canadian.
