My sister always gets mad at me because I always say Japanese Canadian or Indo Canadian or Chinese Canadian. She says we’re all Canadian. But for older people like me, it’s just natural for us to say, Japanese Canadian or Chinese Canadian. Other people look at us and they don’t say, we’re Canadians. They always...Continue reading
Author: Kaz Yoshida
Impact of the incarceration on current views
[There was] that camp at Oppenheimer Park in front of temple. When we were going to have the Powell Street Festival, older people said: we understand what it’s like to be moved. So, they understood why they would leave them alone. [Regarding the treatment of Indigenous people.] We weren’t taken away from our home to...Continue reading
Thoughts on intermarriage
I always thought the high rate of intermarriage amongst Japanese Canadians is because there are so few Japanese. There are so many more Chinese people. I don’t see intermarriage as an issue. Not anymore. Certainly when I was growing up [it was]. My cousin married a hakujin / white fellow. I think there was a...Continue reading
Passing on Japanese Canadian history
The older generation have been taught not to say anything. To be quiet. Just go on with your life. My mom’s favourite expression was “you shouldn’t be saying that.” I think that’s quite common with the older issei from Japan. Don’t rock the boat. She would always say: “It’s okay to say that at home,...Continue reading
Life after the war
[One day] when I went home from school to get my snack, I heard my father saying to my mom: “Nihon senso ni maketa.” Japan lost the war. But at that time it didn’t ding on me what it meant. Later, my mom signed to go back to Japan. And my dad said, “No.” He...Continue reading
Education was important
I remember, I wanted to be a nurse. I applied to VGH. My mom didn’t say anything then. But Mr George, the principal, called me in and said: “Nursing is three years. It takes three years to be a nurse. This is the last year they are going to offer one year teacher training. Why...Continue reading
Values passed on from parents
My parents were poor and they lost everything. I know how important things were to my mom. We only had a few ochawan [bowls]. Not like now. We have so many things. Before we only had so many rice bowls and so many plates. We had to be very careful that we didn’t drop the...Continue reading
Adult understanding of incarceration
I must have been teaching when I found out why we were in Greenwood. I knew in the back of my head that we were sent to Greenwood because of war. That we had no choice. We couldn't stay in Vancouver or Steveston.Continue reading
Parents never spoke about the internment
We never talked about what happened to us. We just played our little games, went to school. We slept; we ate. If we asked our parents, they always said: “You don’t need to know. Just study. Get a good education. Get a good job.” We were told: “It’s finished. Just think of something else. Think...Continue reading
Schooling in Greenwood
Photo: Students at Sacred Heart School in Greenwood Photo courtesy: Nikkei National Museum 2015.3.6.2.16 We went to a Catholic school in Greenwood. We attended Sacred Heart school for eight years. We never spoke English before we enrolled in school. The instructions were in English. And we either said: yes or no. And when we played...Continue reading
From Steveston to Greenwood
I was four and a half when we moved to Greenwood. I started kindergarten there. My sister Christine was born in Steveston. She was a baby when we went to Greenwood. My father was sent to a road camp. We couldn’t live on the coast anymore. I thought that everyone went to Greenwood or Grand...Continue reading
Family History
My father was from Mio (pictured above) and my mom was from a little village nearby, Ikeda. My dad was 16 or 17 when he emigrated. And my mother was 19 or 20. My father was born in 1899 so it must have been around 1916 when he immigrated. Continue reading