The family history can be traced back to about the 1500s. Yosh's father, Kozo Arai, finished middle school and was supposed to go into the navy. His father's family was long-time naval family. He convinced his parents. . . Continue reading
Author: Yosh Arai
Life Before the War
Before the war, Yosh had aspirations to become a pharmacist when he was in high school. First I wanted to be a druggist. In Grade 10 when I was 14 or 15, the teacher said: "You can't get a job like that." He didn't know what to say. By law, you couldn’t be one. Continue reading
Strongest Wartime Memories
Yosh played baseball in Grand Forks with a mixed team including Doukhobors. They travelled as far as Midway and into the U.S. They couldn’t go to Vancouver, but they could cross the border and play in Spokane. Yosh didn’t have much free time and spent most of his time working. While working in Carmi, everyone...Continue reading
Incarceration
Yosh’s family were all Canadian-born or naturalized citizens. They didn’t think at first that everyone would be forced off the west coast. It was a shock and happened very quickly after Pearl Harbor. The government first indicated that the move would be short and they would be able to move back. And they would get...Continue reading
Child Rearing
Yosh wasn’t sure whether past harsh treatment of his family affected the way he raised his children. He expected his children to do well in school. When asked if he felt that JC’s had to be better because of the way they were treated, Yosh responded: Japanese Canadians were better [in school]. However, he agreed...Continue reading
How the Incarceration Affected Family
Yosh's siblings were still in school when they were removed from Vancouver to Grand Forks. They ranged in age from 8 to 18. The eldest daughter Fumi was just a month shy of high school graduation. The school sent her her graduation diploma.Continue reading
After the War
The Arai family remained in Grand Forks until 1949. When the government finally allowed Japanese Canadians to move back to the west coast, they purchased a dry-cleaning business on West 10th and Alma with financial help from their friend Mr. Reid.Continue reading
Dispossession
Before the war the Arai family owned a dry cleaning business at 10th and Main in Vancouver. A good friend, John Reid, lived and rented at the Main and 10th property initially. The dry-cleaning business was also rented to several different people who didn’t last very long at the business. At first, Mr. Reid collected...Continue reading
Intermarriage
Yosh’s three daughters have either married non-Japanese or have never married. It doesn’t matter to him. However, he mentioned that growing up he strove to speak good English and to fit in. He never took Japanese food to school. I always took sandwiches. We had to make our own lunch. Nobody made it for you....Continue reading
Racism
MacMillan Bloedel always hired the top graduate from Fairview Commerce. In 1940, the top student graduated from Grade 12 with a 98.2% average. That student was Midori Yoshida, and being Japanese Canadian wasn't offered the job.Continue reading
The Importance of History
Yosh worked on Redress. He felt that because of Redress, people became more aware of what happened to Japanese Canadians.Continue reading