Posted in Nisei

When a Language Dies

“When a language dies. We lose cultures, entire civilizations but also we lose people. We lose perspectives, ideas, opinions, most importantly we lose a unique way of being human.” Trevor English: “What Happens When a Language Dies and is Forgotten” It’s only been in the recent past, since Redress mainly, that I’ve been looking seriously...Continue reading

Posted in Nisei

Rekindling Memories

For many years, especially since retirement, I’ve made attempts to learn to speak Japanese and rekindle memories of listening and speaking with my mother. I knew I was missing something in my life I had to pursue. I enrolled in formal and informal language classes and acquired books on how to write hiragana. I had...Continue reading

Posted in Nisei

Resilience

I’ve come to admire the shikataganai attitude to a degree. There’s a certain kind of stubbornness in that attitude to not be defeated in the face of the devastation. There’s a huge amount of resilience and determination that is borne out by how the Japanese community survived and established themselves wherever they were settled. No...Continue reading

Posted in Nisei

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

Posted in Nisei

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

Posted in Nisei

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

Posted in Nisei

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

Posted in Nisei

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

Posted in Nisei

Identity

People know me as Japanese Canadian. I feel like I am one, but I have lived and worked in a Caucasian / white environment for much of my life. I just try to imagine what other people think of me. I don’t feel that they feel that I’m any different once past the initial conversations....Continue reading

Posted in Nisei

Is the current rise in hate crimes similar to what happened to JCs during WWII?

Racism is racism then and now. I think to a huge extent racism against JCs is now minimal as compared to times past. Institutional racism is almost gone but bad apple racism remains, driven by personal animosity from upbringing, economic stress or sometimes ideology. Things have changed. Things are much better now thanks largely to...Continue reading

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