Lucy Komori

Born in Kamloops, BC  in 1955

I spent my early childhood at 70 Mile House where the Komori's had a thriving sawmill business. It was a small community of Japanese Canadians including my relatives and several Nikkei families who worked at the mill. 70 Mile was an ideal environment for a child where we were free to run around without adult supervision. We moved to Vancouver when I was 8 years old. I recall it was pretty traumatic. I never had to make friends before because I played with all my cousins. But education was important to my father which is why we made the big move. In hindsight, I am grateful for his foresight.

I graduated with a BA in English from Simon Fraser University and immediately travelled to Japan to learn Japanese and teach English. Upon returning to Vancouver, I worked in several jobs eventually enrolling in the MBA program at UBC to expand my employment options. For the next 25 years, I worked for a variety of non-profits and educational organizations in marketing and fund raising. It was all very rewarding.

I'm now retired. I spend my time enjoying the great outdoors and pursuing projects like Tsunagu. Family and community history are long time interests that I now have the time to explore.

I was involved in the very first Powell Street Festival creating a sansei presence by helping Connie Kadota produce a slide / tape show on the history of Japanese Canadians from our third generation perspective. I also joined Katari Taiko in 1978 and continued playing for more than 10 years in Vancouver and later in Toronto.

I am married to an architect born in Japan who leads Chibi Taiko, the first children's taiko group in Canada. We have one daughter who played taiko for close to 20 years and performed professionally. She lives in Toronto working in marketing and recently got married.