Some may think that an apology doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it does. It recognizes a wrong. The way the media and some politicians have framed and blamed the pandemic on “the Chinese” in particular have such parallels to the persecution of Japanese Canadians during WWII, it is frightening. It matters...Continue reading
Tag: Importance of history
family historian
My great grandparents passed away while my father was still young, so I had little idea what kind of people they were, or what relationship they had with their nisei children. For a long time, to me, they were just “the ancestors from Japan”. I think it was similar for my Dad and his siblings,...Continue reading
3 – On Education
It was difficult to learn about the forced uprooting and internment of the Japanese Canadians growing up because it was not taught in Ontario when I was in school. It is not much better for my kids even here in BC today where it is an integral part of their history. It is great to...Continue reading
Child rearing
Question: We hear nisei quite often tell their children: You have to be better and you have to do your best. Do you feel that you passed those kinds of values on to your children? Jean: I hope I did. Certainly their education was very important to them as well as to us. I don’t...Continue reading
Passing family history on to the next generation
We did not have many conversations relating to these times. However, my grandchildren have studied Japanese Canadian history in school and through this, the questions and conversations are coming out. I am trying to explain our experiences as I remember them, but I was so young. I think it’s very important that they learn this...Continue reading
Why JC History Matters
The catastrophic effects of internment, dispossession and dispersal are, I think, no more than uncomfortable truths to many Sanseis. I truly believe that those who suffered, although many have already passed away, would want their stories told and for society to know what the Canadian government did to some of its own citizens. That part...Continue reading
Dealing With Racism
How do you go about teaching tolerance? And how do you measure it? Is unconscious bias something that can be nullified? Children are not born prejudiced against people due to hair colour or eye colour or the location & history of the country of their forefathers. Rather, they pick up on unspoken cues and learn...Continue reading
Japanese Canadian legacies
To me, the Japanese Canadian story is most meaningful as a story of social justice. Growing up, I often felt alienated from my Japanese ancestry, “less Japanese” than peers whose parents were born in Japan. What eventually made me feel able to claim my identity as a Japanese Canadian wasn’t anything about Japan, but rather...Continue reading
The Power of History
Why does Japanese Canadian history matter today? To me, Japanese Canadian history matters because it is my history. My family’s history. My great-grandparents moved to Canada and because of that decision, three generations later I call myself Canadian. I carry the language, culture, and legacies of my ancestors inside me. To the community, Japanese Canadian...Continue reading
The Power of Stories
There is an old Yiddish saying. . “Sometimes we need a story more than food”. Telling our stories, and having others listen, is a powerful way to gain new understandings of and fresh perspective on our lives.Continue reading
The Importance of History
I knew nothing of my family and community history until I was in university and had joined the Asian Canadian Coalition. We Japanese and Chinese Canadian students were encouraged to connect with our communities’ and families’ histories by going through our family albums, learning photography and mounting a photo exhibit that explored our history through...Continue reading
The present
I have always felt that there will always be an undercurrent of racist attitudes and this is sparked by events such as the arrival of the Vietnamese “boat people’, the influx of Hong Kong ex-pats etc. Whenever there is an influx of visible minorities, this sparks a backlash against these persons of color. I would...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
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
Does JC history matter?
I don’t think a lot of the grand nephews and nieces know the family history because we don’t talk about that sort of thing. Why bring back memories that are unpleasant? You want to forget about it. Shikataganai. I don’t think it’s necessary for them to know. They haven’t really asked about it. Society is...Continue reading
The importance of recapturing our history
A huge loss as a result of the internment is the non-existence of a full expression of the history of the JC immigration story. So much of the history has been lost and remains unknown. An example is the story of Vancouver’s Japantown and also of the many other once thriving BC JC communities that...Continue reading