It was a revelation to discover that this new community I was suddenly part of was in fact made up of three distinct generations: the issei, my grandparent’s generation, whom I couldn’t understand; the sansei, as described above; and the nisei, who fit neither description.

Illustration by Cindy Mochizuki
“It was a problem of communication. My father read Japanese language newspapers, he could not read English. I read English language newspapers, Japanese newspapers were too difficult in spite of my years at the Japanese language school. Reading a newspaper printed in Japanese required a mastery of 2000 Chinese characters. Few Nisei read the Tairiku Nippo or the Canada Times. My father’s world consisted mostly of Japan, community activities and life in British Columbia, especially discrimination against Orientals. When he and his friends got together, I could …