On Saturday, July 31, 2010, a ceremony will be held at the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre in New Denver to mark its official designation as National Historic Site. The event, which is open to the public, will run over the weekend and includes commemorative events, entertainment, workshops, and the annual Obon Ceremony.
The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre bears witness to the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War and the history of internment camps located in the interior regions of British Columbia.
Located at the heart of one of the …

On November 7, 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, as the Last Spike was driven home in Craigellachie, not far from Revelstoke, British Columbia. In the process of building and maintaining this ribbon of steel that created a corridor across Canada, the lives of many people from different nations were lost.
In early March of 1910, a severe storm lasting some ten days lashed the western areas of North America, resulting in a number of massive avalanches. On March 1 of that year, 96 people lost their lives at Stevens …

For many Aboriginal people attending the Truth and Reconciliation Commission national gathering at The Forks in Winnipeg on June 16, it was a significant and necessary event. This, the first of seven national meetings, is the beginning of the healing process for the survivors of the Indian residential schools and their families. This was the opportunity for the survivors to tell their stories, describe the living experiences in the schools and the effect that this had on their lives, even today.
Justice Murray Sinclair, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation …

COLD NOODLES
In the summer, the Japanese enjoy refreshing noodle dishes likely to please anyone sweltering in the late-summer heat. These dishes are truly cool—one presents the noodles floating in a bowl of ice cubes.
The classic way to prepare Japanese pasta, known as sashimizu or “add water” method, includes rinsing the noodles in cold water after they are cooked. With sashimizu, each time the water boils, add a cup of cold water. Repeat process up to three times, depending on the thickness of noodles.
Meanwhile, test noodles constantly by biting into a …

Hi everyone!
I hope you’re all enjoying the great weather! Here on the West Coast, the great weather is especially nice as it allows us to enjoy to views of the Coast Mountains and Pacific Ocean, often just by turning our heads!. Although the weather has been hot during the day, at night the temperature cools down enough to make it bearable to sleep. During this hot weather I hope all our seniors are staying nice and cool and drinking lots of water so as not to get too dehydrated. Please …

One of my most prized possessions is an old wooden box. It’s about the size of a shoebox that a pair of size 16 shoes might come in. It’s got a hinged lid with an old-fashioned handle bolted to it, the kind that one might find on a very old chest of drawers. It was made by my father as his everyday tool box – the one he would carry around the house to fix things that were too heavy to carry to his workshop. Inside there is a collection …

This video installation was inspired by Susan Sontag’s writing about cancer, the terminology and language that’s used, how war terminology is used by oncologists when talking about cancer and treatments. Aiko then relates this to the second world war, pointing out the irony in the fact that the chemotherapy she was receiving, you know, contained mustard gas and other chemicals that are, or were used in warfare. So that’s what the whole exhibition was about, and I think that was her way of processing and coming to terms with the disease, her own involvement in it, and the victimization one feels as a cancer patient: you’re out of control of your body, and the medical system is basically controlling you.

A few weeks back I was driving my daughter Kaya to school. Normally she takes the school bus, but given that it was her birthday and that she would also be graduating from middle school that same night, I drove her. As she was getting into the car, I plugged my iPod into the dash and scrolled to a song I know she likes by Josh Ritter called Bright Smile. The first few lines of the song filled the car—now my work is done / I feel I’m owed some …

Fortunately, there is no wind. The sky has darkened, however, and a few small drops of water start to create small explosions on my skin. Around me are the white-painted bodies of more than twenty other beings, naked like myself.
We appear to be walking slowly, but inside time has a different velocity. With each step, a week goes by. In one step we travel 100 kilometers. Our bodies lean forward to fight with resistance against the force of energy that confronts our bodies. We edge toward the ocean.

In the Japanese language, the name is pronounced “Japadoggu” Because long words both foreign and Japanese are often abbreviated, “Japa,” as short for Japan or Japanese, is sometimes used. At an international university I attended in Tokyo in the 1960s, students from abroad were officially referred to as “non-Japanese” to avoid using the word “foreigner.” Japanese students and staff found “non-Japanese” too much of a mouthful, so they all said “non-Japa” instead. Pretty soon, Japanese students with mixed cultural and educational background were being called “han-Japa,” meaning “half-Japanese.”