By Sean McIntyre – Gulf Islands Driftwood
reprinted by permission

Richard Murakami has a poem by Mother Theresa hanging on the wall of his Rainbow Road garage.
It speaks of hard work, modesty and dealing with adversity.
The words pretty much sum up Murakami’s philosophy and character.
Perseverance helped him rebuild his life on the island after the federal government seized Japanese-Canadian owned assets during the Second World War.
Kindness and generosity have encouraged him to help other islanders overcome hardships of their own.
And success has helped him become a member of the island’s business elite.
Of …

This ambitious first feature by Mariko Tetsuya interweaves manga with the story of a budding boxer to create a double world, half fantasy, half reality. Tetsuya has a talent for creating heart-pounding suspense.

My name is Seichi Bill Tahara, a depression-born Nisei. My birth certificate indicates I was born at 143 Dunlevy Street in the heart of Japantown some 80 years ago. Today, enjoying RETIREMENT in one of THE best places to live, Victoria. I am delighted to have the opportunity to attend this weekend’s conference with you to share a few memories of some of my personal experiences, thoughts and recollections growing up during a very unsettling wartime & internment years during the early 1940s.

I personally leave rehearsals deep in thought, recalling my past and things that I forgot about society and other people’s lives. Then I get motivated. It’s similar to when I hear good music or sound and something sparks in my brain.

During the writing of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Japan was shaken by the twin traumas of the Kobe earthquake and the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack. In the aftermath of these events, he returned to Japan and published his first work of non-fiction, Underground, and the short story collection after the quake.

This month, Pi Theatre and Rumble Productions team up to present after the quake at Studio 16. Running November 19 to December 5, after the quake is an adaptation of two stories from the book of short stories by the same name . . .

It’s not easy to walk into a strange rehearsal hall in a strange country where one doesn’t speak the language or understand the culture and play on unfamiliar drums, but right from the first drum beat, the Chibi kids showed they were ready to give it everything they had.

The rooms are out of another era, with eccentric touches, each one a little different: on the original iron bedsteads are thick mattresses, fluffy comforters, and piles of pillows. Japanese themed prints hang on the walls, and on each dresser sits a globe and a bottle of Mt. Fuji spring water.

With so many organizations in our community, our Committee recognized the significance and value of hearing and documenting the stories of the issei and nisei—those who remember the years immediately before, during and after the Internment.

When Katari Taiko celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a concert at the newly refurbished Cultch (formerly the Vancouver East Cultural Centre) on November 1, it will mark three decades of dedication to not only the art of drumming, but the community that gave birth to the group.

The wartime experience is an important part of Canadian history. On a practical level, I need to remember Lemon Creek and to know the nuts and bolts of this history so I can educate future generations of all Canadians. On a more personal level, I feel the need to understand Lemon Creek because that experience indirectly has shaped me and my world view.