To the Editor

Dear John,
Thank you for your very interesting editorial concerning your family and the evolvement of the Greenaway clan.

It is always a joy for me to receive my copy of the Geppo/Bulletin from Canada.

I lived in Vancouver from April 1980 to December 1987, although I was born in Japan, lived in Great Britain, Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. My father was British with the Foreign Affairs Section of the British Embassy in Tokyo from June 10, 1947 to June 28, 1980, when he died. My mother was Japanese from Tokyo, and a tea ceremony and flower arrangement teacher. She died four years ago this summer.

Reflecting on your comments in the editorial, it is really hard to comprehend a life without one’s parents. Having them grow old was fun me because we became so much closer and understood each other better.

Reading that your parents now live in Nelson with your sister Rachel, brought back vivid memories of myself living in

Vancouver with my mother and younger sister together living in Tokyo so far away from me.

So many families with so many different situations, but all part-and-parcel of the Nikkei heritage.

I made an unprecedented move back to Tokyo in late December of 1987, during the Bubble Period. It was the best move I made. Japan flowed with money in every industry – it was really a “golden” period for Japan.

Here, I often meet Canadians who have married Japanese, or vice-versa. Although Japan is still far from the level of fighting discrimination (compared to Canada), it ismuch better than when I was a child. Japanese is trying to be more “international”, although I fell it will take another 50 years before something of the nature that Canada offers her citizens and immigrants.

I look forward to future stories that inspire me about the lives of the Nikkei community. May you always have the greatest of success and the best of health always.

Sincerely
Jion Hanagata, Japan