John Endo Greenaway

John Endo Greenaway

Annual Japanese Language Workshop

The Japanese Language Interest Group of the STIBC, with the Japanese Language Committee of Greater Vancouver JCCA as a sponsor, held the 3rd Annual Translation/Interpretation Workshop on May 15, 2010 at the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall on…

Japonica – Eri Yoshida

Born and bought up in Vancouver’s Japantown, I aspired to join the Japanese Army as Kagoshima Prefecture had produced famous soldiers and my dad had served in the Russo-Japanese War, but in my late teens, when I discovered the atrocities committed against Chinese civilians, I decided to join the Canadian Army. However, I wasn't accepted in Vancouver, so I moved on to Moose Jaw, riding the box cars. When fellow hobos broke into an empty passenger coach, we were all arrested and charged. Instead of paying a fine, I chose to be jailed for seven days.

David Iwaasa: re-energizing Tonari Gumi

As a Japanese Canadian Mormon, I was always conscious of being a minority within a minority and, therefore, I was always a little different. As a Mormon, I was different from many of the other Japanese within the community, as most of them attended the Buddhist Church. As a Japanese Canadian, I was one of only a small group within the Mormon Church. However, it was something that I got used to and was able to bridge a number of different cultural, ethnic and religious divides.

Akira Kurosawa 1910-2010

A virtuoso visual stylist, Kurosawa is popularly associated with the jidai-geki (period film), and in particular the chanbara (sword-fight film) or samurai drama. Although Kurosawa was, indisputably, a master of action cinema — his films elevate the sword-swinging samurai genre formula into the highest cinematic art — he was very much a master as well of the gendai-geki, the contemporary drama.

Limelight: Richard Murakami

Salt Spring Island’s Richard Murakami was among forty-seven British Columbians representing 32 communities throughout the province who were honoured at the seventh annual BC Community Achievement Awards ceremony held at Government House in Victoria on April 28, 2010. Lieutenant Governor…

The First Battle

The Battle for Equality in War-time Hawaii Perhaps the single most significant documentary film on modern race relations, The First Battle chronicles the experiences of the Japanese American population after Pearl Harbor and the formation and actions of the Council…

Bob Nimi: steadfast in support of seniors

In Robert and Jane Nimi’s hallway there is a photo hanging on the wall depicting three smiling young men clad in black leather motorcycle jackets astride Triumph Thunderbird motorcyles. Taped next to the photo is a clipping of Marlon Brando riding the same motorcycle in the classic film The Wild One. As Bob leads me through to the living room for our interview, he stops and points out himself on the far right of the photograph. Just after graduating high school, he explains, he and two high school buddies set off on a three-week road trip to San Diego, camping along the way. It was, he says, one of the highlights of his younger years. While the photograph stands in contrast to the elegance of the house, it does tell you something about Bob Nimi and the sense of determination that has served him well during his lifetime.

Sumidagawa / Curlew River

When Vancouver’s City Opera set out to pair Sumidagawa with Curlew River for their 2010 season—a feat that had only been undertaken twice before, once in London and once in New York City—the intention was to mount the original noh version of the piece. In the process of finding a noh company that could perform the work, they discovered the existence of Nakajima’s butoh interpretation and made the decision to bring in Denise Fujiwara to perform it.

Interview: Denise Fujiwara

Working with Natsu Nakajima changed my life. Because butoh is a different paradigm from western forms of contemporary dance, I really had to start over from zero. I had to go to a 'beginner mind' and body. This was a terrifying and wonderful process.