Category Commmunity

A Dream of Cranes

On March 12, one day after the devastating earthquake, I had a dream-—a dream of thousands of different coloured origami cranes floating and gently falling through the air. This dream image became the emotional grand finale of “Ganbare Japan!” We…

Impact of the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear hazard in northeastern Japan: Transcultural Mental Health Emergency Committee in JSTP

Dear Friends, As you know, at 14:46 on March 11, 2011, a huge coastal area of northern and east Japan was attacked by a magnitude 9 earthquake, something no human being has experienced in the previous 1,000 years. Most coastal…

When the earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, Kozue Matsumoto sat in front of the TV in her adopted hometown of Vancouver and watched in horror as the area where she grew up was…

The concert will kick off with internationally-acclaimed pianist and Vancouver native Jon Kimura Parker who returns to Vancouver for this special engagement. Together with over forty members of the Grammy award-winning Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, he will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 27, K.595. Rounding out the first half of the show will be three member of Vancouver Opera--Erin Wall, David Pomeroy and Kinza Tyrrell--who are guaranteed to raise the hair on the back of our necks with a selection from La Traviata.

Amidst the pulsing rhythms of the drums at Taikotroniks, you might be surprised to also find a generous helping of blips, whirs, and other unearthly electronic sounds. For the May 3rd event, seven prominent Vancouver-based taiko groups—Chibi Taiko, Katari Taiko,…

A woman ran up the stairs, I live on the second floor, screaming, “Please help me!” She was out-of-control, so I had to shake her to get her into some sense of reality. I brought her into my apartment in the doorway, wrapped my arms around her telling her, “Gambatte.” She was delivering the early morning paper and had left her children alone at home. Then when the shaking stopped, we went outside, it was pitch black.

Kids for Kids Quilt Project

As the terrible details of the earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan unfolded before our eyes on this side of the Pacific, a feeling of such deep sadness filled me, and people everywhere in the world. And as friends and…

Filmmaker Linda Ohama, who splits her time between Vancouver and Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture, was in Vancouver preparing to return to Onomichi when the earthquake struck. Like many others, she was galvanised by the images she saw of the awful destruction being wreaked on the countryside. As she wrote to friends in the community the day the news broke, “I cannot stand looking at all the images and hearing from so many friends about the earthquake victims and families. We need to do something.”

Over 50 members of the Japanese Canadian arts, business, culture, community and student groups, representing more than 20 different organizations, met together at the office of . . .

On behalf of the National Association of Japanese Canadians and its member organizations, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to the people of Japan and the Japanese Government for the loss of life and property . . .