Category Commmunity

Mixie and the Halfbreeds

My hope is that people will recognize that there is a pride in being of mixed race, that being a mixie is a specific identity. AND this may sound cheesy, but that we are all the sum of our parts, whatever those parts may be. Whether we identify as mixed-race, mixed culture, mixed gender, mixed education, mixed emotion, mixed parts, mixed nuts, whatever the mix is—it creates a 100% whole-grain person.

Fishing for a Living: New Nikkei Fishermen’s Book Delves into Westcoast History

The Nikkei Fishermen’s Reunion Committee was formed at the turn of the new millennium by three sons of fishermen who had recently lost their fathers to Alzheimer’s and death. Realizing that the way of life that their fathers and grandfathers had experienced was fast disappearing, they resolved that the sacrifices and hardships that they had endured must be acknowledged and commemorated.

Vancouver Moving Theatre

A big step in this evolution to a deeper connection to community came after our son Montana was born in 1990. We began to do less international touring, and began the Strathcona Artist at Home Festival. This festival opened a huge and very rich vein—the history, culture, struggles and story of this area.

March to December : Remembering Roy Ito

Illustration by Cindy Mochizuki “It was a problem of communication. My father read Japanese language newspapers, he could not read English. I read English language newspapers, Japanese newspapers were too difficult in spite of my years at the Japanese language…

Three Community Events!

1) Nikkei Community New Year’s party Saturday January 17, Nikkei Place Tickets are available through Nikkei Place and the GVJCCA. Please phone 604.777.7000 for additional information. Valentine’s Day Dance Saturday February 14 at Nikkei Place. Second GVJCCA dance and first…

Tatsuo Kage : a commitment to human rights

Tatsuo Kage has the appearance and manner of an absent-minded professor, but this façade belies a fierce determination to follow his principles, whether they are popular or not. Over the past 30 or so years, he has been an integral…

Falling

Yellow canaries. Yellow canaries floating down. Down down. Singing as they twirl. Down down.

Tetsuro Shigematsu : renaissance samurai

Tetsuro Shigematsu has the face of a Japanese woodblock print samurai and the résumé of a modern day renaissance man. A radio broadcaster, comedian, pop culture critic, filmmaker, playwright and actor, he came to national attention as the successor to…

Re(a)ddressed

Titled Re(a)ddressed: I am (Japanese) Canadian, the aim of this workshop was to open a dialogue between Japanese Canadian youth surrounding the present and possible futures of identity and ethnicity in Canada. Very suited to these topics was the collaboration of award-winning Canadian independent animation filmmaker, writer and artist, Jeff Chiba Stearns.

Cumberland Memories

It is early evening in late May as my husband and I roll off the ferry at Nanaimo and head north under a clear blue sky to the Village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island. Alongside the highway grow streams of golden broom and purple lupin that light up the earthy tones of the Comox Valley landscape. We are on our way to attend the official commemoration of Cumberland’s Japanese Cemetery as a historical landmark.

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