Category CrossCurrents

Akemashite omedetoo gozaimasu and a Happy New Year to all you readers out there. You are a source of great inspiration for me as a regular columnist in the JCCA Bulletin as I strive with each issue to bring you…

I recently heard again that all-too-familiar expression, this time from a bright, well-mannered Japanese college youth, one of our recent “home-stay” students on short-term English language courses. Describing his future employment prospects, he said: “If I’m hired by a big…

SERIES: JAPANESE CANADIAN PIONEERS Some of you readers may know him already as Sada- san, the personable owner and chef at the popular sushi restaurant Octopus’ Garden in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area. But when he was only about four years old,…

SERIES: JAPANESE CANADIAN PIONEERS This is the second instalment of  our semi-regular series,  “JAPANESE CANADIAN PIONEERS,”  featuring Nikkei men and women young and old who have made significant contributions in their respective fields,  as recognized by their peers and the…

  In Japanese society today, especially among men, there is still quite a lot of discomfort if not antagonism toward “house husbands who make their wives earn a living while they only do housework.” Also, while many of the wives…

Attitudes toward male and female roles between married couples, as well as between those betrothed, have undergone changes with every new generation within the Japanese Canadian community, just as in society at large. Starting with the era of the Issei…

Within minutes of meeting Mr Kaye Kaminishi, I who consider myself a “seasoned reporter,” could not help being awe-struck by the aura of the man, now aged 93. He was like an old Zen monk who had found enlightenment ....

When new immigrants from all over the world acquire Canadian citizenship, they ceremonially swear to respect each other regardless of race, religion and original nationality. That said, “delicate sentiments” or, worse, “enduring grudges” may still remain between those of Jewish…