VNCS

Eiko Henmi Victoria’s Forgotten Poet (Ayukawa commemorative lecture)

Thank You 2018 Japanese Cultural Fair Sponsors and Volunteers!

A big thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers that made this year’s Japanese Cultural Fair a big success! お疲れ様でした！And to all you who made it out to the festival we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed putting it on!

Proudly Sponsored By:

An event like the VNCS Japanese Cultural Fair is only possible when many people work together. Here the VNCS would like to express a big thank you to our Sponsors/Donors. ARIGATOU!

GOLD Level Sponsors

Jaga Silk
Sushi Rice Studios
Sushi Story

Dick Nakamura…gone but never forgotten.

It is with heavy hearts the VNCS has learned that Dick Nakamura passed away on October 8th, 2018. Dick was a prominent leader in the Nikkei community not only in the greater Victoria area but also throughout Vancouver Island. During the 1980’s he worked tirelessly to mobilize the Japanese-Canadians on Vancouver Island in the fight for redress. It was because of Dick’s vision and hard work that the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society was established and got off the ground. We are forever indebted to Dick. He will be sorely missed and certainly not forgotten.

Dick’s full obituary which was published in the Times Colonist on Oct 16, 2018 can be seen here: https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=&pid=190485391&referrer=0&preview=True

A Celebration of Dick’s life will be held:

Sunday, October 28th, 2018
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Beach House Restaurant
5109 Cordova Bay Road, Victoria BC.

Dick’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers or koden, please consider supporting the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society, the Victoria-Morioka Friendship Society, the Nikkei National Museum or the Broadmead Care Society.

2018 VNCS Japanese Cultural Fair

The Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society

proudly presents

The 19th Annual (2018)
Japanese Cultural Fair

Saturday, October 27th
Esquimalt Recreation Centre
10:00AM TO 4:00PM

FREE ADMISSION
Family Friendly!

Savour – delicious sushi, bento boxes and sweet manju desserts.

Experience – ikebana, tea ceremony, traditional Japanese dance
and music.

Learn – Japanese cooking, woodblock printing, Japanese cinema,
and Victoria`s Nitobe Garden (All new this year).

For indepth details visit the fair page here: http://vncs.ca/2018-japanese-cultural-fair/!

CFAX Interview on the Gorge Park Tea House Initiative

CFAX Interview on the Gorge Park Tea House Initiative (Thursday, August 16th)

Click the link below to hear Adam Sterling of CFAX 1070 Radio interviewing VNCS president Tsugio Kurushima on the recent research by UVIC’s Landscape of Injustice Project (https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2018+japanese-teahouse-gorge+news) that is helping to inform/support the intitiative to rebuild a commerative Tea House of somekind in the Esquimalt Gorge Park through the McLoughlin Amenity Funds.

Link to radio interview: http://www.iheartradio.ca/cfax-1070/tsugio-kurushima-president-victoria-nikkei-cultural-society-mike-abe-landscapes-of-injustice-project-manager-1.5948795?mode=Article&autoplay=1.5948795

For more on the Tea House initiative click here: http://vncs.ca/tea-house-initiative/

Obon Grave Washing – Sunday, August 19th (10am start this year!)

Obon Grave Washing (2018)

Cost: FREE

ALL ARE WELCOME

Schedule

10:00am – Grave Washing (meet at the Kakehashi Stone)
12:30pm – Picnic Lunch (bring your own bento)
2:30pm – Obon Buddhist Service

Hosted by the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society and the Japanese Friendship Society with support from The Old Cemeteries Society – we invite you to come and participate with us in honouring those who have gone before.

Ross Bay Cemetery Map showing Japanese Grave clusters.

10:00am – Grave Washing

Everyone meet at the Kakehashi Stone at 10:00am (donations of flowers are welcome, please bring at this time) and then cleaning teams will be assembled to proceed with:

Cleaning of gravestones
Laying flowers and toys for children’s graves
Preparing the Kakehashi Stone

12:30 pm – Picnic Lunch

After the grave washing is complete we invite all to stay for a picnic lunch. Please bring your own bento and the VNCS will provide light snacks, tea and water. This will be a time for folks to get to know each other better.

2:30 pm – Obon Service

Obon service led by Reverend Grant Ikuta, Resident Minister of the Steveston Buddhist Temple and Bishop of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada

Hope to see you there!

Ross Bay Cemetery map – http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/brochurerbc.pdf
Ross Bay Cemetery website – http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_rb.htm

What is Obon?

“Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honour the spirit’s of one’s ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their graves. It is when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.” – from Wikipedia

This is a time for us to get in touch with our past, expressing our true joy and gratitude to not only our immediate ancestors, but to all past causes and conditions that have allowed us to be here today. It is the ultimate recognition and celebration of the oneness of life that has existed in the past and that we continue to be a part of today.

Japanese-Canadian Graves at Ross Bay Cemetery

The Japanese-Canadian community in Victoria was exiled by the Canadian Government during the Pacific War (WWII) and very few ever returned. Therefore, there are no descendants to care for the graves in Ross Bay Cemetery. The VNCS and Victoria Japanese Friendship Society are pleased to continue the work of the Kakehashi (Bridge Building) Project along with the Old Cemeteries Society in caring for the Japanese graves. For more information please read: http://www.jccovictoria.ca/rossbay.html.

Proudly Supported By

The Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society | ビクトリア日系文化協会 Celebrating Japanese-Canadian Culture

Eiko Henmi Victoria’s Forgotten Poet (Ayukawa commemorative lecture)

Thank You 2018 Japanese Cultural Fair Sponsors and Volunteers!

A big thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers that made this year’s Japanese Cultural Fair a big success! お疲れ様でした！And to all you who made it out to the festival we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed putting it on!