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: https://vncs.ca/tea-house-initiative/

Live performances of Japanese Problem

In 1942, over 8,000 Canadians were detained in barns at Hastings Park
—the effects, and the memories haunt us to this day.
JAPANESE PROBLEM is a title derived from the nomenclature of WWII, but containing in it the understanding that the citizens affected at the time were neither Japanese–they were overwhelmingly legal residents/citizens of Canada, nor problematic–with zero verifiable connections to activities against Canada.

JAPANESE PROBLEM invites an audience into a stall, which residents have turned into a temporary home and place of wonder, as they are filled with the uncertainty of their next destination.
The piece exists in the contemporary moment simultaneously, where evidence of Hastings Parks’s former tenants has been erased, where survivors are uncertain if they want their names included in a memorial; and where refugees to North America are being treated in a fashion that is terrifyingly familiar.

The event will take place at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on Sunday, December 3, 2017 in the Spencer Mansion.

There will be 3 programs to choose from:
Program 1 2:00-3:20 pm (registration 1:45 pm)
Program 2 3:30-4:50 pm (registration 3:15 pm)
Program 3 6:00-7:20 pm (registration 5:45 pm)

The program will begin with registration in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria lobby, with pre-performance Japanese refreshments and light snacks in the Kearly room and Mansion foyer. There will be a short presentation on the latest research by Landscapes of Injustice. The performance begins about 15 minutes into the program in the Spencer Room, at which point latecomers will not be able to enter so please ensure you arrive to register prior to the start of the program time.

Seats for the program is $30 per person. Seating is limited. Please indicate your first and second choice of times.

To guarantee your attendance, contact Michael Abe at mkabe2011@gmail.com

Due to the generosity of patrons, there are some seats available free of charge for youth and those on limited income. Contact Mike to request these seats.

For more information about the play, check out www.japaneseproblem.ca

“150 Years and Continuing: Fighting for Justice on the Coast” in Salt Spring Island Library

The Salt Spring Historical Society, the Salt Spring Archives, and the Japanese Garden Society are hosting an exhibition ‘150 Years and Continuing: Fighting for Justice on the Coast’ for the month of November in the Salt Spring Library’s Program Room.

Ten big panels of visuals and text will guide you through the history of the struggle of the First Nations and Asian Canadians who faced injustice, colonialism, and racial exclusion.

Two panels describe local Salt Spring stories of the First Nations and of the Iwasaki Family who used to own nearly 600 acres of land which was taken away from them after they were uprooted from island.

The exhibition was developed by an inter-university group called the Asian Canadians on Vancouver Island Project (ACVI) headed by Dr. John Price of the University of Victoria.

Upcoming talks during the month of the exhibition:
November 15th (Wed) 7pm – 8pm: The Uprooting of Japanese Canadians from Saltspring Island by Brian Smallshaw

November 25th (Sat) 3pm – 4pm: Historical Charcoal Pit Kilns on the Southern Gulf Islands as a legacy of Japanese Canadians on the Coast by the Japanese Garden Society

November 28th (Tues) 7pm – 7:30pm: The Story of the Murakami Family by Keiko Mary Murakami Kitagawa

‘These stories can be unsettling, challenging and even disorienting… we encourage everyone to stick with the discomfort and embrace Canada’s whole history so that we can move forward together toward true reconciliation and creating a Canada we all want to share.’ (ACVI project synopsis)

For Immediate Release
August 28, 2017

Luncheon shines a light on Japanese-Canadian Internment 75 years later  

The Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society is sharing the story of the tragedy of the Second World War relocation and internment of Japanese Canadians with the community at a special luncheon slated for Sunday, Sept. 10.

More than a dozen Internment survivors living in the Greater Victoria area will speak about their experiences on the 75th anniversary of the Internment to highlight this important history to the broader community.

“Because it’s so hard to imagine this happening today, it’s critical that all Canadians — whether they have Japanese heritage or not — remember what happened with the Internments during the Second World War,” said VNCS President Tsugio Kurushima. “We are fortunate to still have first-hand witnesses who can share their stores with the generations who followed them.”

Lasting from 1942 until 1949 (four years after the end of the war), Japanese-Canadians living in Coastal British Columbia were detained by the government, relocated to camps and farms in the Interior and in the rest of Canada, restricted in their movement and stripped of their businesses and homes. In fact, the sale of their personal property was used to fund the Internments.

“People who never committed a crime were treated like criminals simply because of their heritage,” Kurushima added. “It’s a wrong the Canadian government apologized for in 1988 along with the launch of a redress program.”

There will also be a presentation by Jordan Stanger-Ross, Project Director of the Landscapes of Injustice project housed at the University of Victoria. He will give a an update on the project exploring the forced dispossession of Japanese Canadians.

Where and When:

• What: 75th Anniversary of Internment Luncheon
• Where: Ambrosia Event Centre, 638 Fisgard St.
• When: Sunday, Sept 10, 1 to 4:30 pm
• Cost: $15 (Children 5-12 half price), includes buffet lunch with 2 hot entrees including a vegetarian lasagna option
• Tickets: Contact Patti Ayukawa at Real English Victoria, #301 – 1111 Blanshard St (250-858-8445).
• More info: InternmentAnniversary@vncs.ca

 

Media contact:
Tsugio Kurushima, President
Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society
(250) 384-2654

Remembering the Internment 75 years on

Detained having never committed a crime. Forced to leave home. Stripped of property and possessions. Threatened with deportation to a country they had never seen.

It’s hard to imagine from the distance of 75 years that anything like this could happen in Canada. But it did. It is exactly the experience so many Japanese Canadians survived through as the government forced them to abandon their lives on the B.C. coast and move to internment camps in the Interior and through the rest of Canada.

Because it’s so hard to imagine, it’s critical that all Canadians — whether they have Japanese heritage or not — remember what happened during the Internments during the Second World War. To help people remember the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society is marking the 75th anniversary with a special luncheon Sept. 10.

A number of individuals from the Greater Victoria Nikkei community who lived through the Internment will share their experiences and memories at the luncheon. Their stories will offer a living document of what must never happen again.

There will also be a presentation by Jordan Stanger-Ross, Project Director of the Landscapes of Injustice project housed at the University of Victoria. Jordan will give a summary of their findings and describe the next phase of the project exploring the forced dispossession of Japanese Canadians.

There are a limited number of tickets available, so be sure to get yours today.

Where and When:

• What: 75th Anniversary of Internment Luncheon
• Where: Ambrosia Event Centre, 638 Fisgard St.
• When: Sunday, Sept 10, 1 to 4:30 pm
• Cost: $15 (Children 5-12 half price), includes buffet lunch with 2 hot entrees including a vegetarian lasagna option
• Tickets: Contact Patti Ayukawa at Real English Victoria, #301 – 1111 Blanshard St (250-858-8445). Also available at Obon Matsuri event August 13 (noon to 4:30pm) Ross Bay Villa
• More info: InternmentAnniversary@vncs.ca

Public Screening:
A Right To Remain

Join filmmaker Greg Masuda for a screening of “A Right To Remain” followed by Q&A and discussion.

“The Right To Remain”, a CBC documentary, looks at the Downtown Eastside residents and the fight to save the community from development. Started as an idea five years ago, Greg Masuda accumulated over 300 hours of footage. He says “’The Right to Remain’ is a culmination of my entire career as a filmmaker. As a Japanese Canadian, I could not resist participating in the advocacy for the Downtown Eastside community as it looked down the barrel of the real estate industry in the second most expensive city in the world.”

Once known as “Japantown”, this area was home to thousands of Japanese Canadians before World War II.

Thursday, April 27, 2017
3:00-4:30 pm
Cinecenta
University of Victoria
Victoria BC

Free and open to the public

“The Legacy of Japanese Canadian Redress: A Reflection/An Assessment”

Wednesday, March 29, 2017
4:30 pm | David Strong Bld C116

Sunday, June 5, 2016 Ross Bay Cemetery. Japanese at Ross Bay. This tour will be conducted by Gordon and Ann-Lee Switzer, authors of Sakura in Stone (2015) and Gateway to Promise (2012) on the histories of Japanese in Victoria. RBC includes graves of about 150 Japanese and is the location of the impressive Kakehashi Monument dedicated to Japanese pioneers.

SUNDAY TOUR START AT 2:00 PM   Charge:  $5 for non-members;  $2 for members.  Tours at Ross Bay Cemetery are signified RBC and start in front of Oregano’s, Fairfield Plaza, 1516 Fairfield Rd.
No reservations needed.

Contact www.oldcem.bc.ca or 250.598.8870.

2015 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembered
70th Anniversary
What have we learned?

Thursday, August 6th 2015
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Esquimalt Gorge Park
1070 Tillicum Road, south of Gorge Rd.
Cost: FREE

The annual lantern ceremony, marking the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan.

Lantern making starts at 7:30 pm, with words and songs of peace at 8 pm, followed by floating the lanterns in the Gorge.

Bring a blanket and/or chair to sit on, a flashlight and a battery candle if you wish.

Floating lantern supplies will be provided.

** Sponsored by the Victoria Raging Grannies and the Physicians for Global Survival**
Call 250 381 5120 for more information