War was the farthest thing from Maki’s mind even after three years since the war had started in Europe in 1941, as life in Canada had remained peaceful, normal and predictable. People went about their daily activities, raised families and … more »
Nitaro Hamaguchi was born on March 18, 1879 in Kumamoto, Japan. His family was very poor and starving. As the eldest son, his duty was to look after his parents and siblings. He had heard that Canada was a wild, … more »
Obachan is a force to be reckoned with. She guides me through Tokyo Station with the speed and efficiency of someone less than half her age. Her body, eighty-three years in the making, carries its own weight, its own burdens, … more »
1942 draws to a close with the Watada family still interned in the abandoned town of Minto, BC, during the beginning of the Japanese Canadian ‘evacuation’. Terry Watada reimagines his father’s experiences based on a diary written during the war … more »
My father was a handsome, rugged man; tough, fairly tall (five–foot-ten in his youth) and quiet. He was a lumberjack before WWII. In 1920, he was abandoned in Vancouver at the age of fourteen by his father. Since the inheritance … more »
I got a fire in my stomach. I was now a white woman, so I decided to put that to the test. I felt inspired to go out to one of the offices I applied to a … more »
I woke up and hit the snooze button on my phone again. Why do I set alarms if I don’t even get up? I didn’t have anything to get up for. I laid in bed depressed as hell. Three months, … more »
We are pleased to begin Asian Heritage Month with a poem inspired by the Indigenous writer Richard Wagamese by W.B. Akeroyd, which details his musings on his background as a Hapa man growing up in British Columbia.
My mother’s … more »
By Margaret Inoue
In 2010, the Japanese Canadian National Museum featured a photo exhibit of Japanese internment camps, which presented the contradictory but unique perspectives of American photographer Ansel Adams and Canadian photographer Leonard Frank.
How do we learn about … more »