Sedai Corner - May 2011
June 10th, 2011
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
The Sedai Project is pleased to report that as of April 30, 2011, 97 individuals have assisted us in documenting and preserving the Japanese Canadian history by sharing their stories with us in a Sedai interview. We would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Patricia Adachi, Mickey Maikawa, and Akio Oda for allowing us to preserve their unique stories. A special thank you goes to our oldest Sedai interviewee, Mickey Maikawa. We congratulate Mickey on celebrating his 100th birthday later this year!
Here are a few more questions to help you continue to develop and compose your story. Did you attend Japanese language school? Did you learn Japanese in Canada or did you go to Japan to learn? Who was your teacher? How many children were in your class? What did your non-Japanese friends think about Japanese school? Did your siblings and friends attend Japanese language school?
We look forward to completing our goal of 100 individuals soon! Remember, every story and life experience is unique to each individual and every story is important to our cultural heritage. We would like to ask those who have a story to please help us reach our goal and preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. Anyone who wishes to share their story or who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians please contact Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - April 2011
May 12th, 2011
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
We express our sincere thoughts, hopes, and wishes to everyone who have been affected by the devastating occurrences in Japan. These events demonstrate how important family, friends, community, and history really are to a culture; this is the foundation of the Sedai project. We are deeply saddened for those who lost loved ones, friends, homes, and communities. We send our best wishes to everyone.
The Sedai Project is pleased to report on another successful month. As of March 31, 2011, 95 individuals have assisted us in documenting and preserving the Japanese Canadian history by sharing their stories with us in a Sedai interview. We would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Dr. Arnold Arai, Margaret Adamson, Thomas and Shizue Matsui, Nori and Blanche Kanashiro, and Tomi Kadonaga for allowing us to preserve their unique stories.
Here are a few more questions to help you continue to develop and compose your story. Did you have a nickname when you were growing up? What was your favourite activity/sport/hobby? Did you create any games, or make any toys? What are some activities/sports/hobbies that you remember seeing or doing when you were growing up, that you don’t see the younger generations doing today? Remember, every story and life experience is unique to each individual and every story is important to our cultural heritage. Reminisce through photographs and documents to help refresh your memory and don’t dispose of them in the garbage. If you have items, documents and photographs that you no longer wish to keep please donate them to the JCCC Heritage. It is important for us to keep track of Heritage items so we ask that you please fill out a Donation Agreement Form.
The Sedai Project’s current goal is to complete over 100 interviews before the end of April 2011. We would like to ask those who have a story to please help us reach our goal and preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. Anyone who wishes to share their story or who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians please contact Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - March 2011
March 17th, 2011
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
The Sedai Project is pleased to report on another successful month. As of February 28, 2011, 88 individuals have assisted us in documenting and preserving the Japanese Canadian history by sharing their stories with us in a Sedai interview. We would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Susan Hidaka, Byron Tanaka, Bob and Shirley Takagi, Tats and Kim Sakauye, and George Nakamura for allowing us to preserve their unique stories.
A special thank you goes to Betty Nishizawa for her generous donation to the Sedai Project. Every contribution is significantly beneficial in our progress. Whether your support is a story or a monetary donation, it is greatly appreciated by the Sedai Committee.
Many individuals have been inquiring about the information collected and documented for the Sedai Project. To help get your story started here are a few questions that are generally asked throughout the interview. When and why did your family migrate to Canada? Where were you born/where did you grow up and what do you remember about those years? What do you remember about the Japanese community before the war years? Remember, every story and life experience is unique to each individual and every story is important to our cultural heritage. A picture is often said to represent a thousand words. Reminisce through photographs and documents to help refresh your memory and don’t forget to share what you find with your family!
The Sedai Project’s current goal is to complete over 100 interviews before the end of April 2011. We would like to ask those who have a story to please help us reach our goal and preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. Anyone who wishes to share their story or who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians please contact Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - February 2011
March 17th, 2011
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
The Sedai Project is pleased to report on another successful month. As of January 31, 2011, 81 individuals have assisted us in documenting and preserving the Japanese Canadian history by sharing their stories with us in a Sedai interview. We would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Pollie and Tak Nishino, Arthur Ikeda, Masashi Shin, Miyoko Nakamura, and Nick Yoshida for allowing us to preserve their unique stories.
A special thank you goes to Dr. Arnold Arai, Mickey Matsubayashi , Keo Shibatani, Hideo Takahashi, and Toshiko Usami for their generous donations to the Sedai Project. Every contribution is significantly beneficial in our progress. Whether your support is a story or a monetary donation, it is greatly appreciated by the Sedai Committee.
Many individuals have been inquiring about the footage documented at the Japanese Canadian Experience Conference: sharing your stories of the war years on November 19-21, 2010. Currently, we are in the process of transcribing the stories that were shared the weekend of the conference. The Sedai Project would like to thank Megan Marubashi for volunteering to assist us on this enormous task. Megan plays an integral role in the post-conference work and we appreciate her dedication to the conference and Sedai Project.
The Sedai Project’s current goal is to complete over 100 interviews before the end of April 2011. We would like to ask those who have a story to please help us reach our goal and preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. Anyone who wishes to share their story or who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians please contact Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - January 2011
January 12th, 2011
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
An extensive amount of our Japanese Canadian history has been documented within the past few months. As of December 31, 2010, 76 individuals have assisted us in documenting and preserving the Japanese Canadian history by sharing their stories with us in a Sedai interview. We would like to extend our heartfelt thank you to Alma Miike, Sumi Uno, Ted and Joyce Izukawa, George Funamoto, Junji Ikeno, Noji Murase, George Tsushima, Setsuko Thurlow, Akira Roy Nagamastu, Keo Shibatani, and Hideo Takahashi for allowing us to preserve their unique stories.
Not only are we thankful to those who have completed Sedai interviews, but we are also grateful to everyone who participated in the Japanese Canadian Experience Conference. The weekend long conference was held November 19-21, 2010 and featured 100 individuals who shared their war years experience stories. Those who attended were also fortunate to hear the Lemon Creek Harmonica Band play wonderful classics; Greg Robinson’s speech on how Japanese Canadians have shaped Canada’s multicultural history; Dr. Satsuki Ina’s speech on the critical importance of sharing everyone’s individual stories; Frank Moritsugu’s Japanese Canadian history timeline; and Brendan Uegama’s film Henry’s Glasses. Our extended gratitude goes to the hard working volunteers, JCCC staff, and the conference steering committee for assisting in such a momentous event.
We strongly encourage those who attended the conference to continue to share their stories with the Sedai project. Many individuals found the 20 minute timeline at the conference to be too short. We would like to ask those who could not share their story/complete story to please help us preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations and anyone who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians by contacting Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
More than 400 Gather for Landmark Conference at JCCC
January 12th, 2011
More than 400 Gather for Landmark Conference at JCCC
For three days from November 19-21, 2010, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) of Toronto, hosted more than 400 delegates, representing five generations of Canadians of Japanese heritage, for The Japanese Canadian Experience Conference: Sharing Your Stories of the War Years, a truly historic gathering of our community.
The conference began with a wine and cheese reception on Friday evening and an excellent speech by Dr. Greg Robinson, a specialist in North American Ethnic Studies and U.S. Political History, and an Associate Professor of History at the University of Quebec at Montreal. He is the author of A Tragedy of Democracy-Japanese Confinement in North America (Columbia University Press, 2009), the first book to analyze in a North American context, the wartime internment and relocation of west coast citizens of Japanese ancestry and in his remarks at the conference, he provided an historical context for the stories that would be told over the following two days.
The Saturday plenary session was opened by keynote speaker, Dr. Satsuki Ina, Professor Emeritus in the School of Education at California State University, Sacramento, and founder of the Family Study Centre. Dr. Ina was born in the Tule Lake Segregation Centre where her family was imprisoned for four years. She is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in cross-cultural counselling and has conducted sessions for Japanese Americans who, like herself, were children in the prison camps. She has also produced two documentaries on the Japanese-American wartime experiences: Children of the Camps and From a Silk Cocoon. Dr. Ina spoke of the long term impact of the wartime experiences of the Nikkei, not only on the immediate survivors, but on the sense of identity of the Sansei, Yonsei and Gosei.
Frank Moritsugu, journalist, educator and war veteran, provided a seminar on the history of the Japanese Canadians and there was also a special showing of Sansei film director, Brendan Uegama’s, Henry’s Glasses, accompanied by a director’s talk.
At the conference, more than 100 “storytellers” volunteered to share their personal recollections of their wartime experiences with 300 listeners in 10 facilitated break-out sessions. All stories were videotaped for the JCCC’s Sedai Project (www.sedai.ca). These personal accounts were fascinating, often heartbreaking, and many had never been told before. Certain recurring themes emerged from these stories:
-the indomitable spirit and resilience of the Issei and Nisei, who suffered the injustices of relocation, internment and dispossession, with dignity and stoicism;
-the manner in which the Issei sought to protect and shield their children from the full brunt of those injustices by swallowing their bitterness and carrying on with their lives, both during and after the war;
- the particular plight of the women and girls, many of whom were left to fend for themselves when husbands, fathers and brothers were separated from them and sent to road camps as forced labourers or imprisoned in faraway places such as Angler.
“This amazing conference brought together five generations of our community, including many grandchildren who accompanied their parents and grandparents to hear their stories, and highlighted the critical importance of sharing and preserving these personal accounts for future generations of Canadians” said Lorene Nagata, Chair of the Sedai Project, JCCC Board member and conference organizer.
This conference, a mammoth undertaking, was organized impeccably by Lorene, Lisa Uyeda of the JCCC’s Sedai Project, and the Conference Committee and was generously sponsored by the JCCC Foundation, the Nelson Arthur Hyland Foundation, the JCCC Sedai Project, Kirin Beer and Gekkeikan.
C.L. Sugiyama
January 10, 2011
Sedai Corner - November 2010
December 10th, 2010
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born in the pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
The Sedai Committee is pleased to report a total of 9 interviews were completed within the month of September. As of September 30, 2010, we have a total of 68 individuals who have devoted their time and stories to the Sedai project! On behalf of the Sedai Committee we would like to extend our sincerest thank-you to Mary Matsui, Harry Yoshida, Jean Peasah, Nick Yoshida, Kay Fujiwara, Gloria Sumiya, and Mits Sumiya.
A special thank-you is given to Lillian Michiko Blakey and her children Lisa, Jennifer and nephew Christopher for a unique Sedai interview. Lillie Reiko Yano was the mother of Lillian and grandmother to Lisa, Jennifer and Christopher. In honour of Lillie Reiko Yano, her memoirs were read by her family members and they were captured on film for the Sedai Project. If you would like to read your memoirs, or a beloved family members memoirs then please contact Lisa for further information.
This month the Sedai Project has been fortunate to receive a generous donation from Bill Naruse. We appreciate the support and would like to personally thank Bill Naruse for his wonderful contribution. The Sedai Project is very important to our committee members and to our community, and we are thankful for everyone’s support and contribution.
Thank-you again to all of those who continue to contribute to the Sedai Project! Our progress is growing thanks to everyone’s efforts but we still need your help to build our community’s history. Everyone has a different story, a different experience and a different memory and we believe each memory is important and enriched with our Japanese Canadian history! Please help us preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations and anyone who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians by contacting Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - October 2010
December 10th, 2010
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
The Sedai Committee is pleased to report another successful month. For the month of August, 10 interviews were completed. As of August 31, 2010, we have a total of 57 individuals who have devoted their time and stories to the Sedai project! On behalf of the Sedai Committee we would like to extend our sincerest thank-you to Polly Shimizu, Ross Shin, Roy Matsui, Yukio Ode, Laiko Matsubayashi, Rose Aihoshi, Chiyo Seko, Jim Koyanagi, George Masuda, Tosh Hashimoto, Frank Shimoda, Harold Takayesu, and Stony Nakano.
Within the month of August, Sedai was fortunate enough to be included in a unique group interview arranged by Norm Ibuki and Jim Koyanagi. Norm Ibuki led a wonderful discussion on the history of Japanese Canadian baseball with Jim Koyanagi, George Masuda, Tosh Hashimoto, and Frank Shimoda. Many fond memories and stories were shared about their involvement with the Japanese Canadian Hamilton Nisei Baseball league.
Thank-you again to all of those who continue to contribute to the Sedai Project! Our progress is growing thanks to everyone’s efforts but we still need your help to build our community’s history. Everyone has a different story, a different experience and a different memory and we believe each memory is important and enriched with our Japanese Canadian history! Please help us preserve the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations and anyone who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians by contacting Lisa Uyeda at 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5 or lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303. In the meantime you can also find more information about the project at www.sedai.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - September 2010
September 15th, 2010
Sedai Corner
Within the month of July, the Sedai Committee has dedicated an immense amount of effort and hard work to preserving the Japanese Canadian history. For those of you who are reading Sedai Corner for the first time, the Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, collect and preserve the Japanese Canadian history through audio and video recordings in a relaxed interview format. We continue to search for all Japanese Canadians who were born pre-war and war years to come and share their stories with us.
We are happy to report 12 interviews were completed within the month of July! Overall we are very pleased to announce a total of 44 interviews (as of July 31, 2010) have been completed so far! Our sincerest thank-you to Frank Moritsugu, Sachiko Takahashi, John Uchikata, Margaret Lyons, Shigeo Seko, Hisako Shinkoda, Kei Tsumura, Tosh Uyeda, Tok Suyama, Bill Naruse, Roy Honda, and Kay Honda. Thank-you for contributing your stories to the Sedai project and for understanding the importance of preserving the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. We are very pleased to see our interview numbers are rapidly growing towards our goal of more than 100 interviews. Many interviews have been scheduled for the next few months and Sedai is happy to announce that we continue to have a growing list of participants who want to share their family stories. A special thank-you to Sid Ikeda, Mickey Matsubayashi, Mike Murakami and Peter Wakayama for their dedicated efforts for helping in the continued success of the Sedai Project.
Even though our progress is growing we still need your help to build our community’s history! Do you have a story or memory about your family’s history? If you believe in the importance of preserving your family’s history for your grandchildren and great grandchildren and anyone who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians, then we encourage you to please call or email us to discuss this amazing project. Each memory is important because not one will be the same and each story is enriched with our Japanese Canadian history! Do you have any photographs or documents? Do you know a friend or family member who does? Please contact us at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre 6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5, lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sedai Corner - August 2010
September 15th, 2010
Sedai Corner
The Sedai Project is committed to collecting, documenting, preserving and sharing the history of the Japanese Canadians. We, the Sedai Committee, are pleased to announce our most recent success from the month of June. In the past few years we have completed an astounding 25 interviews. This was only achievable because of the dedication and determination of the Sedai Committee volunteers and a personal thank-you to each and everyone who has dedicated their efforts to helping our project grow. With the assistance of a full time employee, within the month of June alone, we have completed 7 unique interviews!
Our sincerest thank-you to Lily Nagahara, David Azuma, Frank Moritsugu, Mickey Matsubayashi, Dorothy Tanaka, Jean Nagata, and Shoji Takahashi for contributing their stories and memories to the Sedai Project and for understanding the importance of preserving the Japanese Canadian history for our future generations. We are pleased to see our interview numbers are rapidly growing and we are delighted to watch the Sedai Project blossom. Within the next few months we look forward to completing more interviews and we are happy to announce that many interviews have already been scheduled for the upcoming months!
Even though our progress is growing we would like to continue to ask for your help to build our community’s history. If you believe in the importance of preserving your family’s history for your grandchildren and great grandchildren and anyone who wishes to learn more about our history as Japanese Canadians, then we encourage you to please call or email us to discuss this amazing project. Each memory is important because not one will be the same and each story is enriched with our Japanese Canadian history! Do you have a story or memory about your family’s history? Do you have any photographs or documents? Do you know a friend or family member who does? Please contact us at lisa.uyeda@jccc.on.ca or info@sedai.ca or by telephone at 416-441-2345 ext 303.
We look forward to hearing from you!