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A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Kazuko Makihara

Part 5: Life and Retirement with Takeshi in Canada

As a young man in Onomichi, Kazuko’s husband Takeshi got experience writing for a religious sect called Nanmyo Horen Gekkyou, which helped him become ...

community en

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Kazuko Makihara

Part 4: Return to Canada and Building a New Life in Vancouver

Both Kazuko and Takeshi continued working in Kobe and financially supporting the education of Kazuko’s younger brother and sister till they finished high school ...

identity en ja pt

Reflections of a three-time immigrant Japanese mother: Globalization and identity on-the-move

Figuring out my own identity is a challenge, and I believe I am not alone. Most of us have probably grappled with the question "Who ...

identity en ja es pt

Nikkei Chronicles #8 — Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations

My Roots - The Legacy of Matsugoro Ohto

In the spring of 1869, a group of Aizu warriors migrated to California after their defeat during the Boshin Civil War. They founded the Wakamatsu ...

community en ja es pt

Nikkei Chronicles #8 — Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations

My Hero: Kiyoshi Kuwahara

Over time, my concept of who is a hero has changed substantially, and the people I admired for their accomplishments and virtues when I was ...

community en ja

Yoemon Shinmasu – My Grandfather's Life in Seattle

Part 2 – Yoemon’s first job and life in Seattle

Barbershop business in Seattle Part one introduced Yoemon’s hometown, Kamai, and how he sailed across the ocean via Hawaii, pretending to be a sailor ...

community en

Japanese Canadian Internment and Family Experiences - Part 2

Read Part 1 >> While the family was in camp, the Canadian government was doing everything in its power to rid the Japanese Canadians from British ...

migration en

Japanese Canadian Internment and Family Experiences - Part 1

The Japanese Canadians were among the first non-native settlers of Salt Spring Island. The 1901 census shows 59 islanders of Japanese origin. In 1941, there ...

community en ja

Yoemon Shinmasu – My Grandfather's Life in Seattle

Part 1 – From Kamai to Seattle

Kamai Village in Yamaguchi Prefecture Kaminosekicho Kamai in Yamaguchi Prefecture is a village on the southern coast of Nagashima, a thin island in Seto Inland ...

identity en

Nikkei Chronicles #8 — Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations

My Hero: Setsutaro Hasegawa

By the time I was born in the early 1960s, the long shadow of World War Two was starting to fade. The 1950s and ’60s ...