Michael Kenji Abe
Michael Kenji Abe is a third generation Japanese Canadian, born and raised in Ontario, Canada. His grandparents immigrated to Canada from Kyushu, Japan in the early 20th century. His father’s family came from Beppu, Oita. His father was born in Port Alberni and interned in Lemon Creek and settled in Hamilton, Ontario after the war. His mother’s family emigrated from Obuchi Village in the Fukuoka area of Kyushu beginning in 1907 and were interned in Popoff and New Denver.
Michael spent 6 years in Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan and has resided in Victoria, British Columbia since 1993 with his Japanese wife, Izumi (いずみ) and two children, Kento (健人), and Natsuki (夏姫). He is the past president of the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society and was Project Manager for Landscapes of Injustice at the University of Victoria from 2014-2022. He is now the Project Manager for Past Wrongs, Future Choices, although on temporary assignment with the JC Legacies Society for 2023. He enjoys golf, shodo, sumi-e, and martial arts in his spare time.
Updated June 2023
Stories from This Author
The Journey of a Piece of Furniture, a Piece of Family History
Jan. 20, 2021 • Michael Kenji Abe
The ongoing series of stories arising from the Landscapes of Injustice claims series has been posted on the Touched by Dispossession section of their website. A past article in this section from 2016 about my family’s history in Paldi prompted an email from a reader and sparked the remarkable journey of the repossession of an end table built by my Uncle Bob Toyota before the war. Here is the provenance of this piece of family history. * * * * …
Connecting a Family’s Lost Fleet to Historical Documents
Oct. 29, 2019 • Michael Kenji Abe
VICTORIA — It was an honour to speak at the event launch for The Lost Fleet exhibit at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in January. The exhibit was on loan from the Vancouver Maritime Museum from January to March. At the launch, I spoke about Susan Fukuyama and her family. A Sansei, third generation Japanese Canadian who lives in Victoria, Susan has a deep family history tied to the fishing boat industry. She has done some incredible research on …
Paldi—The Town That History Plum Forgot
Oct. 17, 2016 • Michael Kenji Abe
My mother, Ruth Abe (nee Toyota) was a young girl when her family was uprooted and sent to Popoff and New Denver during WWII. She was the second youngest of 14 children born to Shoshichi and Kiriye (nee Obuchi) Toyota. They lived in the sawmill town of Paldi, between Duncan and Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Next door was Shoshichi’s brother, Daigoro who, incidentally, was married to Kiriye’s sister, Hanayo. There are often stories of picture brides meeting their husband …
