My mother, brother and I experienced our first Christmas and met a sailor dressed as Santa Claus aboard the Japanese ocean liner Hikawa Maru destined for Vancouver.  We left Yokohama on December 1958—a journey of two weeks.

The Hikawa Maru (named after the Shrine in Saitama) was built in 1929 in Yokohama for the Nippon Yusen KK line and made its maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on May 13, 1930.  I imagine that many Nisei are familiar with this ship since it plied the Pacific Ocean carrying Japanese immigrants to North America. It also carried Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany. During World War II, the Japanese military converted it into a hospital ship. In 1954, the boat was refitted and returned to carrying passengers until her termination from service in 1960. It began a new life in 2008 as a restaurant in Yokohama Bay.

As I prepared to leave Kagoshima, my well meaning grade two classmates at Taniyama Shogakko Elementary School gave me cultural advice on what awaited me in North America (of course none of them were speaking from experience). Some warned me about something called snow and how much it fell there—I had never seen snow before! Shockingly, someone added that Canadians ate raw vegetables.  An unthinkable act since we used human waste to enrich the soil. Later in January—surrounded by snow—I recall that the first letter to my cousins was confirmation of this horrific Canadian dietary practice. I am sure that it was a source of much discussion with my former classmates.  As for the skinny Japanese sailor dressed as Santa aboard the Hikawa Maru, I could not understand at the time why a man would dress  in a red attire; fly through the air; break into a house through a chimney (no chimneys in Japanese homes) all in order to leave gifts for children.  Why not use the front door, I thought.

Like the iconic Japanese song of immigrants, Watari Dori (Birds of Passage), we are all transients looking for a place to alight and to call home. Fortunately, I have returned to Japan numerous times, but the Japan of my youth has long disappeared and only the active volcano, Sakurajima and the spirits that dwell around the family o-tera (Buddhist temple); Taniyama Jinja (Shinto shrine) and the ancestral graves are my links to the country of my birth. We wander a thousand miles on our personal journey only to realize that we can never go back and all the answers to our quest were right there in our adopted country. Canada is my family’s home now and this is where our ashes will be buried. It is my personal hope that on this holiday season you will finally find your home.

Justice for UBC Students
On November 16, 2011, the University of British Columbia decided to honour 76 Japanese Canadian students with special degrees during the 2012 Spring Convocation.  Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the Canadian Government’s imposition of the internment policy.  As a result Nikkei students at UBC had their studies disrupted and were never able to complete their studies.  The University will use the occasion of the 70th anniversary to educate future students about this dark chapter in Canadian history and will exhibit, from their holdings, historical records pertaining to this period.  This campaign succeeded due to the leadership of Mary Kitagawa and her committee who mobilized the Canadian community into action.  On behalf of the NAJC, I congratulate Mary for her unrelenting determination and for a job well done.
Read interview with Mary Kitagawa in The Bulletin

National Administrator
On December 5th, Sally Sweatman will assume the challenging task of NAJC National Administrator, taking over from Lucy Yamashita who has given us stellar service for many years. Sally comes to us with a wealth of community and fundraising experience and we look forward to her ideas as our organization moves towards future sustainability and more innovative programming. Lucy, as the current President of the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, and a general member of the NAJC will be continue to be busy in her volunteer work. On behalf of the NEB and the member organizations, thank you Lucy for your unheralded years of service!

On behalf of the National Association of Japanese Canadians I wish you good health and happiness  in the New Year. 

The mostly Nisei volunteers reminded me of the small number of dedicated people who put in long hours to ensure the survival of Nikkei communities across Canada.  We must keep those cultural doors open for our youth who will one day – as part of their quest for self-identity as Japanese Canadians -  enter.  In the reports presented at the meeting, member organizations listed a myriad of programmes and activities undertaken in the past year: taiko, odori, karaoke, language schools, mochi tsuki, golf tournaments, obon, film nights, storytelling, human rights, keiro kai, shinnen kai, salmon barbeques, martial arts, fujin kai, heritage preservation initiatives, sake tasting, Japan Relief, matsuri, ghost town tours, digital storytelling,  curling bonspiel, annual picnics and other events reflective of their region but always with the intent  to engage the younger generation and to honour the Nikkei heritage.  I was happy to see, in attendance, several young people in the audience and look forward to having them take a leadership role in the NAJC soon. We officially welcomed 7 new individual members and 2 new organizations (Yukon, Victoria) to the NAJC.  It is my personal goal to continue to increase membership across Canada.

During dinner, Lillian Nakamura Maguire, NAJC Vice President and Human Rights Committee Chair, unveiled the new Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Award which recognizes an individual or organization in Canada that has contributed to the development or promotion of human rights and equity.  The award will be given every two years.  We were delighted to have Gordon’s partner, Susan Carnahan and daughter Marion Oldenburg in attendance for the unveiling of the award. The Kamloops and Area Chapter of the NAJC, with support from the Vernon Japanese Cultural Society, has graciously volunteered to host the 2012 AGM.

The Myth
As I noted in my previous article, the NAJC is faced with financial challenges and we have had to cut back on administrative efficiencies in order to prevent further erosion of community based programmes and grants.  The national executive committee must re-examine its financial paradigm to find a more effective use of the limited funds and will engage in an aggressive sustaining fund drive.  The National Executive Board will be meeting in Winnipeg in January 2012 for a strategic planning session to examine the current health of the NAJC and re-examine its vision and mission statements and translate that into effective programmes.   There is a persistent myth that non-profit cultural organizations that join the NAJC will lose their charitable tax status – nothing can be further from the truth.    Art Miki challenged this myth in 2006 when he held discussions with the Charities Secretariat of the Revenue Canada Agency.  Art’s report noted that:  “As long as the registered charity remains independent in its operation, they can be members of other organizations that are not charitable in status (i.e. NAJC).”

As evidence of this, over 50% of the current NAJC member organizations are cultural centres.  There appears to be a paradigm shift towards amalgamating the JCCA/NAJC with charitable Nikkei cultural organizations in order to consolidate financial and human resources – for such a small community as ours, this makes eminent sense.   I support such a move and am aware of two current member organizations that are exploring this option.

When I assumed the presidency last October, I was shocked to learn that public donations to the NAJC were non-existent!. We have done a poor job of soliciting public funds. With the signing of the 1988 Redress Agreement the NAJC helped the vast majority of Japanese Canadians living in Canada and Japan. Later, working with the Redress Foundation, the NAJC distributed 83 million dollars of seed money (including interest) to local JC communities to ensure the survival and growth of Nikkei culture and heritage. The Endowment Fund was established in 1990 to give young Japanese Canadians funds to assist them to achieve a higher level of development (SEAD) and funds for programmes and projects that assist local communities (CD). To date, 1.150 million dollars have been awarded by the Endowment Fund.
For this coming year, the NEB has set the following priorities:
1. Organization of NAJC files currently held in storage in Winnipeg;
2. Pursuit of government funding to upgrade the New Denver Museum;
3. Digital Storytelling initiative of the Human Rights Committee;
4. Immediate upgrade of the NAJC website;
5. Programming around the 70th anniversary of Nikkei internment;
6. Ongoing monitoring of NAJC expenditures;
7. Sustaining Fund initiatives; and
8. Ongoing governance; review of bylaws and best past practices.
It is evident that the NAJC must appeal to the Nikkei community for donations in order to increase our sustaining fund. In addition, the role of the National Administrator will be expanded in November when they will have the additional responsibility of pursuing external funding sources. We are currently in exploratory discussions with the board of the Hastings Park Foundation to determine how they can assist us in the area of fund-raising.

The National Association of Japanese Canadians has, over the years, gained the experience and credibility with all levels of governments in Canada. As seen with the recent Japan Relief drive, our member organizations mobilized immediately across Canada and raised over one million dollars for Japan. We are the only national Nikkei organization that speaks on behalf of human rights for Canadians and have made the preservation of our culture and history a priority. We are seen by other ethno-cultural organizations as one of the leaders in the advocacy of human rights for all Canadians.

At this time I would like to make a personal appeal to you for a monetary donation to the national NAJC. In addition, if you wish to participate in the community nationally, I encourage you to take out an individual membership. Please visit our website for further information: www.najc.ca

Please make cheques out to the NAJC and mail to:
NAJC, 3rd floor, 207 Donald Street,
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1M5

In closing, I would like to thank Angela Foreman and Pamela Sugiman for their service to the NAJC executive board. We are richer and stronger for their years of service. I applaud their decision to spend more time with their family – Kodomo no tame ni.

I have in my possession my maternal Grandfather’s mon-tsuki  – a kimono bearing  the maru no tachibana  family crest of a single orange blossom within a circle.  The black silk kimono is quite worn and bears the faint pencil marks made by a relative who, at one time, was thinking of cutting it up to make silk handkerchiefs.  Luckily it was rescued in time by my parents!  I believe that this inanimate object possess a mana, or life energy and is a tangible ‘footprint’ of my grandfather’s existence on earth.  It is a permanent bridge to my childhood in Kagoshima.  We all leave behind such residual spiritual traces of our short time on this earth.

My grandfather was a humble fisherman but his guidance and love shaped who I am today.  When my family visited Kagoshima in 2006, it was important to me that my sons visit the family graves so that they could make a bond with the past.  I remind them that their existence was due to the generations of family members who struggled to survive.  By so doing, I have taken stock and opened the ghosts of memory past.  Given the recording devices available to us today (even on our cell phone), we can leave larger and more permanent family ‘footprint’ for future generations.  For a small community such as ours, these records are historically and anthropologically important.  Social networks allow ordinary people a voice to honour their past and share it with a vast audience.

The Canadian government policy of diaspora against the Nikkei community during and after World War II was meant to destroy our community.  The subsequent high intermarriage rate and the lack of any large communities hastened our integration and assimilation.  Digital Storytelling (DST) will allow us to maintain and enhance our community through cyberspace.  DST is democratic, immediate and allows the subject to post thoughtful insights about their experiences that is not sanitized by ‘facilitators’.

The NAJC Heritage Committee, has made a copy of the book, Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community by Joe Lambert to all chapters prior to our annual general meeting.  At the October AGM in Edmonton, we will be having a Digital Story telling session for delegates and alternates led by David Tanaka of Lethbridge who has been involved in this initiative for many years.  The session should be an important step in accelerating the creation and collection of our peoples history.

I encourage readers to investigate Digital Storytelling and use whatever recording devices that you have to capture your family’s unique history and leave those digital ‘footprints’ for future generations.