Canadian Nikkei Artist
Canadian Nikkei Artist series will focus on those in the Japanese Canadian community who are actively involved in the ongoing evolution: the artists, musicians, writers/poets and, broadly speaking, anybody else in the arts who grapples with their sense of identity. As such, the series will introduce Discover Nikkei readers to a wide range of ‘voices’, both established and emerging, that have something to say about their identity. This series aims to stir this cultural pot of Nikkeiness and, ultimately, build meaningful connections with Nikkei everywhere.
Stories from this series
Artist Akira Yoshikawa Joins JC Giants at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario - Part 1
July 20, 2020 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
“Throughout a lifetime, one comes across by chance or by arrangement a certain energy that aligns with one’s own. Individual components are integrated to form a common energy to focus on how we see the world. This alignment when experienced, yields a state of well-being, comfort and assurance. The aesthetic and cultural practices in my work are related to my interest in Eastern philosophy, with its expression of serenity and spirituality. It recognizes the important aspect of time known as …
Hayashi Studio of Cumberland, BC: A Documentary by Hayley Gray
April 27, 2020 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
“Close to 800 dry glass negatives abandoned by the Matsubuchi studio reappeared in the mid-1980s in garage sales, and were recognized and collected by Cumberland residents, Mr. Frank Kothlow, Mrs. Flowers and Jim Small. Thanks to the foresight of Dale Reeves, the former director of the Cumberland Museum, the prints from these negatives are now located in the Museum’s Archives as a research collection,” taken from Shashin: Japanese Canadian Photography to 1942 exhibition catalogue, Grace Eiko Thomson, Japanese Canadian National …
David Hayashida on his first visit to BC, euphemisms and life on "The Rock" - Part 2
Sept. 24, 2019 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
Read Part 1 >> Can you talk about how your career as an artist began? I am turning 60 this year and it is my first piece on JCs. If Dr. Heather Read had not very kindly invited me to turn my decades old idea into reality, it might never have existed outside of my head. Also, my younger sister Charissa Alain Lilly (also an artist) just passed away and that difficult event has in many ways pushed me to …
David Hayashida on his first visit to BC, euphemisms and life on "The Rock" - Part 1
Sept. 23, 2019 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
I caught up with Newfoundland artist David Hayashida on his return home after returning from the BC Internment Camp tour in July. Like me, he grew up in Ontario far removed from most Japanese Canadians. We were often the only Asians in our schools. And as inheritors of the internment and the Redress legacy, we have spent much of our adult lives figuring out how to become valued members of our mostly-white communities where we grew up clinging on to …
Marjene Matsunaga Turnbull: Baking Japanese Canadianness
Aug. 13, 2019 • Marjene Matsunaga Turnbull
Read the interview with Marjene Matsunaga Turnbull by Norm Ibuki >> After learning what the Japanese Canadian (JC) history was, I could describe events. Using layers to build upon, it became like a cake. And making a recipe for it was perfect for doing the family history within the general JC history, I thought. Each layer was done separately, glazed, and fired. Layers were glued together. Recipe for The Hisaoka History Cake: “Continuum” Preparation Time: 90 yearsUse three nesting bake …
Marjene Matsunaga Turnbull: How-to-Bake a Japanese Canadian Cake
Aug. 12, 2019 • Norm Masaji Ibuki
Here’s an intriguing idea about how to think about your Japanese Canadian identity: What if it were a cake recipe what would go into it and how would you construct or, perhaps, more aptly, deconstruct, it? De/constructing my own Japanese Canadian identity over the years, I’ve learned that the foundation of the Japanese part of my cultural shaping would include the food, my awkward way of interacting with others (especially in Japanese), Buddhism, aikido, how history has twisted and bent …
