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The New Canadian — August 27, 1982

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Page 1

I

‘Obasan’ a ‘must read’ for i
all Japanese Canadians I
By KATHRYN KILGORE

OBASAN. By Joy Kogawa
/ (Available from the New Canadian)
(Paperback-$8,50, postage included).

THE NEW
CANADIAN

; After the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, all Japar nese Americans living on the west coast of the U.S. became
the official eriemy. They were dismissed from' civil service
jobs and had their licenses to practice medicine and law re­
voked; in some areas they were forbidden employment and
An Independent Organ for Canadians of Japanese Origin
refused service in restaurants, gas stations, and stores. In
February 1942, the U.S. Army gave the Japanese Americans 4i3
f hours to dispose oftheir homes and business; then shipped /
TORONTO, ONT^
t them off to concentration camps. Some 120,000 people, most | VOL 46 —6|3
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1982
of them American citizens, were confined. There was almost
no protest against this, and nothing comparable-happened to
the Americans of German and Italian descent.
In Canada, the same racism erupted. Every Japanese Can-'
t adian in British Columbia, 22,000 in all, was rounded up, and
either removed from the province or deported. Families were
broken apart, the destinies of individuals were-controlled by
it's been since 17,225 Canad­
tims” and urges support in
By
KEITH
SPICER
byzaritine categories of government bureaucracy. Men were
ians were robbed, uprooted,
asking for redress.
Note:
Mow
times
have
chang
­
- sent to one place, women and children to another. Families
and deported inland by their
ed.
The
following
is
an
article
experienced sudden poverty, loss of identity and community,
government.
by
Keith
Spicer
er
in
the
Van
Van|
s.4O
YEARS
enough
to
prove
of home. People were placed in camps, hospitals, or tempor­
The Canadians in question
which he calls
I that justice delayed is jus­
couver
Suri^
in
1
ary settlements, and later shipped off to become the new
had the misfortune of seeing
tice
denied?
That's
how
long
the
Japanese
Canadians

viccheap labor force on the Alberta prairie farms, or else they
the world through slanted'
“volunteered” to “return” to Japan. The Canadians outdid the
eyes, not the round ones
Americans on two points: all property belonging to the Canad­
- owned by members of Mac­
ian Nisei andTheir families was seized and liquidated; and the
kenzie King's Liberal govern­
announced intention of the “removal” policy was to prevent
ment among other Canadians.
these citizens from ever returning to live in British Columbia.
The robbed and uprooted
The Nisei“never recovered from the dispersal policy,” Joy
TORONTO. -"A three-day
The J.C. Cultural Centre is Canadians were of Japanese
Kogawa says in Obasan. “But of course that was the govern­ celebration to mark the 60th one of the major participants origin, but usually with more
ment's wholeidea.”
anniversary of North York wHI in the celebration and is generations of residence in
Obasan, a fictional biography, is the story of one Japanese be held at Earl. Bales Park represented on the working Canada than a third of to­
Canadian family. Through journals, letters, government docu- (Bathurst and Sheppard) Sep- committee of the Festival. day's Canadians.
ments,newspaperclippings,conversations,andtherecollect- tember 10;
They will have their booth fea­
Leaders of Canada's 45,000
eddetai Isoftheremoval, the story of Naomi Nakane' s fam i ly c i ty wi th the largest m u 11 i c u I - turing Japanese food. As st ro n g J apan e s_e-Ca nad ian
becomes the history of the community^ Naomi has been given tural population in Canada, well, they will participate in community have finally fought
the crafts and cultural exhi­ trauma and indifference to
a package of all the family papers and government documents
the event will adopt the con­ bits and performances. There consider asking Parliament
by her Aunt Emily, who has asked that Naomi “write the
vision and make it plain.” Naomi begins to reconstruct the cept of a multicultural arts will be readings of original for redress. Other Canadians
past as she visits her Aunt Obasan, whose husband has just festival. There will be no tanka and haiku in Japanese,
should join them to confront
then translated into English.
died. Obasan raised Naomi; by now she has become very old, charge to enter the grounds.
what happened in 1942, what
almost deaf, almost blind. She lives among a collection of sav­
has happened since, and what
ed scraps, pieces of old thread and twine rolled in neat balls,
might happen again.
layers of old cloth covering the furniture, cartons of jars,
After Tokyo launched its
boxes of papers: her history. Obasan, who speaks indirectly
raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec.
and cannot cry, is looking for some object, but she will not say
7, 1941, the 22,096 Japanesewhat it is. Her relationship to her possessions and Naomi 's
Canadians living in B.C. (17,relationship to her past become parallel. From Obasan Naomi
225 as citizens) fell victim,
learned that “speech often hides like an animal in a storm,”
like their brothers and sisters
and that usually “the answers are not answers at all.”
on the U.S. West Coast, to a
Some family histories contain a double-edged vision in
vengeful paranoia.
which the personal, specific events combine and reach into
For some greedy British
both the mythic and the cosmic: a story comes to tell not only
Columbians, internment of
the experience of an individual, and through that the experi­
the Nisei and Sansei (secondence of a minority culture, but also the delusions of the domi­
and third-generation Canad­
nant culture. This kind of fiction is a subtle translation: hisians) was an occasion to steal
; torical facts are internalized and expressed through scenes
from one's neighbors while
that create a sense of place and a sense of the out-of-place, a
wrapped in the flag. For East­
sense of relationship between individuals and community,
ern Canadians, making no
- and a sense of the alien. It seems to depend bn the repetition
distinction between compat­
^of accurately selected, pointed detailsthat work the pattern of
riots and enemy aliens, it
the story right through your skin. The details contain images
seemed a fair “punishment”
often chosen to refer to or examine one culture against the
of a perfidious “yellow” na­
background of another, as in Toni Morrison's Trie B/uest Eye.
tion. For King's Liberal reMary Lee Settle calls this “conjuring.” It is “storytelling
(Cpnt. on page 3)
not in ideas, but in colors and sounds”-which turn history
back into life. Maxine Hong Kingston, in The Woman Warrior
Takahashi wins
RAYMOND, Alta. — Mr. and Mrs. Torazo Fukushima
and Chine Men, calls her version of the method “talk stories”:
Bronze at world
have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary recent­
a vivid mixture of history, customs, stories, myths,_and dreams,
ly , t the House of Wong. Many friends, relatives and
once told by relatives, are retold from memory and from imagi­
Univ. Judo shiai
chh iren gathered for the celebration. For this special
nation until history isn't an object, isn't even personalities,
JYVASKYLA, Finland. —
occasion, Alberta premier, Laugheed, and Mr. Thom­
— and certainly isn't polemic; it's a-thin wavering line pulled
Three Canadians have captur­
son, MP, sent congratulatory messages.
through time. History is what survives in the contemporary
ed bronze medals in competi­
Mr. and Mrs. T. Fukushima moved to Raymond from
identity; arid any identity, in order to exist, continues to
tion recently at the world
B.C. in 1942 and have been engaged in farming since
change, to respond to the surrounding forces. Some of the
university judo champion­
then. After retirement, Mr. arid Mrs. Fukushima devot­
forces, however, never seem to change.
x
ships in Jyvaskyla, Finland.
ed themselves to charitable work with the Buddhist
Joy KogawaLs strength as a fictional biographer is that
Phil Takahashi of Ottawa,
church, Japanese senior Tonari-gumi, etc.
she uses one of these unchanging forces-the silence that
Louis Jani of Montreal and
They are enjoying their life travelling around widely
cannot speak”-as her central image. She turns silence over
Brad Farrow of London, Ont.,
to Japan, Europe and U.S.A. They have four sons, three
arid over, examining it from all perspectives. Naomi, a Canaeach took medals in their
daughters and 16 grandchildren;
weight categories.
(Cont. on page 2)

Japanese Canadians called
‘Victims of vengeful paranoia’

JCCC joins North York
Sixtieth Anniversary

Golden Wedding Anniversary

Page 2

THE

Page 2

NEW

Obasan ...

Friday, Augustt 27, 1982

CANADIAN

Cont. from Fade 1

dian Sansei (third generation), was born in a comfortable
The New Canadian 1
Paul K. Asada, D.C.,N.D.
Established 1939
.
suburb of Vancouver. She was five in 1941, when several
728-A St. Clair Ave.; W.,
Second Class Maili No. 0366
things happened. Her mother went to Japan to visit her grand-.
TORONTO
mother, and after Pearl Harbor she was not allowed to return ’ / A member of Ethnic Press opens at 10 a.m.
Association of Ontario^
to Canada. Naomi.never heard from her again. Meanwhile, the
and Canada Federation
Res. 621-1989
Canadians began to speak of the Nisei as the fifth column,
651-8060
Publisher & Japanese Editor
probable spies and saboteurs. Naomi puzzled over coded
Kenzo Mori .
family conversations spoken in muted tones of disbelief and
English Editor
Reservations: 977-2164 |.
fear. Her older brother told her what he'd learned at school;
Kei Tsumura
“All the Jap kids .. .are going to be sent away and they ' re bad
Published on Tuesdays and
OPEN EVERYDAY
Fridays
AND PARTNERS
and you're a Jap.” “No,” her father reassured her. “We're
CHARTERED
479 Queen Street West
- Canadian.” People began to be ordered to camps. One day her
460 Dundas Street West,
ACCOUNTANTS
Toronto, Ont. M5V2A9
father disappeared, sent off to a hospital.
Toronto, Ontario
FIRST REXDALE PLACE
PHONE 366-5005
Naomi was left in the care of her aunt and uncle. Years
155 REXDALE BLVD
$25.00 per year (in advance)
later, when she begins to teH her story, Naomi says, “My
SUITE 406
parents, like two needles, knit theTamilies carefully into one
' REXDALE, ONT. M9W 5Z8
blanket. Every event was a warm-water wash ... We are now
745-9800
ho\more than a few tangled skeins.” All that remains for
CLASSIFIED
Naomi, after the forced moves, the death of her parents, the
HELP WANTED
| scattering and death of most-other relatives, is Obasan, her
I brother Stephen (who dislikes everything “too Japanese ),
Operators, pressors, finish­
| and her Aunt Emily, a passionate Nisei activist. Emily is “the ers, surgers. H.L.S. -Dress
one with the vision. She believes in the Nisei, seeing them as Co., 110 Orf us Road, Toron­
networks and streamers dotting the country. “For my part,” to. Tel.: 787-1250.
proprietor
INSURANCE
Naomi says, “I can only see a dark field with Aunt Emily beam­
JON ONODERA
ing her flashlight to where the rest of us crouch and hide ...”
489-4654 -—— 481-8805
Naomi, never a true believer in “people who talk a lot
463 Eglinton Ave. W.
(Business) (Residence)
about their victimization,” takes her stand close to Obasan,
Toronto, Ont. M5N1A7
JAPANESE
- the one who always maintains the “silence that can not speak.
phone 489-8611
540 Eglinton Ave., W.,
While Naomi remembers the past for Emily, she also shows
Toronto
Home '449-9293
us her life in the comforting, eerie present with Obasan. Bathing Obasan she rubs “the washcloth over her legs and feet,
459 Church Street
"1 the thin purple veins a scribble maze, a skin map, her thick
Phone 924-1303
toenails ancient rock formations, l am reminded of long-ex­
tinct volcanos, the crust and rivulets of lava scars, criss-cross­
ing down the bony hillside. Naked as pre-history, we lie to­
LATEST STYLES
. ALL HEEL HEIGHTS
195 Richmond St. West
gether.. .” She notes the objects in Obasan's drawers and
, LADIES 2 and up
• MENS 4 and up
Phone 977-9519
refrigerator, which will never be used or even looked at again,
MEDIUM AND WIDE FITTINGS
land comments, “If it is not seen, it does not horrify.” But Naomi
- also tries to help her aunt say what she can't say, and find
what she can't find.
.
While Naomi cares for Obasan and waits for Stephen and
Phone
531-1931
1328 Queen St. West, Toronto
Emily to arrive for her uncle's funeral, she begins td explore
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Japanese fine porcelain
the stories and old conversations that press bn her as she
reads Emily's documents. Naomi's memories are a child's,
laquerware and
vision, full of mysterious, troubled scenes mixed with tranquil ’
gift items
periods: the death of small animals, tauntings at school, play­
60 Bloor St. West
ing games, listening to music and stories, worrying about
Concourse Level
Installations
what happened to her mother, watching nature in a swamp,
Toronto
almost drowning in a lake, losing a doll. The memories also
Siding Soffit Fascia
928-3385 ’
contain dreams that express the undertow in her life- dreams
Eavestrough
of loss, of death. Friends and family members constantly
Shutters/
81971
ALCAN >
/ disappeared: Obasan and the other adults sheltered her from
Storm doors
knowing too much, but in Japanese,the word for “lost’ also
Storm windows
means “dead.” , ,
%
'
Slocan was the first place Naomi lived after Vancouver.
She tells stories of the comforting steamy communal baths,
Proprietor ,
the people she lived with, the beautiful forest, the visit from
her father. Then Emily's journal notes that in 1945, “the
40 Melford Drive, Unit 1
gardens in Slocan ... were ripening for harvest when the
OPEN
Scarborough, Ontario
Mon.-Fri. 12:00-2:30 5:00-10:00
orders came .. families already fractured and separated were
M1B2G2
298-3333
Sat.
5:00-10:00
permanently destroyed. The choice to go east of the Rockies
KEN MURATA
■ Closed Sundays & Holidays
or to Japan was presented without time for consultation with
.
Home; 291-0952

separated parents and children. Failure to chose was labeled
EGLINTON AVE. EAST
non-cooperation...”
_
Naomi,
her
brother,
her
uncle,
and
Obasan
are
sent
to Al­
WICKSTEED
berta, a bitter, cold, flat province where they live in a tiny shed
. on
on a farmer's land, and are made to take up cultivating beets.
They do not see Emily again for 12 years. Naomi remembers
the extreme cold, then the heat, the thistles, the flies and bed­
Stereos, Microwave
bugs, the exhausting labor; she thinks about the sky, whose
114 LAIRD DR. LEASIDE, ONTARIO
Ovens, Video Cassette
clouds were “the shape of our new prison walls - untouchable,
PHONE: 421-6016
Recorders, and TV
impersonal, random.” She says, “I cann^ftell about this time,
Converters
Aunt Emily. The body will not tell.” She describes a day when
she finds a tiny frog and brings it home and everybody is very
Admiral. Lloyds,
460 Dundas St. West
gentle, very kind to her, and she does not remember whether
Panasonic, Quasar, I
Toronto, Ont. M5T 1G9
on
that
day
they
ever
actually
told
her
that
her
father
had
died.
Tel: 977-7655
Toshiba, Zenith
Travel
Aunt Emily 's files hold a newspaper clipping on the Alber­
SURE WAY TO SAVE ON AIR TRAVEL
ta beet laborers. The paper describes the Nisei as “Grinning
PLAN EARLY
and Happy”; a headline notes that the farmers “Find Jap
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Evacuees Best Beet Workers.”
• BOOK EARLY
The details, taken day by day, only gradually add up to
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(Cont. on Page 4)

Page 3

Friday, August 27,1982

THE

I Dates & Doings J
JCC Centre film free to members
TORONTO — The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
Film Society's September 12th presentation, ‘‘Long Way
■Round,” will be shown free to all members. This film, starring
Tetsuyo Takeda and Sh izue Abe, d i rec ted by Tosh itaka Asa­
ma, dramatizes the adjustment of a high-school teacher from
Southern Kyushu who moves to a school in Northern Japan.
The two showings on September 12th will be at 3 p.m. and
8 p.m. All members should bring their membership cards.

NEW

PERSONAL
NOTES
ACROSS
CANADA
Obituaries .

KAWASAKI
WINDSOR — Mr. Shigeru
Kawasaki departed our pre­
sence on August 5th, 1982,
in his 84th year. Funeral ser­
___ ______________ ___________________________________ - JGCG vices were held at Windsor
Chapel on Monday, August
9th, 1982. Survivors include
TORONTO — Bingo returns to the JOG Centre, at least for
his wife Tomo, sons Dr. Ma­
one evening, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m. This means that
sashi Kawasaki of Dallas,
Tad Morishita, Tom Oyagi, Kenny Usami, Dawna Nishino and
Texas, and Jun Kawasaki,
Company will be back at their usual stations to. assure a
daughters Mrs. James (Kumi­
smooth-running operation.
ko Mary) Oshika of Allen
Proceeds are earmarked for the Senior Daytime Program
Park, Michigan, and Mrs.j
that is in the planning stage for retired and retiring members.
Tony (Chizuko Shirley) Takai
We hope to see many of our regular patrons back. We hope
of Romeo, Michigan.
to notify them of this special Bingo, but we would appreciate
the word being passed around, since we are not likely to con­
Marriage
tact all who may wish to attend. Incidentally, 200 signed the
TANAKA - PROSSER
petition requesting that the Bingo be continued weekly.
■ '


,
• — JCCC
TORONTO. — Mr. and Mrs.
Kiyoshi tanaka have the honour of announcing the mar­
riage of their daughter, Ruby
TORONTO — Interest in drumming at the J.C. Cultural Naoko, to Paul Thorton Pros­
Centre, particularly among girls, 16-18, has been phenome­ ser on Saturday, July 17,1982
nal, according to head instructor, Shingo Kono, of the recently at the Toronto Japanese
formed Toronto Suwa Taiko Hozonkai. What they are short of United Church.
are drums, which he hopes to remedy by making their own.
WORD OF THANKS
Mr. Kono visited with Suwa Taiko's master drummer, DaihaThe family of the late
chi Oguchi, in Japan, from whom he picked up tips, as well
Blaine Peter Isamu Oikawa
as to see a drum factory.
wish to express their sin­
He has now close to 80 students, of whom more than half
cere thanks for the beauti­
are girls and 80 percent are either Sansei or Yonsei. But he
ful floral tributes, ohanarhas room for more, particularly brawny boys or men 20 - 25,
yo, sympathy cards, let?
who could tattoo the larger drums. They practice on Wednes­
ters, donations to the
day in two classes, 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Toronto Hospital for Sick
Monthly dues are $5.00, and they or their families must
Children Cardiac Research
be members of the Cultural Centre. Anyone interested should
Fund and kind words of
come out on Wednesday evenings, watch the demonstra­
comfort, during their re­
tions, and application forms are available. For those under
cent bereavement.
18, parents should sign the application.
The many acts of kind­
J.C.C. CENTRE
ness extended during this
time of sorrow are very
much appreciated.
Sakura-Kai
Tim & Mary Oikawa
presents
Jennifer
Grandparents:
Mr. & Mrs. Naoto Oikawa
Mrs. Yachiyo Abe
Many aunts, uncles and
cousins.

Special Bingo night at JCC Centre

Drumming lessonsat J.C.C. Centre

NOSTALGIA NIGHT”
50'S AND 60'S

Friday, September 10,1982 — 8.-00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m

Music by
Art Turner

JCCC

Refreshments— Cash Bar
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
123 Wynford Drive, Don Mills
- ~
. $8.00 per person

j.C. CULTURAL CENTRE FILM SOCIETY
Presents

LONG WAY 'ROUND
Sunday, Sept. 12 1982 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The film stars Tetsuyo Takeda and Shizue Abe, directed by Toshitaka
Asama, dramatises the adjustment of a high school teacher from South­
ern Kyushu who moves to a school in Northern Japan.

Free to all members — bring your membership cards

At the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre,
123 Wynford Dr. - Don Mills, Ont.

Pages

CANADIAN;

CARD OF THANKS
May I express my sin­
cere appreciation to my
many friends, neighbors
and relatives, who attend­
ed the service of my dear
husband (Minoru), father
and grandfather. Thank
you also for the telegrams,
the beautiful floral offer­
ings and koden. Special
thanks for your numerous
visits to my home and at
the hospital.
We gratefully say thank
you.
Mrs. Yaeko Furuya
Ms. Joan Furuya
Mr. & Mrs. David Furuya
Mr. & Mrs. John Dobson
Mr. & Mrs. Don Drysdale
& Kimberly
Mr. Sam Furuya
Mr. Ross Ohashi
Mr. & Mrs. Mitsuo Ohashi
Mr. & Mrs. H. Matsumoto

-Victims
(

gime, eager for votes on last week's possible petition
B.C. 's war-scared frontier, it for redress, have decided that
made harm less electoral the pain to them and their nasense.
z
tive land of Canada, will never
RABBINGhomes, stores, fade until the Parliament that
and fishing boats with pe rsec u ted t h e i r. f o refat h e rs .
no compensation whatever, make some solemn national
and packing men, women, act of contrition.
To this day, no national
and children off to wilderness
camps, King and Co. slashed leader has made an apology
a sti I Lg lari hg scar on the face in B.C. where it matters. No
of Canadian democracy. Only white Canadians have raised

in recent years has the grief a small monument.
MOST we hear to this .
inflicted then begun to sur­
day is apologies for whiteface outside the JapaneseCanadian community. Chron­ Canadian behavior. Some of
icled in books such as Joy that may have been under­
Kogawa's aching Obassan, standable in the war hysteria
the tale is perhaps the ugliest of 1942. But the war was and
of our annals after the mass­ is no excuse for denying^
acres and subsequent de­ compensation, especially
gradation of our native people. long after peace came.
Trudeau, successor of Lib- _
“They took my family when
I was four,” a prominent Japa-.eral PM King, now delights in
nese-Canadian intellectual his Charter of Rights and
once told me. “It was terrify­ Freedoms. Should we not
ing.For years after I had night­ just get on with freedom in
mares about it, and later had the future and overlook its
to work out some of the pain trials in the past?
No. For while the uprooting
with a psychiatrist.”
stands unrepaired, it blots
HY, ALL these years, the'credibility of our commit­
have we not heard the ment to freedom. And it leaves
kfnd of demands screamed a valued community of Cana­
by other Canadian cultural dians unchurched as Cana-,
groups about comparative dians, much as the unexcused
trivialities — such as wound- 1755 deportation of the Acaingly named restaurants and dians leaves that old Canatoo-small grants for folk- dian people out of its skin as
Canadians over 200 years
dancing?
Partly because the Japa­ later.
U.S. fanaticism gave Cana­
nese-Canadian victims were
so widely scattered and their dians the pretext to rob their
trauma was so numbing. Part­ countrymen. Now perhaps
ly because in their ancestral - U.S. tolerance will show a
tradition silence meant digni- way back to some decent cor­
ty, indeed perhaps the most rection. Since last fall, a U.S.
exquisite form of revenge congressional commission
against the bigots. Partly be­ has been working on a com­
cause Canadian opinion at pensation of $25,000 per per­
large seemed unready to face son for every Japanese-Amer­
the fact of Canada's racism, ican so abused.
ORDEN Kadota, president
after fighting Hitler and mak­
of the National Associa­
ing so many fine speeches
against intolerance at the tion of Japanese-Canadians,
has his priorities right in
United Nations.
The closest we ever came weighing such hopes for
even to acknowledging the Canada.
He does not fix his anquish
crime was the tut-tutting of
civil libertarians. For decades on the $25,000 reparation. “I
they have ritually and ineffec­ suppose it's as good a figure
tually classified the inland as any. At least it' s a starting
deportation with Alberta's point.”
His main concern is to put
Press Bill and Quebec's Pad­
the agony of 1942-45 to good
lock Law, both of 1937.
One of the footnoters was democratic use. He notes that
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau Parliament has never offici­
himself-as a former law ally denounced the relocation
prof, fully familiar with the as unjust, or admitted that it
outrage. To his, the Liberals', Js “wrong to deprive Canad­
and Canada's disgrace, he ians of their basic rights . . .
has done nothing- to rectify We're hoping such a state­
the fault. Worse, with an awe- ment would promote an un­
somely misplaced sense of derstanding of: what this
reparation that cost not a true country is made of and ensure
tear or a useful penny, he it will never happen again.” .
Until Parliament makes
once made apologies for it
.. . not in Vancouver, where such a statement, and backs
his countrymen suffered, but it up with more than croco­
in Tokyo, to foreigners Cana­ dile tears as compensation,
da had never even remotely we must fear that we know all
too well what this country is
aggrieved.
By now, many of the Cana­ made of, and capable of.
For as long as justice here
dian victims of Canadian mob
rule have died. Others have is denied by delay, the Febru­
tried to forget and still want ary of '42 will remain not just
a stain on us all. It will stand .
to.
Others, those announcing as a precedent for any of us.

G

THE

W

G

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THE

Obasan..

NEW

Friday, August 27, 1982

CANADIAN

(Cont. from page 2)

Use TheNew Canadian ads
for the best results from
the J.C. Community

No Gumba

citizens the truth finally dawned, but at first to general disbelief.Thestories of Naomi's life, and what she's experienced, w
emerge and merge into a pattern only in the telling. So by the '
Why is it that'when a Ja­
By DWIGHT CHUMAN
time Emily arrives for the funeral, Naomi is ready to hear the
pan esec om pan y gets cau g h t
(Rafu Shimpp)
answer to her questions abo_ut what happened to her mother.
with its hand in the cookie
There is a letter which has been hidden from Naombarid
LOS ANGELES — An arti- jar or when a bunch of Japa­
Stephen for years. It was in Emily's box of documents, and
942 PAPE AVE.
Obasan has taken it. The letter is in Japanese, Naomi cannot ciefrom the July J 3 edition of nese fishermen slaughter a
the
Na
tional
Enquirer
shows
bunch
of
dolphins
an
entire
TORONTO, ONT.
read it, and Obasan will not read it for her. But when Emily and
a
smiling
Congressman
Mario
nation
is
held
responsible?
TEL: 425-2122
Stephen arrive, the letter—frdm Naomi's grandmother in
Biaggi.
(D-N.Y.)
quoted
in
a
How
come
when
the
U.S.
City wide delivery
Nagasaki - is finally translated by the family priest: “One
n
ice,
j
u
icy
head
line
as
sayi
ng
sells cluster bombs to the
Peter Sasaki.
evening when she had given up the search for the day" she sat

Lets
Boycott
Japanese
for
Israelis
or
other
weapons
of
down beside a nakedwoman she's seen earlier who was aim­
lessly chipping wood to make a pyre on which to cremate a Stealing Our Secrets!’’ in ref­ . terror to some despot in
4
erence to the recent Japan­ South America, the world
dead baby. The woman, was utterly disfigured. Her nose and
one cheek were almost gone. Great woundsand pustules cov­ ese-1 BM - H itachi - M itsibishi doesn't hold America res­
Donald I. Kimura
ponsible?
What
is
this,
ered her entire face and body. She was completely bald. She
Barrister & Solicitor racism?
Huh,
Mario?
sat in a cloud of flies and maggots wriggled among her
Biaggi uses his Enquirer
wounds. As grandma watched her, the woman gave her a va­ forum to do a pretty good imThe same goes with the
155 Main Street West
cant gaze, then let out a cry.” It was Naomi's mother.
pression of Rosanne Rosan- way Japanese America is
Stouffville, Ontario
While Naomi lived with Obasan, arid long after, the story of nadana. You know, she's that dealt with by the major
LOH 1LO
- what happened toxher mother was kept from her by Obasan's Gilda Radner created charac- media. I get countless calls
silence, an impenetrable barrier “so thick that even the sound ter on “Saturday Night Live” when there's a story J ike
640-5454
of mourning is swallowed up.’’ Now that Naomi has finally who tends to go off on rather the Noguchi case from cub
found her mother, she says, “.we were lost together in our sil­ bizarre tangents? Well, Bia­ reporters asking “What is
ences. Our wordlessness was our mutual destruction . ..lam ggi seems to have a problem the opjnion of the Japanese
listening. Assist rhe to hear you.”
in digesting facts and coming American community on this
By building stories around the “silence that cannot up with rational; conclusions. case? Do they feel it is racial­
speak,” Kogawa outlines the force of silence so clearly you
ly'' motivated? I'm taking a
Beauty Salon
Writes biaggi: ruo you
can feel its enormous dimensions. It holds the “untold tales
poll...”
that wait for their telling,” the history of the Nisei. The silence know the first thing they do
1162 College Street
Anybody who knows Japa­
Toronto, Ont?
also represents Canada's response to the treatment of the when an advanced U.S.-made
Japanese Canadians. And, in another form, it is protection. product comes out? They nese America at all, knows
Telephone 535-1992
This silence centers on Obasan, who will-never speak her sor­ take it apart to see how it that if you have a group of
Mon.—1 to 6 p.m.
row, and who saved Naorni's childhood from utter bitterness? works.;.No wonder they are five Nisei standing around
Tues.- Fri. —9 to 6 p.m.
Whenever Naomi as an adult encounters someone who so technologically advanced shooting the breeze, you 'll
Sat. — 9 to 3 p.m.
Thursdays closed
says,“It was a terrible business what we did to our if they have ripped off all their probably hear five different
Japanese,” she thinks,“Ah, here we go again. ‘Our Indians.’ ideas from us . .It's got to opinions about anything. Why
‘Our Japanese.’. . .It's like being offered a pair of crutches stop ribw! Until the Japanese don't people realize this?
while I'm striding down the street. The comments are so in­ become willing to play fair in Why don't they allow us the
cessant and always so well-intentioned. ‘How long have you the international marketplace, dignity of having individual
been in this country? Do you like our country? You speak such the only thing we"can do is minds and not a group men­
good English. Do you run a cafe? My daughter has a darling to stop buying Japanese pro- tality? Folks may be downin '
Japanese friend.’ . . . These are icebreaker questions that ducts - or one of these days a lotta sushi these days but ,
create an awareness of ice.” Naomi's strength, and her un- we' II all be saying ‘sayonara’ they still aren 't hip to what
to what prosperity we have makes Japanese Americans
derstanding of these things, grew out of Obasan's silence.
C'mon, Mario.
tick. That's for sure.
Silence is the heart of the story. At the core of both pride left.”
ATHLETIC SHOES
and prejudice, it can be either courage or cowardice; but
1201 Bloor St. W.
beyond that it is not so easy to name. Kogawa's translation of
Toronto, Ont.
532-4267
silence into experience is awesome: while she tells the his-1993 Danforth Ave., Toronto
tory of the removal, and at the same time expresses the preFall Special
. sent, she shows what is changed for the Japanese Canadians,
and what never c h a n g e s anyone.
-VOICL
Panasonic Video Recorder $759.00

SHARON' S
FLORIST

HITOMI

NIPPON VIDEO CENTRE

Tanaka Shihan Aikido demo Sept. 26
TORONTO — The JCC Centre Aikikai will present a dem­
onstration of Aikido by Mr. Shigeho Tanaka, an 8th-dan Shihan
and chief director of martial arts at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.
Tanaka Shihan was for many years a student of the founder
of Aikido, MoriheiUeshtba.
This special demonstration will be held on Sunday, Sep­
tember 26th at 3 p.m. to mark the 10th year of Aikido instruc­
tion at the Centre, now being carried on by instructors Mr.
Obata and Mr. Ochi — both former students of Tanaka Shi­
han in Tokyo. Tickets are available at the Centre — $3.00 in
advance, $5.00 at the door.

. SHIATSU THERAPY
KENSEN

.

822 Broadview Ave.,
Toronto, Ontario M4K 2P7,
Telephone: (416) 466-8780
Monday to Saturday: 10 a.m. —

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MOST POPULAR

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Telephone 698-0633

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JAPANESE LANGUAGE CLASSES
offered by
North York Board of Education

1

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
Classes (Kindergarten to grade $ will be offered Saturday
mornings from 9:00 a.m. — 11:50 a.m. at:
WOODBINE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL,
2900 Don Mills Road East, Willowdale, Ontario
Annual fee: $95.00 (Collected by Parents' Committee
to cover expenses).
ADULT PROGRAM
Conversational Japanese classes will be offered at
the above location for adults, for beginner and advanced '
levels, at the same time as the chinldren's classes.
For further information for both programs, please contact:
Mrs. Kay Watada 491-8514, Mr. Miki Kobayashi 439-7656
_
Mr. Jim Kobayashi 751-0064

I

1

ALLCASH
FOR YOUR HOME
i

IF WE DON'T SELL IT—
I.

ASK ABOUT OUR GUARANTEE

FOR FREE APPRAISAL

Dennis
Masuda

,

”” 752-7740
1885 LAWRENCE AV E

757-9347 (Residence)

j'

Page 5

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Gina Japanese
Restaurant

JAPANESE RESTAURANT
OSAKA HOUSE
12 TEMPERANCE STREET,
TOJIONTO, ONTARIO.
TELEPHONE: 368-2470

Licensed

IstiaftM, Ontarie
Tei. 281-48ee

TASTE OF CHINA
. RESTAURANT & TAVERN
DELIVERY SERVICE
7DAYSAWEEK

ARIRANG HOUSE

367-0444

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RESTAURANT A TAVERN
KOREAN A CHINESE FOOD

716 BLOOR ST . W .
(at CHRISTIE)
TORONTO, ONT.
^U

467-469 QUEEN ST. W
Toronto, Qnt.

532—272V

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AUTHENTIC JAPANESE DISHES

RESTAURANTS.

“MICHI”

“MASA”

459 Chiirch Street
195 Richmond St. West
, Pho ne924-1303
Phone 977-9519
TORONTO, ONTARIO
•JliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiimuiiiiiiiniuMiiiiiiiuiiiim

1993 DANFORTH AVENUE
(1 block West of Woodbine)
TEL: 698-0633

Lobby, of Holiday Inn - Downtown
89 Chestnut Street
Toronto, Ont. M5G 1R1
Tel: (416) 977-3026

JUNICHI HAYASHI
Manager

Page 6

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MAok 01^ M4291; M9-1292
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Toronto. Ontario. Canada M5H 1Z5

363-6563

Page 7

Friday, August 27,1982

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PACIFIC TRAVEL SERVICE

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234 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 503,
.Toronto. Ont. M4P 1 K5

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THE BANK OF TOKYO CANADA
Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower, Suite 2075
P.O. Box 42, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2J1
Telephone: (416) 865-0220

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