Welcome to Historic Joy Kogawa House blogs

Georgia Straight: Joy Kogawa House is "BEST NEW PLACE TO GET WRITING DONE "

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:42:26 -0700

Joy Kogawa House is:

BEST NEW PLACE TO

GET WRITING DONE

Pictures: Joy and brother Tim and Kogawa House circa 1944, chery tree and house 2007, Joy Kogawa and children from Thomsett Elementary School, Joy Kogawa and house photo by Dan Toulget/Vancouver Courier, Joy & brother Tim with school friends circa 1944

When I joined the "Save Kogawa House" campaign in September 2005, I just knew it was something that had to be done. Three years later we now have our first writer-in-residence program with the arrival of Madeleine Thien and a grant from the Canada Council.

The House was purchased by The Land Conservancy of BC in May 2006, and we have since had readings by Ruth Ozeki, Shaena Lambert, Sharon Butala, Heidi Greco, Marion Quednau, and Vancouver’s poet laureate George McWhirter, as well as Joy Kogawa herself. We have also had musical performances by opera soprano Heather Pawsey, flautist Kathryn Cernauskas and pianist Rachel Iwaasa.

It's an amazing story that this house has survived not only the WW2 Internment of its previous owners, but also rising real estate prices and the threat of demolition. It was a vision that we had to create a home for writers, to both recognize the accomplishments and life of Joy Kogawa, as well as to provide a place for them to hone their craft, and hopefully inspire them to their own greatness.

Check out page 77 of the Sept 18-25 / 2008 issue of the Georgia Straight. Kevin Chong writes that "Madeleine Thine will take up residence at a retreat dedicated to Joy Kogawa"

Writers work against city's shifting backdrop

Historic Joy Kogawa House

1450 West 64th Avenue

Now that Joy Kogawa’s childhood home has been purchased and saved from the wrecking ball after years of struggle, it’s set to become a writer’s retreat for visiting authors, starting in 2009. (The first author to arrive in the house, located in leafy, sleepy Marpole, will be Madeleine Thien.) Hopefully, the house, which celebrates the contributions of one of B.C.’s best-known authors while reminding us of a regrettable episode in our nation’s history—the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II—will inspire new books in the years to come. More info is available at www.kogawahouse.com/ .

Page 77

Kogawa House cherry tree at Vancouver city hall is given a plaque on the 20th anniversary of the Japanese-Canadian redress.

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:14:25 -0700

"Friendship Tree" plaque at Vancouver City Hall for the "Kogawa House cherry tree" graft - photo Ann-Marie Metten.

Sixty-six years ago, in 1942, Japanese-Canadians were "evacuated" from Canada's Pacific coast and sent to internment camps for the duration of WW2.

in 1981, Joy Kogawa wrote her first novel Obasan, the first novel to address the issue of the Japanese-Canadian internment. Joy Kogawa would receive the Order of Canada in 1986 for her literary acheivement, what Roy Miki called "a novel that I believe is the most important literary work of the past 30 years for understanding Canadian history."

20 years ago, the Japanese Canadian Redress settlement was signed in Ottawa with Joy present. She stood in the House of Commons gallery, when NDP leader Ed Broadbent read a passage from "Obasan"

2005 was a busy year for Joy Kogawa. Obasan was the "One Book One Vancouver" selection for the Vancouver Public Library. "Naomi's Road", a mini-opera based on her children's novel debuted by the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble. And the childhood home of Joy Kogawa, which she had always hoped her family could return to after the war, was threatened with demolition. And on November 1st,at Vancouver City Hall, there was the Joy Kogawa Cherry Tree Planting".

On November 3rd, a presentation was made to Vancouver City Council to do whatever they could to stop or delay the proposed demolition of Joy Kogawa's childhood home. An unprecedented motion was passed to delay the processing of the demolition permit by 3 months. read Kogawa House: Vancouver Council votes unaminously to create 120 day delay to demolition application.

City councilor Jim Green accompanied Joy Kogawa in turning the sod. Jim had helped Joy take the original grafts from the tree a year before. They were accompanied by Vancouver chief librarian Paul Whitney, and Vancouver Opera managing director James Wright.Now there is a plaque to officially recognize and commemorate the significance of this young cherry tree. It is grafted from the original cherry tree from Joy Kogawa's childhood home.Joy Kogawa with City Librarian Paul Whitney, Opera Managing Director James Wright, and City Councillor Jim Green - photo Deb Martin

In May of 2006, The Land Conservancy of BC purchased the house at 1450 West 64th Ave, to help preserve the childhood home of author Joy Kogawa.

In April 2008, Joy released a children's picture book titled Naomi's Tree. It encompasses the stories of the WW2 internment, and also the saving of her childhood home, while reflecting on the friendship of a young child and cherry try as they both age and meet again. This book tells the story of the "Friendship Tree," Joy Kogawa reads "Naomi's Tree" at Vancouver Kidsbooks for the Vancouver book launch.

20th Anniversary of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:17:46 -0700

Monday, September 22, 2008, Vancouver--Today is the 20th anniversary of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement negotiated with the National Association of Japanese Canadians after five years of struggle. On this day, then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney stood in the House of Commons and stated:

Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for members of all sides of the House in offering to Japanese Canadians the formal and sincere apology of this Parliament for those past injustices against them, their families, and their heritage, and our solemn commitment to Canadians of every origin that they will never again be countenanced or repeated.

As we recognize the 20th anniversary of the Redress Agreement, quite amazingly, we have learned that it is also the 64th anniversary of the expropriation sale of the childhood home of Joy's family. Recently we have been approached with research involving Land Registry searches on 1450 West 64th Avenue, and one of the discoveries was that it was sold on September 22, 1944.

Forty-four years later, to the day, the Redress Agreement was signed in Ottawa, with Joy present. Gregory Tatchell, the researcher, noted: "I think of these parallels as God winks, not as coincidence!"

Excerpt from Justice in Our Time: The Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1991) by Roy Miki and Cassandra Kobayashi

Visit Joy Kogawa at the Royal BC Museum - take a picture with her!

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:47:35 -0700

Where is Joy Kogawa in this picture?

This is the interactive photo display in front of the Royal BC Museum, in Victoria BC, for the "Free Spirit" exhibition celebrating the 150th Anniversary of British Columbia. These pictures are from "The Party" display which features 150 of BC's most fascinating people.

The display also features Japanese-Canadian David Suzuki and other famous authors such as Jane Rule, Douglas Coupland, PK Page and Dorothy Livesay.

Check out the website and find Joy and David Suzuki in:

http://www.freespiritbc.ca/virtualexhibition/theparty.aspx

hint: you can stand behind Joy, as Kogawa House committee member Deb Martin is doing. This picture of Joy was taken by Kogawa House committee members Deb and Todd Wong- who is is also featured in "The Party" exhibit.

The exhibition opened in March, Deb and I went to visit "Joy" in April: read our story: Traveling to "The Party" at BC Royal Museum

Cherry Tree planted, Sen. Ruth acknowledged as $ 1/2 Million donor, Joy given Georrge Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:18:42 -0700

It was a wonderful busy

busy day of celebration

at Joy Kogawa House

on April 25th.

3pm press conference, introduction of formerly anomnynous $500,000 donor (Sen. Nancy Ruth) + baby cherry tree planting

At 3:40pm, we sat inside the living room of Historic Joy Kogawa House and listened to CBC Radio One's Arts Report by Paul Grant. Paul had interviewed Sen. Nancy Ruth, Bill Turner and Joy Kogawa for his story on how the house was saved, and how Sen. Nancy Ruth's formerly anonymous gift of $500,000 was important. In this picture Hon. Iona Campagnolo, Sen. Nancy Ruth and Joy Kogawa.- photo Todd Wong

Hon. Iona Campagnolo (former BC Lt. Gov. speaks about importance of preserving culture and heritage represented through Historica Joy Kogawa house. She stands next to Joy Kogawa, Bill Turner (TLC executive director), Senator Nancy Ruth, Ujal Dosanjh MP for Vancouver South, Ellen Woodsworth (former Vancouver City councilor) - photo Todd Wong

4pm VIP reception - where we sold 6 baby cherry trees that will be planted at designated public sites (I want to plant one at Government House in Victoria)

Joy Kogawa signs books for MP Ujal Dosanjh and Vancouver councilor Heather Deal - two of the politicians we first contacted in 2005 to find ways to save the house and ensure its heritage designations. - photo Todd Wong

8pm Music and Poetry with Joy Kogawa and Friends, featuring poets George McWhirter, Heidi Greco, Marion Quednau, soprano Heather Pawsey, flautist Kathryn Cernauskas, pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwassa, and composer Leslie Uyeda.

Author Joy Kogawa reads to a packed house in her childhood home. Composer Leslie Uyeda stands 2nd from left. Vancouver Public Library Community Programming director Janice Douglas sits in the front row, 3rd from left. - photo Todd Wong

Following the music, Joy was presented with the George Woodcock Literary Achievement Award from BC Bookworld Publisher Alan Twigg, Vancouver Public Library Community Programs Director Janice Douglas, and historian Jean Barman.

Alan Twigg speaks of Joy's accomplishments Joy Kogawa accepts the award

This morning Joy Kogawa sent this email out to our Historic Joy Kogawa House Society

Dear Friends,

For a day of unalloyed happiness --

I have had many many wonderful days in my life -- but this one! It was the happiest. If ever I've felt at home.... Or felt the love that underlies all...

My friend Heather Pawsey, soprano wrote:

Last night was one of the most beautiful and profound evenings of my musical life. Heartfelt thanks to everyone behind Kogawa House. May it continue to rise and spread its wings.

Pictures and more details to follow.
see:

Kogawa House April 25 2008

Joy Kogawa House, April 25th 2008

Globe & Mail: 'Instead of dying, it's been given a second chance' - story about Joy Kogawa's childhood home and beloved cherry t

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:36:02 -0700

Globe & Mail: 'Instead of dying, it's been given a second chance' - story about Joy Kogawa's childhood home and beloved cherry tree

1) Joy and Timothy @ Kogawa House circa 1939 2) Joy and Timothy with friends circ 1939 3) Rev. Tim Nakayama, Roy Miki, Joy Kogawa and Todd Wong May 2005, at the Obasan Launch for One Book One Vancouver, Vancouver Public Library.

This is truly a miracle story. I remember in the early 1980's shelving "Obasan" on book shelves while I worked at the Vancouver Public Library. Just the existence of the book spoke to me about Asian-Canadian history and identity. I was inspired to learn more about Japanese-Canadian history as part of my own Asian-Canadian history, as part of my own identity as a Canadian.

The very first time I met Joy Kogawa was at Expo 86. She gave a reading, and read a poem titled "Oh Canada," about the sorry and loss of the internment. I introduced myself to her friend Roy Miki and he gave me Joy'
s copy of the poem.

Many years later, I am honoured to call these great Canadians as friends. It is a pleasure to be president of the Historic Joy Kogawa House Society, with so many good-hearted people on our board.

As I told CBC arts reporter Paul Grant, back in 2005 when we had just re-started the Save Kogawa House campaign, "Saving the house is a calling. It's something that has to be done.

Today, we have a literary and historic landmark for not only the City of Vancouver, but for all Canadians. And we still have work to do. We must restore the house to its 1942 qualities when Joy and her brother Tim lived in the house, before they were sent away to the internment camps and beet farms. We must build a writer's-in-residence program for this house.

'Instead of dying, it's been given a second chance'

Celebrated author Joy Kogawa returns to the house her family lost during their wartime internment and revels in its future

ROD MICKLEBURGH

From Friday's Globe and Mail

April 25, 2008 at 5:18 AM EDT

VANCOUVER — As a girl, Joy Nakayama would write from her family's miserable shack in the Alberta sugar beet fields to the new occupants of the comfortable Vancouver home seized from her family during the wartime internment of Japanese Canadians.

She begged the owners for a chance to get the house back. They never replied.

More than 60 years later, in a charming circle of history, Ms. Nakayama, better known as the celebrated writer Joy Kogawa, stood once more in her childhood home this week, eager to guide a visitor through its emotional past.

From her former bedroom window, she gazed again at the famous backyard cherry tree that forms the heart of her memories and so much of her writing.

"It's the tree, more than anything else, that grips me," Ms. Kogawa said. "It's as if it has a message written upon it, that everything we've gone through in life is known. ... When it dies, I feel I will die."

Split in the middle, oozing sap, with many of its limbs missing, the gnarled, ailing tree is nonetheless draped in a glorious display of springtime blossoms, as much a miracle of survival as the house itself.

The modest bungalow in the city's now fashionable Marpole district was just days from destruction when a last-minute, anonymous donation of $500,000 allowed The Land Conservancy to buy it, with hopes of establishing a writers' residence and a tribute to Ms. Kogawa and her award-winning novel Obasan, about the tragedy of internment.

The donor's identity is to be disclosed at a ceremony this afternoon. But The Globe and Mail has learned that the improbably large sum came from Conservative Senator Nancy Ruth, sister of former Ontario lieutenant-governor Henry Jackman.

"Why? Because I have a tremendous fondness for Joy Kogawa," Ms. Ruth explained, adding with a modest chuckle: "And also because of the tax incentives of the Harper government. No capital gains on stock earnings given to charity."

Internment was a shameful act, she said. "I can remember reading Obasan and weeping at the pain."

Yet, Ms. Ruth said, Ms. Kogawa retains a deep sense of faith in humanity, that reconciliation and hope are still possible, even in the face of things that are terrible.

Writers residing in the house in the future will have to deal with that, Ms. Ruth said. "How can you sit at a desk and look out at that cherry tree and not think from whence all that came?"

As for Ms. Kogawa, the six-year-old who once dangled upside down from the tree's low branches is now grey-haired and 72, albeit with undiminished energy and flashing eyes.

She can scarcely comprehend the astounding chain of events that has brought her childhood refuge back after so many years, particularly on a street where many residences were torn down long ago in favour of larger, more expensive dwellings.

"I had given up. I'd gone to the realtors. I pleaded and begged not to let it go. I offered to write books for them, to name characters after their children. It all fell on deaf ears."

Now, she marvelled, "such a strange thing has happened here. It's all a bit surreal, dream-like. I don't know even how to describe it. It's like some movie script, this sense of wonder and delight."

During her tour of the house, Ms. Kogawa indicated how much has changed over the years. New walls, doors and windows replaced, closets ripped out.

"My mother's piano was right there," she said, gesturing toward an empty corner of the living room. "The gramophone was over there, and that's where the goldfish

bowl stood."

She headed into the basement. Suddenly, there were gasps of surprise.

"There they are! The windows and the doors!" She pointed to a pair of fine French doors and old window frames, carefully stacked along a wall. "And there's some of the cedar planks that my father put in. Wouldn't it be great if things could be brought back to the way they were?"

Ms. Kogawa brought back a few family possessions that survived internment. Her brother's toy cars, her mother's Japanese tea set, tattered picture books. "These are the pictures I grew up with." And an old apple crate. "That was saved, because it was useful when we had to move," she said, without bitterness.

It was a good day.

"The story of this house has come to a wonderful place, like a new beginning," she said, groping to find just the right words.

"It had one birth. It lived its life, and then, instead of dying, it's been given a second chance. That's a wonderful, wonderful thing to have.

"It's going to live again. It will breathe. It will bring life to people. It will bring reconciliation. Those are the things this house has been called to do."

Language of Music, The Music of Words

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:28:15 -0700

A Musical Evening with Joy Kogawa and Friends

When: Friday, April 25, 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.

Where: Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver

Cost: By donation. Space is limited. To secure a seat, please RSVP by emailing kogawahouse@yahoo.ca. Wine and cheese will be served.

Vancouver composer Leslie Uyeda presents two song cycles written to accompany five of Joy Kogawa’s most exquisite poems. "Stations of Angels" will be performed by soprano Heather Pawsey and flutist Kathryn Cernauskas and "Offerings," by Heather Pawsey and pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa. These performances are the world premiere of both song cycles, which were composed especially for these three artists.

To complement the musical performance, poets Joy Kogawa, Heidi Greco, Marion Quednau, and Vancouver’s poet laureate George McWhirter will read.

The evening will close with a stellar presentation: the Vancouver Public Library will award Joy the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding literary career related to British Columbia.

This National Poetry Month event takes place in Joy Kogawa’s childhood home—a place that is representative of the many properties owned by Canadians of Japanese descent that were confiscated during the Second World War when their occupants were interned. After a hard-fought effort to save the house from demolition, the tiny bungalow is being restored and will host a writer-in-residence program.

Proceeds from this musical event will fund the honorarium for the first writer to live and work at the house, beginning in March 2009.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the League of Canadian Poets.

Joy Kogawa is coming to Kidsbooks

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:58:57 -0700

Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m.

at Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway

Kidsbooks invites you to meet Joy Kogawa in celebration of her new book, Naomi's Tree. This beautiful picture book touches on the internment of Canadians of Japanese descent during the Second World War. Illustrated by Ruth Ohi, Naomi's Tree is based on the characters from Joy Kogawa's classic novel, Naomi's Road. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Tickets are $5 available at Kidsbooks, or by phone at 604-738-5335, and are fully redeemable toward Joy Kogawa's books on the night of the event only.

If you would like signed copies but are unable to attend, please call or email us in advance.

For more information, email us at events@kidsbooks.ca or call 604-738-5335.

Jointly sponsored by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, The Land Conservancy of BC, and Historic Joy Kogawa House Society.

A writing workshop and public reading with Sharon Butala

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:46:12 -0800

Writing the Memoir

Location: Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver

Date: Reading on Friday, February 22, 7:30 to 9 p.m.; writing workshop on Saturday, February 23, and Sunday, February 24, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Cost: To be determined. Space is limited. To secure a seat, please register by emailing ametten@telus.net.

Many writers have demonstrated that even the most glamorous lives--of celebrities, war heroes, or politicians--can make for dull reading. Yet the most ordinary lives can make thrilling reading. How does the storyteller capture the essence of the story and develop a reader's interest? What are memoirs really about, and why write them? Through discussion, question and answer, exercises, and examining successful memoirs, this workshop will endeavour to answer such questions, as well as to show how memoirs might be structured, and how a writer decides what to put in and what to leave out. Memoirs are therapy for both writer and reader, but they are also good stories: at their best, they are art.

Sharon Butala is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction. Her memoir, The Perfection of the Morning, was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist for the Governor General's Award. Ms Butala has been called one of Canada's true visionaries. In 2002 she was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her newest work, The Girl in Saskatoon: A Meditation on Memory and Murder (HarperCollins Canada), will be in bookstores in March.

Watch this website over the next few days for more information.

We're looking for a resident caretaker

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:51:46 -0800

The Historic Joy Kogawa House was purchased by TLC The Land Conservancy of British Columbia in May 2006 after a successful public fundraising campaign to save the house from demolition.

The property is one of the few residences in Vancouver identified as having been confiscated by the Canadian government and sold without the lawful owner's permission.

In addition, the property has heritage and cultural significance for its connection with renowned Canadian author Joy Kogawa (born 1935) who lived in the house with her family between 1937 and 1942, when the family was forced to move. Kogawa's work has been nationally and internationally recognized.

The property is in the process of being preserved as a Canadian cultural and literary landmark. It will function as a writers-in-residence retreat and will host periodic special events.

However, while the full program is being developed, TLC The Land Conservancy is seeking a warden (caretaker) to live in the residence and assist in minor maintenance.

Details about the house
The warden will have use of a living room, office room, dining space, two bathrooms, full kitchen, one bedroom, multi-purpose room, ample storage space, outdoor deck, small yard and enclosed garage for parking. Washer, dryer and dishwasher are included.

Duties required
In return for a very reasonable rent and utilities, the warden will be expected to assist with minor maintenance duties of the site. These would mostly include yard work, but can vary depending on skill and interest.

Also, the warden would need to accommodate the use of the house for approximately 2 or 3 events or tours a month, as well as visits from TLC and others to perform maintenance and restoration activities. These events or tours can be either private or open to the public. The warden is expected to keep the inside of the house tidy before scheduled events or tours. The warden will be given sufficient notice to prepare for these activities.

Rent
Rent is $700/month for a single occupant or $1000/month for a couple (plus utilities).

No pets, no smokers and no children.

Available for February 1, 2008. Call (604) 733-2313 to apply, preferably before Friday, December 13.

TLC is a non-profit, charitable land trust protecting wilderness areas and cultural landmarks in BC. Since 1997, TLC has protected over 100,000 acres of threatened lands, involving more than 200 projects. www.conservancy.bc.ca

Join us for a literary event at Historic Joy Kogawa House on Saturday, November 10, 3 to 5 p.m.

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:29:27 -0700

War and Remembrance

A reading in support of TLC’s writers-in-residence program at Historic Joy Kogawa House

Location: 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver

Date: Saturday, November 10, 3 to 5 p.m.

Cost: Admission by donation.
Space is limited. To ensure a seat, please RSVP to (604) 733-2313.

Ruth Ozeki, the Vancouver Public Library’s One Book, One Vancouver author for 2007 for her novel My Year of Meats, will read her contribution to the new collaborative novel, Click, published by Scholastic to support Amnesty International. Ruth’s story describes the experiences of a Japanese boy living in Tokyo during the American occupation following the Second World War.

Vancouver writer Shaena Lambert will read from her novel, Radiance, which tells the story of a Hiroshima survivor whom a group of antinuclear activists sponsor for plastic surgery in New York in the 1950s. The story pits the ideals of peace at home against the realities of the war experience in Japan.

Special guest appearance by Canadian author and poet, Joy Kogawa.

For more information, please call TLC’s Lower Mainland Office at (604) 733-2313, email vancouver@conservancy.bc.ca.

A Place of Compassion: Joy Kogawa's Dream Vancouver statement

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:53:09 -0700

A Place of Compassion:
Joy Kogawa's Dream Vancouver statement

Joy Kogawa holds up her arms to embrace and support everything she loves in the world
- photo Todd Wong

Joy Kogawa, author of Obasan, has written A Place of Compassion for her submission to the Dream Vancouver conference and website, organized by Think City. While Joy will not be attending the conference, I will be as one of the directors of the Joy Kogawa House Society.

Dream Vancouver is an all-day conference which will take participants from their dreams about Vancouver to a possible agenda for change. The conference will be facilitated by Bliss Browne, internationally-renowned speaker and president of Imagine Chicago. Former City of Vancouver Co-Director of Current Planning Larry Beasley is key note speaker. Ms. Browne will then facilitate a discussion-based session which will take participants through a series of questions designed to bring them to a collective vision of what the city could be.

To attend you must register, click here.

Registration: 9:30 am - 10:00 am
Conference: 10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Reception: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Location: Jewish Community Centre, 950 W. 41st Avenue, Vancouver (at Oak Street).

- photo courtesy Joy Kogawa

Is Joy a Vancouver dreamer? She was born in Vancouver in 1935. During WW2 in 1942, when she was 6 years old, her family was removed from Vancouver and sent to internment camps for Japanese-Canadians. She forever dreamed about returning to the the house in Vancouver's Marpole neighborhood, even after the Canadian government confiscated the property of the Japanese-Canadian internment victims, and resettled them to work as labourers on Alberta beet farms. She lives mostly in Toronto but returns to Vancouver often, and has great hopes for Vancouver as a city, and as a cultural entity.

Joy Kogawa and her brother Rev. Timothy Nakayama, at the opening event for Obasan, the 2005 choice for One Book One Vancouver at the Vancouver Public Library - photo Todd Wong

Joy is acknowledged as one of Canada's most important writers in the 20th Century for her ground breaking novel Obasan - a story about the impact of the internment on the Japanese Canadian community. Since May 2005, when I met Joy, at the first Obasan event for One Book, One Vancouver event at the Vancouver Public Library, our developing friendship was been a wild ride as I became a key player on the Save Kogawa House committee (See my articles on Joy Kogawa & Kogawa House).

I have witnessed Joy speak in numerous circumstances and she always seems to have an unwavering position that calls for peace and compassion in so many circumstances. It embraces her anti-war stance, the Japanese-Canadian redress, South African apartheid, the Chinese-Canadian head tax issue, Japanese atrocities against China in WW2, the history of her ancestor's home of Okinawa, the naming of the 401 Burrard building after Howard Green. Joy doesn't look to find blame for right or wrong, she looks to find resolution.

Joy Kogawa and Todd Wong at the 2006 Canadian Club Vancouver's annual Order of Canada / Flag Day luncheon. Joy was key note speaker, and Todd was one of the event organizers - photo Deb Martin

Vancouver has long had a reputation for a history with peace activism. This is part of our social-cultural make up, and can be embodied through social policy initiatives. Perhaps it has become such because so many people have come to Vancouver after leaving war, destruction, starvation, revolution, upheaval in their home lands.

Joy has given Dream Vancouver a very apt and fitting dream statement to find reconciliation and understanding "within and between the faiths, between rich and poor, among immigrant groups, in established neighbourhoods, in the Downtown Eastside, among those who are still suffering from unresolved injustices of the near and distant past can come to healing and hope and inner freedom."

Joy Kogawa and children from Tomsett Elementary School in Richmond. After seeing the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensembles production of "Naomi's Road", the children were inspired to helps save Kogawa House from demolition. Joy and the children stand in front of the house for their own private tour and reading event. - photo Joan Young

On November 10th, come to the 2nd open house event at Kogawa House.
Sunday, 3-5pm. 1450 West 64th Ave. (just East of Granville St.)
Admission is by donation. Proceeds go to restoring historic Joy Kogawa House, now owned by The Land Conservancy of BC.

A Place of Compassion

Posted October 15th, 2007 in Dreamers

Joy Kogawa, poet and novelist: The dream I have for this west-coast city on the edge of the peaceable ocean is the dream I have for the world - a dream of peace. What better time than this to abolish war as we face our common planetary fate?

We have choices - to continue blithely on our way, fighting and devouring one another for the rest of our dwindling days, or we can individually and collectively lay down our weapons and practice the ways of truth and reconciliation, cooperation and peace.

In a city where east-west faces and races meet and mix, where cultures both clash and blend, the ways of peace can be cultivated, watered, nurtured and the seeds of that action can fly to the farthest corners of our hearts and the world.

As a Japanese Canadian, I have welcomed conversations with two granddaughters of Howard Green, the politician whose public words against us during the Second World War were dreaded in our community. If they can seek to make peace with us on behalf of the grandfather they loved, ought we not to walk with them? What an opportunity for peace making and for walking on.

And ought we not, as Canadian descendants from Japan, to stand with those Canadian descendants of China, who seek a fulsome parliamentary acknowledgment from the country of our ancestors for the horrors their ancestors faced in the Rape of Nanking? Or is it our choice to turn aside and say, "These are no concerns of ours." I believe that the morally appropriate action is to respond to those who suffer and who call our names.

But it is not for me to say what is right for anyone else. We are each required to struggle with our own conscience and to respond to the many voices that call us.

read here: for the rest of Joy's statement

Joy Kogawa House Society is a community partner for the Think City's "Dream Vancouver" conference

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:40:42 -0700

Joy Kogawa House Society is a community partner for the Think City's "Dream Vancouver" conference

I have registered Joy Kogawa House Society as a community partner for the Dream Vancouver conference, happening on October 21st.

The Dream Vancouver conference sounds like a great idea. It will bring together city leaders and community activists to build a collective vision for the city, that can embrace its development and its future.

No doubt the conference title was inspired by the wonderful book Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination by Lance Berelowitz. It is about the story behind Vancouver's emerging urban form: the buildings, public spaces, extraordinary landscapes and cultural values that have turned the city into the poster-child of North American urbanism.

From the Think City website:

Think City believes that all of us can help shape Vancouver’s future by participating in the development of new ideas and proposals – for affordable housing, sustainability, culture and the health of our neighbourhoods.

At Dream Vancouver, Think City and Simon Fraser University’s Public Policy Program will bring together community activists, citizens and people like you to share ideas on the most pressing challenges facing the City of Vancouver.

The Dream Vancouver conference on Sunday, October 21, 2007 will follow an “open space,” Appreciative Inquiry format facilitated by internationally renowned speaker and Imagine Chicago President Bliss Browne. Our keynote speaker for the conference will be former City of Vancouver Co-Director of Current Planning Larry Beasley.

Last month the conference organizers asked me to be a "Vancouver dreamer" because of my work in developing Gung Haggis Fat Choy and in helping to save Joy Kogawa House. They asked for myself and Joy to write "Dream statements for the future of Vancouver" for the conference.

There are lots of great dream statements from people like Dr. Kerry Jang, Joy MacPhail, Mike Harcourt, environmentalist Joye Foy, SUCCESS Ceo Tung Chan, Vancouver Board of Trade manager Darcy Rezac, policy planner Kennedy Stewart.

Here is my statement:

Dream Vancouver:
Diversity in our History and our Future

When my great-great grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan came to BC in 1896, the roads were dirt, and there was a head tax on Chinese immigrants.

When I grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s I marveled at the way Hawaiian culture was so ethnically diverse. Asian faces were on nightly news casts, and Hawaiian culture was embraced by mainstream American culture. In Vancouver, there was still a sense of racial divisions, and ethnic marginalization. Chinese-Canadian and First Nations history were more likely relegated to sidebar stories and foot notes.

Today, I am living my dream of making Vancouver and Canada more racially tolerant and interculturally exciting!

Every culture that lived along the Silk Road from Italy to Japan, from India to Egypt now lives in Vancouver. Through the cross-fertilization of ideas, we are able to express new ways of seeing ideas and expressing customs, of expressing the same oneness through many perspectives of the kaleidoscope of life. But so many times we talk about Canada as a mosaic or multicultural, and become more concerned with the pieces while we lose sight of the whole.

Vancouver IS an inter-cultural crossroad and we are inter-historic… linking not only Vancouver’s history with each new wave of immigrants – but also with our collective global history. We carry within us the global cultural history of the world… in our little city on the edge.

Vancouver must become a 21st Century Renaissance City. The “Gateway to the Pacific” is gone with the passage of steam ships… we are now in the computer internet information era. Everything is instant – within hours… minutes… seconds. We know what is happening around the world. Vancouverites can live here and work all around the world.

We must NOT be afraid of doing something new or borrowing from a different culture, nor to place an idea within a different context. Creative synthesis takes what already exists and applies it to different scenarios – new and exciting.

This is the simple beauty of Gung Haggis Fat Choy. How would a Robbie Burns Day be celebrated by Chinese-Canadians? How would a Chinese New Year be celebrated by Scottish-Canadians?

What if… Canadians had both Chinese and Scottish ancestry? What if we celebrated both Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year on the same day… with the same families?

This is the future of Vancouver. We are already acknowledged as the Canadian city with the most intercultural marriages.

We are all one family.

I see a day for Vancouver when every family will have a member whose ancestry: paid the Chinese head tax; was an indentured Scottish labourer after the Highland clearings; was a French-Canadian settler; is First Nations; left Iran after the Shah was deposed; was in the Japanese-Canadian internment camps during WW2; or fished in the Maritimes; or worked oil fields in Alberta; and is addicted to dragon boat racing.

We MUST know our history to build our future. How did we come to be here? Who built and shaped this city?

People told us it was impossible, when we embarked on our campaign to save author Joy Kogawa’s childhood home from demolition. But in our success we helped to build a corner stone foundation for our future Vancouver. It gave Vancouver its first literary landmark for a Canadian writer. It gave Vancouver a landmark from a dark period of its history when Canadians, born of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and sent off to internment camps in the mountains, and their property was confiscated… for no reason other than fear.

Kogawa House can link history, literature, the arts, social-criticism, heritage, and multiculturalism all together. By building understandings for our cultural history, through the arts, business, and even recreation sports like dragon boat racing, we can give value to our history… and to our future.

We need to educate and mentor our future leaders. Our city, our societies and our education must embrace the continued diversity of our cultures. We must build inter-disciplinary social-cultural philosophical infrastructures throughout business, society, arts, politics, academia, sports and recreation. There is no separation between business and art, between sports and history, between academia and recreation. All is related, and everything is possible. This is my Vancouver.

Todd Wong

Joy Kogawa's dream statement to be posted soon.

Joy Kogawa House Society is now a legal entity

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:02:12 -0700

The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society is now incorporated with the BC Registry of Societies, which means we’re now a legal entity that can carry forward the purposes of the society:

Purposes

The purposes of the Society shall be:

1. To operate and preserve the former Joy Kogawa family home at 1450 West 64th Avenue in Vancouver as a heritage and cultural centre and as a site of healing and reconciliation.

2. To establish in the former Joy Kogawa family home a centre for writers in which they can reflect on issues of conscience and reconciliation and write about their own personal experiences or the experiences of others, past or present.

3. To promote and negotiate the raising of funds for the pursuit of the Society’s purposes.

4. To encourage in the former Joy Kogawa family home educational programming along themes of social justice and social history, and to provide docent services for such programming.

5. To advocate on behalf of the continuing operation of the house in the public interest consistent with the above purposes.

Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:02:02 -0700

Ryukoku students visit Kogawa House in July 2007

Ryukoku Summer Students Visit Kogawa House

A group of 19 enthusiastic Japanese high school students and their teachers visited historic Joy Kogawa House early on the morning of Thursday, July 26, 2007. Members of the group attend school in various parts of Japan and came together in Vancouver to participate in Ryukoku Sogo Gakuen, a three-week educational program out of Steveston Buddhist Temple that promotes religious, cultural, and international understanding. The Ryukoku Summer English program has been in operation every summer for the past five years.

This year, an important aspect of the curriculum was to create some understanding and appreciation of the Japanese experience in British Columbia. As part of their preparation for their visit to Canada, students were required to read Joy Kogawa’s story of the internment, Naomi’s Road, as well as do some research about the author. The culmination of their learning was the exciting tour of the author’s childhood home during their visit to Vancouver.

Tamsin Baker, regional manager of The Land Conservancy of BC’s Lower Mainland office, was present at the house to welcome the group. Tamsin showed the students photos of the house during various times in the past and explained the history of the house and plans for its future. The highlight of the morning came when Joy herself arrived at the house, accompanied by David Kogawa and their son, Gordon. Her arrival was a completely unexpected surprise. The students and teachers were absolutely thrilled to meet Joy in person and gave her a very enthusiastic welcome. Everyone wanted to have a picture taken with Joy.

The Ryukoku School wishes to thank Joy Kogawa, David Kogawa, and Tamsin Baker for taking the time to make their visit to the house very meaningful and for helping to create wonderful memories for the students to take back to Japan.

—Posted on behalf of Joan Young