The Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Award is a newly created award to honour the work and legacy of Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi of Edmonton. The award will be presented every two years in recognition of an individual or organization who has contributed to the development or promotion of human rights and equity in Canada.Continue reading
Category: Community News
Thank You, Whitehorse Concert
On the evening of March 1st, just 10 days prior to the anniversary of the catastrophic Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami, beautiful soothing sound of the traditional Japanese music reverberated in the Yukon Arts Centre. The well-known Vancouver musicians, Takeo Yamashiro on Shakuhachi and Yuriko Nariya on Koto, performed solos and duets for the attentive audience of over...Continue reading
OBON CEREMONY IN VICTORIA 2011
The Nikkei community in Victoria honour the Obon tradition in a unique way. There are 152 early Japanese immigrants that are buried in Ross Bay Cemetery. These graves fell into neglect after the internment of Japanese and Japanese Canadians in 1942. Wooden markers were lost and some gravestones were vandalized. In the 1980’s the Kakehashi project was established to identify all of the Japanese graves and to install grave stones for those that did not have a marker. Today there are very few, if any, Nikkei living in Victoria who are related to the Japanese that are buried in Ross Bay. So a tradition has been established that on Obon, members of the Nikkei community go to Ross Bay Cemetery to clean the grave stones, lay flowers, and have an Obon service officiated by a Buddhist priest. We are honouring the early Japanese pioneers who laid the groundwork for Japanese Canadians now living in Canada.Continue reading
Ryo Ambe completes his Cross Canada Journey in Victoria, BC.
It was a beautiful sunny day on Tuesday, September 20th , 2011 and after almost 9,000 kilometres, 30 year old Ryo Ambe talked to the press and members from the Japanese community in Victoria at City Hall and then jumped on his bike to pedal the final leg to Mile Zero and dip his bike in the Pacific Ocean. Ryo began his trip on May 29th in Halifax, NS almost four months earlier, cycling across Canada to thank Canadians for their generosity in providing aid to the victims in his home country of Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.Continue reading
President’s Message, March 2011
The Canadian War Museum: A Victory for Vigilance by Ken Noma Projected on the floor was a red sun with emanating rays – I stumbled as I narrowly avoided stepping on it. It was the Japanese flag, or more correctly, the active ensign of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The image was dead-centre and if...Continue reading
President’s Message, January 2011
by Ken Noma I wish you much happiness and good health in the Year of the Rabbit. Early this year, “The Bulletin” reported in their February issue that the provincial government of British Columbia has cut arts funding by 80-90%. Given the fact that this sector generates 5.2 billion dollars and employs 80,000 people in...
President’s Message, December 2010
by Ken Noma I am honoured to have been elected as President of the NAJC at the Ottawa AGM held this past October and I look forward to updating the readers on the activities of NAJC and its member organizations. In my election speech to the delegates, I identified the following as my priorities during...Continue reading
President’s Message, November 2010
by Terumi Kawada On October 16/17, 2010, the NAJC held its Annual General Meeting in Ottawa, hosted by the Ottawa Japanese Community Association, at the Embassy of Japan. Delegates from member organizations, individual members, alternates, observers, volunteers of the OJCA, all gathered together for this important event to address the business of the NAJC. In...
President’s Message, October 2010
Terumi Kuwada, President of the NAJC On September 22, 1988, the Government of Canada formally apologized to the Japanese Canadian community for the injustices and wrongdoings inflicted upon our community during World War II. It was a time of great celebration for democracy, social justice and human rights for all Canadians. Today, 22 years later,...