Interview with Maryku Omatsa

Date

1990-02-13

Description

Interviewee states that many of these recollections are from before she was 10 years old and may be incomplete or flawed. Interviewee is hesitant to name a lot of names as she fears people will still be critical of communism. Tochigi Japan (father's hometown). Hachi Jo Island in Japan (mother's point of origin).

Physical description

1 online resource (1 audio file (01:32:11))

Business/company discussed

Mother's store on 12th and Alma; shops on 4th Ave and Dunbar; Co-op store on Powell St.; Japanese Language School; cousin's shop on Granville St.; Hotel Vancouver; St. Vincent's Hospital in Ottawa

Time period discussed

1900-1950s

Names mentioned

Yomishi Kato (father); Toyoko Makino (mother); Mr. Homma; Nuichi Yoshida; John Nihei; Itsu Suzuki; Toshiko Tamura (wrote a book called "My Love in Vancouver" [this is the English translation of the title] in Japan about her relationship with Itsu); Mr. and Mrs. Siuki (owners of the store interviewee's mother worked at on 4th avenue); David Nurse (pastor's son who attended the Anglican school with interviewee); David Lewis (interviewee saw him speak at Hotel Vancouver); Vic Ogura; George Imai; Mr. Aoki (teacher); Rose Cook; Miki family; Jean Kanimura; Mr. Kami; Mr. Nori; Sai (Tony) Kobayashi; Tom Shoyama; Takahashi Brothers; Kunio Shimizu.

Topic discussed

Internment; family history; personal and famlily involvment in the communist party; pre-war life in Vancouver; community activity; education; internment camp experiences; redress; enfranchisment

Addresses of concern

Japanese Language School at 475 Alexander Street, Co-op Store on Powell Street, mother's cousin's store on Granville Street (interviewee's mother does piecework [sewing] for this store), Mother's store at Alma and 12th (dressmakers and drycleaners) opened during the depression (the family lived behind the store until 1938), mother had previously worked at stores on West 4th Avenue and on Dunbar, family home on Oxford St. near Nanaimo St. (living here from 1938-evacuation), longhouse at 1934 Triumph St.

Accession Number

1994.74.126

Subject (Geographic)

Hastings East

Powell Street (Vancouver, B.C.)

Hachi Jo Island in Japan.

Genre

Interviews

Oral histories

Sound recordings

Type of resource

Sound recording non-musical

Language

English

Part of

Japanese Canadian Oral History Collection

Identifier

johc_183

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Japanese Canadian National Museum

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