Japanese Canadian Oral History Collection

The collection is comprised of interviews conducted by the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre with Japanese Canadians on topics ranging from early immigration; their participation in pre-World War II industries including fishing, farming, and the lumber industries; and their internment during World War II. The collection is a rich source for the study of ethnic history, BC history, Japanese Canadian history, immigration history, and oral history at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The majority of audio files are in English, but some are in Japanese.

The collection is comprised of interviews conducted by the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre with Japanese Canadians on topics ranging from early immigration; their participation in pre-World War II industries including fishing, farming, and the lumber industries; and their internment during World War II. The collection is a rich source for the study of ethnic history, BC history, Japanese Canadian history, immigration history, and oral history at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The majority of audio files are in English, but some are in Japanese.

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Acknowledgements

Contributed by National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre in partnership with Simon Fraser University.

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Displaying 106 - 120 of 260

Interview with Lillian May Akiyama

Name(s): Akiyama, Lillian May, Wood, Joanne

Interview with Lucy Kumori and Shinobu Homma

Date: 1991-01-12
Name(s): Homma, Shinobu, Kumori, Lucy
Description: Interviewer and interviewee worked together at the Powell Street Festival

Interview with Makoto Ikuta

Date: 1982-07-14
Name(s): Ikuta, Makoto, Yakuwa, Diana, Yim, Constance

interview with Mami Miyata

Name(s): Miyata, Mami

Interview with Margaret C.H. Foster

Date: 1983-07-25
Name(s): Foster, Margaret C.H., Holroyd, Carin, Wood, Joanne

Interview with Margaret Noble Minato

Date: 1983-06-09
Name(s): Holroyd, Carin, Minato, Margaret Noble, Sokugawa, Erik

Interview with Mari-Jane Medenwalt

Date: 1905-06-12
Name(s): McAllister, Kirsten Emiko, Medenwalt, Mari-Jane
Description: Working on an oral history project and conducting interviews -- The challenges inherent in conducting these interviews.

Interview with Mari-Jane Medenwalt

Date: 1991-10-29
Name(s): Medenwalt, Mari-Jane

Interview with Marie Katsuno

Date: 2000-09-12
Name(s): Katsuno, Marie, McAllister, Kirsten Emiko
Description: Marie speaks about her experience returning to Japan with her family, her experience as an English teacher in her internment camp, and the harsh living conditions of the camp which faced frequent avalanches.

Interview with Marie Katsuno

Name(s): Katsuno, Marie
Description: Marie speaks briefly about her life as a teacher, and how her experience in internment helped shape this. She discusses other events in her life, such as her as an interpreter.

Interview with Maryku Omatsa

Date: 1990-02-13
Name(s): Omatsa, Maryku
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).

Interview with Mas tasaka

Name(s): Tasaka, Mas

Interview with Masaichi Kireto

Date: 1994-10-03
Name(s): Kireto, Masaichi, Shozawa, Katherine Megumi
Description: Masaichi briefly discusses the internment period, then proceeds to talk about the importance of family and relationships.

Interview with Masanobu Kawahira

Date: 1997-06-06
Name(s): Kawahira, Masanobu, Yagi
Description: He starts by talking about how a book he wrote about his experiences in an internment camp and how it was published. He later goes into more detail about the day he was sent to an internment camp and what it was like living there.

Interview with Masao Edamura

Date: 1990-09-30
Name(s): Edamura, Masao