Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: Room 411 All Day Programming My great-grandparents went from proudly owning a fruit and vegetable farm five-football-fields large in Richmond, BC, to the Canadian government forcing them for years to live impoverished in a shack, picking sugar beets for a pittance to pay for their incarceration in Taber, Alberta. Legalized … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 2nd floor Boardroom バンクーバー日本語学校2階 会議室 Join Okinawan Sanshin master craftsman, certified Sanshin instructor, and musician Hitoshi Kiyomura for a Sanshin Open House where participants can explore all aspects of the Sanshin. Activities include Sanshin deconstruction and construction demonstrations, hands-on tryouts, repairs, and a Miyako min’yō sing-along session. Hitoshi Kiyomura was born on Tarama Island … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 2nd floor Boardroom バンクーバー日本語学校2階 会議室 Join Okinawan Sanshin master craftsman, certified Sanshin instructor, and musician Hitoshi Kiyomura for a Sanshin Open House where participants can explore all aspects of the Sanshin. Activities include Sanshin deconstruction and construction demonstrations, hands-on tryouts, repairs, and a Miyako min’yō sing-along session. Hitoshi Kiyomura was born on Tarama Island … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: Room 407 All Day Programming/Event: Sunday, August 2 @ 3:30-4:30pm A suspended fishing net references Japanese Canadian coastal labour histories and serves as a framework for a growing collection of participant-created dresses. Inspired by the artist’s family history of dressmaking, fishing, and cannery work, the installation unfolds between two zones: a monochrome … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: Room 407 All Day Programming/Event: Saturday, August 1 @ 12-1pm A suspended fishing net references Japanese Canadian coastal labour histories and serves as a framework for a growing collection of participant-created dresses. Inspired by the artist’s family history of dressmaking, fishing, and cannery work, the installation unfolds between two zones: a monochrome … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: Room 408 All Day Programming Undertow / 潜流 – August 1/2 2026 explores the quiet forces that shape memory, intuition, environment and family lineage. The installation brings together Nishikawara’s recent works including family images suspended as Cyanotypes on silk, Takuhon (stone rubbings) from ancestral gravestones in Japan, Gyotaku (fish prints), and Tenugui textiles created using de-commissioned fishing nets, seaweed, and plant materials. … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School-Japanese Hall: 3rd Floor Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann will read from her hybrid memoir and Japanese Canadian history “The Nail That Sticks Out.” Hartmann’s mother was only eight months old in April 1942 when torn from her Victoria home. The family was forced to bunk in horse stalls at Vancouver’s Hastings Park before being … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School-Japanese Hall: 3rd Floor Come learn about the journey of four generations of Japanese Canadians and their ties to a cottage on the tip of Richmond BC. The exhibit activates photographs, captured by Hiro Koyanagi from 1928 – 1942, documenting Nikkei fishermen’s life in and around Eburne BC. The presentation chronicles the Nikkei history in … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 3rd Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：3階 The Centennial Park Tea House Project, funded through the Japanese Canadian Legacies Fund and in partnership with the Mission Community Archives, will create a BC Heritage Site in the form of a park amenity inspired by Japanese tea house tradition and culture. When open, the tea house … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 3th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：3階 Through selected passages and reflection, Ishii shares how uncovering her family’s story, shaped by wartime dispossession and inherited silence, became a pathway toward resilience, wellbeing, and deeper belonging. She speaks to how trauma can echo across generations, and how storytelling can gently transform inherited pain into connection, … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 3rd Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：3階 Art will provide an overview of his children’s book “Road to Justice” for ages 9 to 12 using a power point presentation and reading short excerpts. He’ll comment on the importance of sharing Japanese Canadian history with students and on the illustrations created by Geoff Miki, his son. The audience will … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 3rd Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：3階 The JCLS Intergenerational Wellness – Family Sharing and Healing Grant supported the publication of Miyo Sasaki’s story, a Japanese Canadian Nisei who lived in Canada and Japan (1922–1968). Originally co-written with a friend, her manuscript was edited into a self-published book. Presented by her granddaughters and great-granddaughter, they will share … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 4th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：4階 We will provide practical information and hands-on experience with interview techniques to empower Japanese Canadian community members to become oral historians. Topics covered include how to craft interview questions, active listening for best results in story gathering, what equipment to use and how to use it, as … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 4th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：4階 Join us for an interactive, intergenerational workshop exploring what it means to be Japanese Canadian today. This two-hour session will begin with short videos and brief presentations sharing community stories and research on Japanese Canadian (JC) youth identities. We will have group discussions on what it means … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School-Japanese Hall: 5th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：5階 An introduction to sumo. Participants will do a quick warm up, learn some basic techniques, and experience sumo in a safe environment. No experience is necessary. Athletic or loose casual clothing strongly recommended (clothing mandatory). If you’ve ever thought that sumo might be a little intimidating to … Read more
Marina and zmi guide listeners through sound to the landscapes of home that each of us have quietly preserved in our hearts, awakening the tender memories we carry and weaving connections between past, present, and future. Shore at the Dawn / Spirit of the Tides is composed by zmi with lyrics written by Marina, both … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School-Japanese Hall: Room #413 All Day Programming Inspired by Kome Nagasaki’s Momiji residence, Kome’s Room is a place where the door is always unlocked, and you are always welcome. In this intergenerational space for grounding, connecting, and recharging, you are invited to slow down, pause, and just be together. Sit and relax, … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 4th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：4階 In anticipation of its 50th Anniversary in 2029, Katari Taiko presents some of their history as the first taiko group in Canada and its role supporting the establishment of other taiko groups in the city as well as the country. About the Presenters: Katari Taiko, the first taiko ensemble in Canada, was … Read more
Vancouver Japanese Language School–Japanese Hall: 5th Floor バンクーバー日本語学校並びに日系人会館：5階 Tate/殺陣 is a traditional Japanese performing art that combines samurai sword fighting with expressive acting. Unlike martial arts or sports, it emphasizes storytelling through movement and is widely seen in samurai films and theatre. Participants will have the opportunity to learn the history of Tate, and try basic … Read more
Contributors to the new book Return to Paueru Gai: Fifty Years of Vancouver’s Powell Street Festival explore the festival’s past, present, and future. Editor Emiko Morita and essayists Izumi Sakamoto and Julia Aoki read short excerpts, followed by a discussion moderated by Kimiko Dorey on the festival’s role today and its path forward. Emiko Morita, … Read more
Recorded in October 2025, Goodbye Strawberry Hill features compositions in reflection of Minemoto’s family’s experiences in internment camps. Each song has a story attached to it, which is intimately shared along with each performance. Sharon Minemoto has performed to audiences around the world. Since 2000, Sharon has been a music faculty member at Vancouver Community … Read more
