Connections: Exploring Our Japanese Canadian Stories

The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre with the support of Japanese Canadian Legacies is pleased to present CONNECTIONS: EXPLORING OUR JAPANESE CANADIAN STORIES

Issei and Nisei Japanese Canadians (JCs) have not always been forthcoming in sharing their family histories with the Sansei, Yonsei, and Gosei members of their families – both in terms of their roots in Japan and their experiences in Canada before, during, and after WWII. This has meant that many younger JCs lack an understanding of their elders, the life-paths of their families and, directly or indirectly, their own identities and sense of self. 

The Connections Conference includes an opening and closing plenary and six interactive sessions designed to help attendees better understand their family histories and the impact of those histories on themselves and their families.

Registration includes a Japanese Lunch and light refreshments. Please note that we are not able to accommodate dietary restrictions, although a variety of food options will be available. Registration is limited to 180 attendees.

Once you have registered, you will be provided with a link to choose your workshop options. There are 6 sessions to choose from.  Each session will be repeated morning and afternoon.  Every effort will be made to secure your first choices. However, they will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis. For further information, please contact heritage@jccc.on.ca

Cost: $20 (+HST)

Registration will remain open until Monday, November 25, 2024
 

Register Here

Schedule

Session #1 – Exploring Your Family Through the Custodian Case Files  
 

Searching for information about our families who were interned and lost all their properties can be daunting. In this session, participants will engage in an introductory examination of the Custodian Case Files created by the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property that documented Japanese Canadian property holdings including real estate and chattels.    

Tomoko Shida and Lisa Uyeda, who worked with the Landscapes of Injustice team, will lead this interactive session examining the Custodian Case Files and helping to deepen understanding of the adversity and racism faced by Japanese Canadians.       

In this session, participants will learn: 

• What are the Case Files, 
• Where and how to find them, 
• How they can be used for learning more about your family history.    

Participants are strongly encouraged to bring their own laptop or tablet to explore these case files.  

Session #2 – Children’s Books that give insight to our Japanese Canadian (JC) History  

How do family stories become a children’s book? Japanese Canadian author, Lara Okihiro, will talk about how stories about her grandmother inspired her and her cousin Janis Bridger to write, Obaasan’s Boots.

Participants will delve into a carefully curated selection of children's books written by Japanese Canadian authors and through discussions facilitated by teachers, explore how these stories can be used to introduce children to the internment of JCs, racism, culture, heritage, and Japanese Canadian history.    

In this session, participants will: 

• Engage in a book reading by author Lara Okihiro. 

• Find out how a Japanese Canadian author’s family stories inspired the writing of this children’s book,  

• Explore ways to use children’s books to talk with younger generations about their Japanese Canadian history. 

Session #3 – Preserving Memories – Exploring Internment Era Artifacts
 

   “My mother always had special treats hidden in this wooden enamel bowl”. Photographs, documents, and everyday objects - each item has a powerful story to tell.     

Participants are strongly encouraged to bring a personal family object significant to their family’s history and engage with others in sharing and exploring the stories these items tell about family and Japanese Canadian history.      

In this session, participants will have the opportunity to: 

• Explore some of Heritage’s archival artifacts and explore their importance, 
• Make a connection between their object and the stories they hold,  
• Connect with the stories of other participants,  
• Discuss ways to preserve and honour the stories of the objects.  

This session is recommended for family groups and will take place in the Moriyama Nikkei Heritage Centre.

Session #4 – Perspective: A Multigenerational Conversation with Japanese Canadians    

In this session, participants will observe and listen to a facilitated multigenerational discussion between three generations of family members. The discussion will focus on how the war experience of the Nisei grandmother influenced the raising of her Sansei daughter and how that impacted the Sansei mother’s raising of the Yonsei daughter. The discussion may also explore how their self-identity was shaped by their upbringing and the role their Japanese heritage has played in who they are.    

Participants will have an opportunity to: 

• Explore each generation’s perspective on the past, present, and future through questions and answers.  
• Reflect on the influences that impacted their self-identify – by taking the opportunity to do some personal reflection, journalling, small group discussion, etc. 
• Explore, through the modeling of the facilitated discussion, how to begin conversations, how to keep it focused without steering the conversations, and when to let the conversation flow.

Session #5 – Tell Me Your Story So I Will Know Mine

Research tells us that by telling their stories, seniors gain mental and emotional health benefits and feel that their stories matter. Exploring these stories also helps the younger generation gain greater insight to their family and understanding of themselves and their values.    

In a relaxed setting, Nisei and Sansei survivors of the internment years will be guided by an interviewer to share their stories through an interview process that will model how participants can engage in informal interviews or discussions with their family members.     

In this session, participants will have the opportunity to  

• Observe informal interviews and how they can evolve if there are more than one interviewee 
• Develop interview questions and techniques 
• Practice interviewing each other in small group      

This session is recommended for family groups.   

Session #6 – Artistic Pursuits – The Impact of Family Stories    

How does the discovery of a grandmother’s journal or a story shared, or a discovered book of poetry written by your grandfather become a play, a film, a painting, or a book?

An interviewer will lead the panel discussion to find out how these artists learned of their family history, how it impacted their lives, the work they have pursued and produced, and how they hope to impart this part of Japanese Canadian history to others.  

Participants in this panel discussion will have an opportunity to ask questions and reflect on their own experiences and sense of self.      

In this session, participants will have the opportunity to 

• Learn how the stories the artists learned about their family history impacted them personally, their work, and their desire to educate others about the Japanese Canadian history. 
• Engage in discussions/conversations on their own personal experiences. 

PARTNERS