Harold Miwa's interview was conducted on October 6, 2011 (Part 1) and October 20 (Part 2), 2011 by Lisa Uyeda.
Harold Hirao Miwa was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on August 15th, 1928. In his interview, he speaks about his childhood in downtown Vancouver living above a convenience store that his father owned. He then moved back to Japan with his mother for a brief period before returning to Canada and moving to Deep Bay, British Columbia. His family was then forcibly moved to Hastings Park, where they stayed for a few months before being interned in Tashme, where he recounts numerous anecdotes of his childhood including being mentored by Asahi baseball players. After the war, he moved to Ontario, first to Hamilton and subsequently to Thunder Bay to reunite with his family, where he was successful in baseball. Eventually, he settled in Toronto, raised a family and was able to coach his daughter in softball, and ran a successful printing business.
Format
Videotape
Video File
Length of Interview
4 hr 27 min
Location
Vancouver, BC
Japan
New Denver, BC
Kaslo, BC
Hastings Park, Vancouver
Tashme, BC
Hope, BC
Hamilton, ON
Toronto, ON
Neys, ON
Topic
small business
agriculture
education
issei
living in Japan
food
career
work
teaching
employment
living conditions
health
logging
internment camp
dance
music
community
recreation
martial arts
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
baseball
children
curfew
police
Asahi Baseball Team
language
fishing
volunteer
immigration
enemy alien
housing
family
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC)
United Church
Buddhism
Number of Physical Tapes
5
Permission
For uses other than research or private study, researchers must submit a Request for Permission to Publish, Exhibit or Broadcast form.
Citation
Harold Miwa, interview by Lisa Uyeda, October 6, 2011, 2011.279, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.