P ostwa r J apanese I mmigra nt s i n t he Va ncouv er A r ea –
A da pta ti on P rocess thr ough t hei r O rgani zational A ct ivit ies
P r esen ta ti on a t t he J apan S t udi es A ssoci a ti on of C an ada ( J S A C) 2006
A nnual Confer ence, T hompson R i ver s U ni ver si t y, K aml oops, B .C.
October 14, 2006
Tat suo K age
M ember of G r eat er Vancouver J CC A N ihon-go C ommi ttee

W hat we are di scu ssing to d ay are pos tw ar im m igr an ts afte r 1966, w hen the
new imm i gr atio n re gul ati ons w er e intr oduce d. Th e p os tw ar immi grants
con s ti tute appr oxi m atel y 20% of Japane s e Canadian p op ulation of 85, 000
(2001). A bo ut on e thir d of th e i mmig ran ts m ust h ave settled i n the
Vancou ver area. At the e arly peri o d of the 1960’s and 1970’s m ost of th em
w ere i ndepen de nt im migran ts, r el atively y ou ng with c er tain s kill s need ed in
C an ad a.
In m y pr ese ntati on I w ould li ke to addre ss the ques tio n o f im m igr an ts’
adaptatio n to th e h os t s oci e ty, i n parti cul ar;
1) w hat were th eir
com muni ty, and

r el atio ns

w ith

the

e xis ti ng

Jap an ese

C an adi an

2) w hat w as the im plicatio n o f or ganiz ati onal activiti es am on g them sel ve s –
did suc h acti vi tie s m ak e th em is ol ated from th e m ai ns tream soci ety, or
help them ad ap t and inte gr ate in th e l arger s oci e ty?
C om muni t y’s su ppor t for new arr i val s
H ow did the exi sting Japanes e C an adi an com m uni ty re ac t to the arri v al of
new imm igr an ts? In th e B ull eti n publi sh ed by th e Greater Vanco uv er
Jap ane se Canadian Ci tiz en s’ A ss oci ati on ( JC CA ), in th e Dec em ber 1966 is sue,
the f or m ati on of th e JC CA N ew Im m igr an ts Support C om mi ttee w as
rep orted:
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“R ece ntly th e num ber o f new ly arri ve d s killed w orke rs has gradually
incre ased and there have been m any c as es of nee d f or assi s tance fro m
the Jap ane se C an adi an co mm unity for fin ding empl oy me n t or
acc om mo datio n. Theref or e, the JC CA ( Jap an ese Canadi an Ci tizens’
As soci ati on ) re ce n tly for me d a n ew co mm i tte e. ”
In the foll ow ing is su e o f the B ul l eti n ( January 1967) an an no unc em en t w as
publish ed s tating th at sinc e the num ber of new immi gran ts is in cre asi ng,
“…if l ang uag e assi stanc e is re quire d, the JC CA New Immi gran ts Comm ittee
w ill be able to provide assis tan ce” and the n am es o f c om mi tte e me m bers
w ere li ste d. Th ey we re Jap an ese sp eakin g I ssei, bili ngu al Nisei and chur ch
ministers.
C om muni t y’s E xpect a tions
Tow ard the end o f 1967 M r. K in-ichi Iw ata o f the Is s ei sec tion of th e JC CA
publish ed a statem ent m enti oning expec tatio ns am ong the Nik kei peo ple
tow ard new imm igr an ts:
“W e I ss ei have l on g been l oo kin g f orw ard to the arrival of n ew
immigran ts an d fin all y our wishe s h ave been ful filled… W e exp ect
an d pray th at th es e new Is sei who rece ntl y c am e to Can ad a would
ev entu all y take over the role which has been play ed by u s Iss ei.”
( B ull eti n , Japane s e s ec tion, D ece m ber 1967)
It is obvio us th at Is s ei pe opl e lik e M r. Iwata wer e loo ki ng for the
con tri buti on of immi gran ts as new bl ood to the com mu ni ty.
H ow then did the Nis ei pe o ple lo ok at the new si tuation? I f ound an
interes ti ng s tatem ent by M r. H arry Ao ki, who i s a N is ei m usici an and s till
acti ve i n the com mu nity. In rep or tin g th e c onfer enc e on “Role of Cul tur al
M inori tie s in Bilin gu al Society, ” M r. Ao ki m ad e the follow in g o bser vation s:
“Th e cultur al em ph asi s [ als o] underlines the im po rtant role of our
new im migran ts, but it al so sh ows that th os e who arri ve with
“Am eric anized ” atti tud es wo uld need to s eriously r e-e v alu ate the
rati on al e behi nd th e tre nd to deli ber ately discard th eir natu r al
heritage. ” ( B ul l eti n , Ap ril 1972)
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M r. Ao ki’s co mm en ts reflec t the ex pectati on s amo ng the N ikk ei pe opl e th at
new co me rs w ould bri ng tr adi tion al Japan es e cultu re with th em to Canad a,
but co min g fro m pos twar Jap an the y did no t qui te m ee t th es e exp ectati ons
and th e N ikk ei in Can ad a w ere bo th puzzl e d and di sap poi nted.
I mmi gr an ts faci ng a n ew envi r onment
H ow did new imm igr an ts ad jus t th em sel ve s in C an ad a and how di d th ey
view th e Nik kei com m uni ty? By th e f all o f 1969 ther e m ust h ave be en about
300 newcom ers in the Vanc ouv er are a and the y beg an to org ani ze th em sel ves.
In the B ull eti n ( Jap ane se secti on, M arc h 1970) the f orm ati on of a “N ew
Imm ig r an ts Socie ty” w as ann ounced w ith an e xpl anati on fo r the pu rp ose of
the org anizatio n:
“W e h av e to be awar e that imm ig r ation fro m Jap an w as inte rrupted
for m any y e ars , ther ef ore , w e n oti ce som e dis cr epancie s i n thi nking
an d the point of vi ew betw ee n us new arrival s and th ose w ho have
bee n h er e for m an y dec ades. H owe ve r, w e h ave to adjus t o urs el ves in
the new en viro nm en t as quic kly as p os sibl e sinc e w e intend to s tay
her e p er m anen tly… In oth er words, w e s ho uld strive fo r brid gin g the
gap betw ee n us an d the l ong tim e r esi de nts… It c an n o t be done
ins tan taneously due to th e l an gu age barri er and th e lac k of
fam ili ari ty with the new envi ronm ent. The se are th e r e as on s w hy w e
wante d to fo rm our own org aniz atio n. ”
A s seen from th e abo ve quo ted ex pl anation, new im mi gr ants w er e wishing to
join th e N ik k ei com m uni ty an d adap t them s elv e s to the s oci ety at l arg e, and
the exi sting Japanese C an adi an com m uni ty was r ec epti ve to th eir w ishe s.
It should be no ted th at for th es e p urp oses the y wante d to fo rm th eir own
org aniz ation and i t w as under sto od as a pr epar atory s tep in the p roc e ss of
adaptatio n.
E ve n tho ugh the g roup w as ver y ac tive aro und 1970 ther e w as a slac k p eri od
of several ye ars from around 1972 as the N ew Im migr ants’ Society becam e
inacti v e.
N ext I w ould lik e to touch on th e fou nding of the Greater Vancouv er
Jap ane se Im mig rants’ As sociation i n 1977.
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The ye ar 1977 was th e c en ten ni al o f the arriv al of Jap anese im mig ran ts to
C an ad a. A s eri es of com m uni ty ev ents c ele brating the cen tenni al w ere h eld
during th at y ear. I n the sp ring of th e s am e the Greater Vancouver Jap an ese
Imm ig r an ts’ As soci ation w as f oun de d w ith s everal pe opl e. Raishu H ir ano, a
car e taker of the pr evious s ocie ty and Takeo Yam as hir o, the e xe cutive di rec tor
of Ton ari Gumi, a ser vic e center f or Japan ese C an adi ans, w er e instrum en tal
in the fo rm atio n of th e n ew as sociation. Sever al of us, i nclu ding Yuko
Shi bata and m y sel f, also joi ne d th at eff ort as fou ndi ng m em ber s.
The new as sociatio n was aimi ng to assi st and pr om o te su pp or t and
frie nd shi p am ong i mm i gr an ts.
A s I ser ved as th e p re sid ent o f the
A ssoci ati on for s e ver al y e ar s, m y r ecoll ec tion s ar e incorpo rated in this
pre s en tation al on g with the article s p ublis hed i n the m on thly K ai ho
N ew sle tter ( 1977- pres en t.).
N ow I will brie fly l oo k i n to th e ac ti viti e s o f the Immi grants’ Association. In
shor t, im migr an ts have s hown their strong de sir e to l e arn. The Im m igr an ts’
A ssoci ati on undertoo k v arious ac tiviti e s soon afte r i ts establi shm ent. Th ey
can be divide d in thre e are as:
1) orientation; 2) c om m uni ty d ev elopm ent; and 3) c o- oper ati on wi th o th er JC
org aniz ations.
O ri ent ati on
D uring a pe rio d o f 20 ye ar s, mo n thly l aw clas ses i n the Japane s e l an guage
w ere h eld, c o- spon so red w ith Pe opl e’s Law Sc hool, cov erin g variou s topics
suc h as im m igr ati on law, applying for C an adi an ci tizenship, criminal l aw,
w ritin g a will, s ep ar ati on and di v orc e, filing inc om e tax return , em plo ym ent
s tandards, buying a h ou s e, etc.
A no ther are a of ori en tation is rel ated to m en tal he ath an d soci al ad aptati on.
The as sociation h as be en ver y active in th ese ar eas, par tic ul arly after a
gran t of $25,000 fr om th e Jap an e se C an adi an Re dre ss Foundation w as
rec eiv ed i n 1991. The progr am w as c o- spons ore d w ith Tonari G um i, a s ervice
org aniz ation. D uri ng a p eri od of five y e ar s w e i mpl em en ted a com pr ehensive
pro gram of m en tal h e al th with cons ul tati on se s sio ns and a s eri es of public
lectur e s.
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B y o rg ani zing their own ass oci ati on an d bei ng i nv olv ed w ith th ese acti vitie s,
do im m ig r an ts isol ate them selv es fr om the re st o f the com m uni ty?
E ve n thou gh mo st lec tur es an d w or k sh ops h ave be en c on duc ted in Jap anes e,
w e can see th at ac tivi ti es h el p im migr ants to un de rstand an d adapt to life in
C an ad a th ro ugh le ar nin g abou t l aws, so ci al and he alth s ervices.
Workin g with o ther Jap ane se Canadian organiz atio ns such as th e JCC A and
Ton ari Gumi, imm i gr an ts w er e able to le arn how an or g ani zation should be
run, th e pr oce dur e of me e tin gs , f und raisi ngs, e tc. Ge ttin g inv olv ed wi th
vol unte er ac ti viti e s, we h ad m any occasio n s to m eet peopl e of diff er ent
bac k gr oun d o utside ou r wor kpl ace or ho me en vir onm ent.
C om muni t y D evel opmen t
The Associati on encourages o ther g roups to c om me nc e s peci fic ac tivi tie s, f or
exampl e, r eti re d im mi gr ants, busi ne ssm en, and wom en o f in te rm arri ag e.
In the 1980’s r etir ed im mi gr ants arriv ed. The As soci ati on loo ked after the
lau nchi ng o f Ohfu-K ai ( 桜楓会 ), a r e tir ed im mig rants g roup i n 1984. In the
cour se of ti me, how ever, clos e r el atio ns be twe en the Ass oci atio n and this
gro up w as lo st. It is n atural w hen new m em ber s i ncr eased w ho did not
know the ci rcums tan ces of the be gin nin g of the gr oup. It m ay be c om par ed
to o ur f am ili ar ex periences wh er e a child gr ows u p, l e av es hom e an d s tands
on his/ her ow n fee t.
The same could be sai d about the establis hm ent of th e “K iyu-K ai ” (企 友 会 ) in
1987, a netw or k o f imm i gr ants w ho were in ter ested i n busine ss in Canad a.
It w as launched under the l eader shi p o f M r. Peter Ku bo tani, w ho had ser v ed
as the pr e sid en t of th e Japane s e Im mig ran ts’ As soci ati on in the 1980’s.
I ncr ea se of i nter na ti onal m ar r i ages
A n ew tr end appe ar ed f ro m the begin nin g of the 1990' s whe n the r e tir ed
imm igr ati on pro gr am was ter m in ated. Ins tead, Jap ane se wome n in their 20’s
and 30’s arrived her e w ho had m ar rie d C an adi an s or p erm an en t re si dents.
A s a r e sul t, m or e w om en have arriv e th an m en as im m igr an ts in r ec ent ye ars.
Tar g eti ng these w om en, a seri es of inter-m arri age work shops was c onduc ted
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tog ethe r with the JC CA H um an Righ ts Com m ittee as co -host for s ever al
year s ( 1997- 2002) w ith M s. M ari ko Kage as the c o-ordi n ator and Dr.
Fum itaka No da, a Jap an es e p s ychiatri s t, as an advi so r.
.
E ve n tho ugh th e Ass oci atio n ini ti ate d thi s g roup activity, later th e me m bers
of the group decide d to m ak e i t an i nd epende nt org ani zation. Ag ai n, thi s is
ano ther s ucces s s tory dem ons trating the w ay in w hic h th e Jap anese
Imm ig r an ts’ As so ciation acti v ely w or k ed to cr eate a c omm uni ty grou p by
enc our aging indivi du al m em bers to tak e th e ini ti ative.
W h a t i s “ Comm uni ty D ev el opment” ?
Loo kin g bac k at s uch p as t ac ti vities - buildin g r el atio ns hip w ith v ari ous
gro ups and individu als, w e no te that the As sociati on h as ac tually be en
eng aging in “co mmu ni ty d evelop me nt. ” “Comm unity develop me nt” sim ply
me ans as si s tance ac tivi tie s to help f ulfill an d improv e peo ple ’s live s by
buil din g ti es with the wider s oci e ty. O ur ac tivi tie s in educ ati onal and g ro up
develop me nt have bee n s ucc es sful to the e xte nt that they m ee t a n ee d amo ng
the m em ber s o f th e Jap ane se Canadian c om muni ty, and becau se we s triv ed
to full y r espe ct indi vidu al ri gh ts and s pontanei ty.
C o-oper ati on wi th oth er J a pan ese C a nadi a n orga ni zati on s
E ve n though the im mi grants as a w hole wer e hardl y in vol ved wi th the
R edre ss m ovem en t of the 1980’s, th ey acti v ely p ar tici p ated in the
pos t-r edre ss c omm unity even ts organiz ed by the N AJC, such as the
H om ecom ing’ 92 Japan es e- C an adi an Co nf erence hel d at H otel Vanc ou ve r. At
thi s l arg es t p ost-w ar gathe rin g for Japane se- C an adi an s, a panel w as
org anized to sh are ex perie nces as im migr ants. It w as a r ar e and wor thwhile
opportuni ty fo r imm i gr an t r eprese ntativ es fr om all o ver C an ad a to get
tog ethe r.
C ha nges of t he tim es
For alm o st thr ee d ecade s, the I m mi gr ants’ As soci ati on h as ser ve d the
com muni ty, but w e should ac cep t c han ge s of the tim es, incl udin g the form
and style of c om mu nity acti vi ties. The Bo ard of th e I mm i gr an ts’ A ss oci ati on,
ther ef ore, deci ded to clo se its do ors as at the end o f 2005 an d to c on tin ue its
w ork as a Jap ane se spe aking co mmi ttee of th e Gr e ater Vancou ver JCC A.
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A fter 28 year s of e xi sten ce the circl e w as clo sed. As s tated at the begi nni ng
of this ar ticl e, in the 1960’s th e JCC A extend ed welcome and g av e su pp or t to
new co me rs. Un de r thi s n ew arrange me nt, the form er mem ber s of the
A ssoci ati on will con tin ue to provid e servic e s to im migr ants and the
com muni ty at l arg e.
--- -- R efer ence :
Tatsuo Kage, “P os t-W ar Japanese Imm igr an ts and th eir Involvemen t in the
Com munity,” N i kk ei I mages (Nation al Nikkei M useum and H eritage C en tre
N ew sletter), Vol. 11, N o. 3 ( Au tum n 2006), pp. 12- 19.
D itto, “W hen Postw ar Im migrants Arrived,” J CC A B ul l eti n ( Jun e 2006), pp. 1,
14- 15.
D itt o, “N ikk ei ijy u no re kishi 125 n en ” ( 125 Year H is tor y of Jap an ese
Imm ig r ation), S or i tsu 25 sh uunen ki nen shi (T he 25 th An niv ers ary An th olog y)
(Vancouv er, Greater Vanc ouv er Japanes e I mm ig r an ts’ Associati on, 2002),
pp. 14- 41.

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