Basketball, creativity and community come together at the 4th Annual Roger Obata Tribute Game & Marketplace.
Join us for an afternoon bringing generations together through sport, art, performance and community.

The post 4th Annual Roger Obata Tribute Game & Marketplace appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

The post KOKORO appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

Over 17,000 Japanese Canadians in Ontario helped raised funds to mount the bell and create the belfry. Roger Obata, the founding president of the NAJC was also chair of the Japanese Canadian Centennial National Committee at that time. The Centennial committee network relied on the NJCCA (now NAJC) network to mobilize community fundraising and gift-in-kind efforts.

At the inaugural ceremony, the invocation was given by Rev Takamasa Moriki of the Toronto Buddhist Church. Formal presentation of the Bell was made by Mikio Nakamura, president of the Ontario Chapter of the JC Centennial Society. Several hundred Japanese Canadians watched Ontario Lieutenant Governor Pauline McGibbon make the initial official strike. The TBC choral group sang Yube no Uta and odori was performed by the Nikka Festival Dancers composed of dancers from Sakura-kai, Haruyagi-ki and the TBC to mark the occasion. Interestingly, Ontario Premier Bill Davis was in Tokyo, Japan on a trade mission and sent a congratulatory message read by the Hon George McCague, Minister of Government Services.

Cast in Japan of solid bronze by craftsman, the 1200 lb bell was commissioned by the Japan External Trade Organization for its trade exhibit at the CNE in August 1977. At the end of CNE, JETO offered the bell to the Toronto Japanese Canadian Centennial Committee cochaired by Kunio Suyama and Keigi Saisho of Toronto. It was their suggestion to donate the bell to the province as a centennial gift from Japanese Canadians of Ontario which was enthusiastically adopted by the Ontario Chapter of Japanese Canadian Centennial Society. The Ontario Chapter represented 17,000 Japanese Canadians living in Ontario with local committees in Chatham, Hamilton, Kapukasing, Kitchener, London, Ottawa, Peterborough, St Catherines, Thunder Bay, Toronto/GTA, and Windsor. The chapter facilitated the permanent placement of the bell, supported by donations of funds and technical expertise including a striking belfry designed by architect Raymond Moriyama. The bell was chosen as a fitting gift to the province as its distinct deep and clear sound “Go – on” which translates in Japanese as “gratitude, kindness, goodness and benefit” – which Japanese Canadians experienced from Ontarians and indeed reciprocated. Inscribed on the dedication plaque is a haiku by Takeo Nakano: “Kaede no kuni/Nikei shi kagayaku/Hyaku-nen sei” [“In the land of the Maple Leaf, Japanese Canadians proudly celebrate their centennial”]

In Japan, on New Years, the bell is rung 108 times in the Buddhist tradition. The ceremony is called Joya No Kane. It signifies a cleansing of 108 passions to start the new year with a clear mind and body. Why 108? The rationale is as follows – the passions are rooted in six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and consciousness) multiplied by three, which represents the feelings (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral) associated with the senses producing 18 which in turn is multiplied by two which represents the positive or negative of each of the three feelings) thus producing 36 which in turn is multiplied by three representing the future, present and past finally producing 108 passions.

Since 1977, Japanese Canadians along with other citizens have held special ceremonies at the Bell by ringing in the New Year with a wish for peace and harmony and celebrating Obon, a day of remembrance of ancestors in early July. This latter event was suspended in the mid-90s, but the bell ringing has occurred nearly annually on New Year’s eve except for one year due to a severe ice storm, another due to threats of coyote attack in the park and unfortunately this year 2012 due to the partial closure of Ontario Place. These events were organized by the Toronto Buddhist Church led by Kunio Suyama which had accepted a request from the Centennial Society to ensure that Bell would be a modest but active part of Ontario Place. One of many highlights remembered by Kunio was ringing in the year 2000 where over 200 celebrants held a long rope attached to the bell striker and together rang in the new century.

With the closure of Ontario Place this year due to the revitalization of park, the TBC was initially refused permission to hold the annual New Year’s bell ringing ceremony there. The TBC was also informed that the future of the Bell at the park was uncertain, depending on whether it fit in with the final revitalization plans now being developed. On being informed of this situation, the Toronto Buddhist Church requested the National Association of Japanese Canadians (as the JC Centennial Society had disbanded) to send a letter in late October to the Ontario Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Hon Michael Chan, urging the government give serious consideration to maintaining the bell at Ontario Place and to keep the JC community informed on the progress of the revitalization plans and in particular, the future of the bell. A response was received from the government in early December assuring that the JC community would be kept informed of the progress of the revitalization plans for Ontario Place as it might affect the bell. Also, in a surprising gesture, the government indicated they would allow the New Years bell ringing to proceed this year, thus reversing their previous decision not allowing access to the bell and park. Unfortunately, widespread public announcements temporarily relocating the bell ringing ceremony to the Toronto Buddhist Church had already been made, thus it was decided that the ceremony would be remain at the TBC this year to avoid general public confusion. Nevertheless, the NAJC, the Toronto Buddhist Church, and JC community very much appreciate this kind gesture and have respectfully requested that permission be granted to return the ceremony to Ontario Place next year given suitable conditions for access to the site.

This article is an update of the original article which appeared in the December 2012 issue of the TBC Guiding Light newsletter. The TBC thanks the NAJC for bringing this matter to the Ontario Government’s attention on behalf of all JCs in Ontario. The article was written by Ron Shimizu of Toronto.

The post Japanese Canadian Centennial Temple Bell at Ontario Place appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

Over 200 Japanese Canadian academics and community members attended this hybrid event with a live audience of invited guests which included Setsuko Thurlow C.M., Toronto NAJC Board members and representatives from sponsoring organizations. The event was held on Friday, March 25^th at the Campbell Conference Centre, University of Toronto, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for hybrid events.

Joined by scholars from the Indigenous and Chinese Canadian communities, a keynote address on Indigenous Research Methodologies by Dr. Margaret Kovach, of UBC led to a discussion that was brave and necessary. A video of the event is now available for a limited time here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXi0QN3-QdA

The following organizations have come together to provide a platform for a discussion that we hope will impact the future of who tells our stories and how our stories are told inside and outside the academic sphere.  

Presenting Sponsors, The Greater Toronto Chapter, National Association of Japanese Canadians and the David Chu Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, Munk School at U of T, Sponsors the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Sunlife. Co-sponsors U of T’s Centre for Indigenous Studies, Canadian Studies, and Asian Canadian Studies.

The post Ethics of Research in Indigenous and Japanese Canadian Communities appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

Maryka Omatsu in collaboration with Gary Yee, Gerald Chan, Avvy Go & Juanita Westmoreland co-authored RESPONDING TO HATE – A Guide

COVID-19 and the Racism Pandemic We Need to Talk About – Kim Uyede-Kai

ACT2ENDRACISM – RESOURCE GUIDE

www.act2endracism.ca

INCIDENT REPORTING TOOLS

www.act2endracism.ca/racism-form/

(French, Korean, Japanese. English, traditional and simplified Chinese and Vietnamese)

BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TRAINING | June 4, 2020

Main presentation begins at 20:48.

CLICK ON POSTER FOR VIDEO

The post Anti-Racism Resources appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

REGISTER HERE

The developers’ proposal for the original Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre at 123 Wynford Drive asserts: “Historical research does not indicate that the property yields information that contributes to or has the potential to yield information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture.”

WITH YOUR HELP A BETTER PLAN IS POSSIBLE 

Meetings have been held with the developers, Councillor Jon Burnside, Toronto City Planning, Heritage Department, and the Architectural Conservancy of Canada. Apart from the developers, all others are supportive that there is a better way to honour the architecture and the history of the site than placing a 48-storey condo atop the original building. The current design effectively smothers and obscures the original building. The rezoning requested by the developers has not yet been approved.  

SHARE YOUR STORY ON ZOOM

he Toronto Heritage Department is sympathetic, but they need to hear individual stories that address these questions.   REGISTER HERE to speak or listen. 

What does the old Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre mean to you personally and your identity?

What stories do you have about what you did and when at the cultural centre?

What kind of events did you attend and what did they mean to you and your family? 

You can also make a difference by sending your personal reflections, which can be short or long to:

Ana Martins  ana.martins2@toronto.ca

Marian Prejel  marian.prejel2@toronto.ca

SOME KIND OF MIRACLE

In 1962, George Tanaka, a board member of the Japanese Canadian Centre, a forerunner of the JCCC, wrote a New Canadian article titled “The Centre is For the People.” In it, he referred to the dream of the JCCC as “some kind of miracle.” Tanaka was one of the group of 75 individuals who risked homes and businesses to fund the site on 123 Wynford Drive. While most people were not able to risk as much, just about every Japanese Canadian did what they could to contribute. 

This former JCCC is more than a shell to be disposed of when outgrown. It symbolizes the hopes and dreams of a community rebounding from harm and injustice. As a milestone it is distinct from its current location on Garamond Court. Ken Adachi wrote in the Enemy That Never Was that the JCCC was “First suggested in 1948 as a modest recreational and social centre, the concept broadened by 1953 into a ‘living memorial’ for the ‘pioneer issei.’”

The post Original JCCC at 123 Wynford Drive appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

A key objective over the past year was to remember the murders of the Azfaal family in London, Ontario. Eventually the means to this end was a collaboration with South Asian icon Hatecopy (185k Instagram followers), to respond to the London truck attack with art and hope. The Welcome Home text sends a clear message of inclusivity and anti-racism to all Canadians; be they newcomers or multi-generational. The hope is that this mural will emerge as an icon/time-capsule for the city of London, Ontario,

Read the CBC coverage of Galloway’s wet paint initative HERE

JapanTown Projects

The JapanTown Project; was a series of youth-driven initiatives with the aim of preserving Japanese-Canadian culture, foster inter-generational dialogue, and empower young Japanese-Canadians to make positive change in their communities. The project began as a collaborative painting exercise in which creative director Ken Galloway, along with a team of five other young Japanese Canadian artists painted a gigantic mural in downtown Toronto.

Each artist articulated a unique sense of Japanese Canadian identity, while collaboratively giving Japanese-Canadians a physical presence in downtown Toronto; in the absence of a JapanTown.

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of redress and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s formal apology to Japanese Canadians, painting began on a 2-storey high mural on Sanko Trading Co., one of the oldest Japanese-Canadian owned businesses in the city.

Read what the Torontoist had to say about the project: The Story Behind the Japantown Mural

Japantown Project, Year 2 – Matsuri Toronto 2014 – YouTube

At a Yonge-Dundas Matsuri, a live painting performance took place at the city’s busiest intersection. The Toronto NAJC partnered and funded the Japanese Canadian Young Leaders group, the Kurakake group, and over 100 young Japanese Canadians to articulate JC identity using a pop-up photobooth. We also hosted the largest game of janken-pon or rock-paper-scissors ever held in Toronto.

Learn about Japantown 3 at the JCCC

The post JT4 and Anti-Racism with Hatecopy in London, Ontario appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

This is a powerful video produced by Maryka Omatsu and narrated by Mark Sakamoto which holds to account the key public officials who engineered the total displacement and dispossession of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia. It exposes the pure hypocrisy of the politicians who acted in complete opposition to the advice of their officials that Japanese Canadians did not pose a security risk and were loyal Canadians.

The post Swimming Upstream – Injustice Revealed appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).

Media Inquiries: communications@torontonajc.ca | 416-317-9726

The post J.C. Legacies appeared first on Toronto NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).