See Terms of Use for publication and licensing information.
This oral history is from an interview conducted by the Oral History cluster of the Landscapes of Injustice project.
Oh that’s very good, oh what a passage!And we got through that. Very hard hard back breaking work but music sung helped us go through for three years. Then we tried moving to Selkirk but that was not allowed, there was
If you think that much of yourself, each other then you both will go to school and we will manage somehow.And they had tears in their eyes. But things worked out because I worked at the Selkirk Mental Hospital, part-time after school, weekend, holidays. And Freddy worked at different jobs, cordwood, whatever was available. And even the two other brothers, they mowed the neighbor’s lawn and that sort of thing, helped supplement the income. And Dad got a job at a tannery in
at least get your practical, that lab part,so he himself stayed after school, this was at Gordon Bell and waited for me to arrive to do my practical. Which I really appreciated Mr. Walker, Gordon Walker. But still I couldn’t write my finals even though it my exam fee was paid, I think 75 dollars or something because well I was really worn out and my mom made me promise that I wouldn’t go through with this because it’s going to kill me. So gave that up. And later on I got a job at Oriental, it was a new Chinese gift shop. Then one night we were open nights at this, a couple, a middle aged couple came to the store and we discussed oriental arts and literature and anyway. For a long time I didn’t know who he was but that was a very enlightening evening. And around that time my sister-in-law was doing office overload job at
There was no opening,he didn’t know who I was,
but in the meantime could you fill out this form.Which I did and when he got that letter he realized who it was who was applying. Immediately Monday morning he said
When can you come in for an interview? And when can you start?And I said
Well I have to give two weeks’ notice to my boss.Which I think impressed him. So two weeks later I started at
I wanted to tell you something it was really great having you here,but he said I was a test case. Because there was a Jewish girl hired there but nobody liked her and they made her so miserable that she quit, said,
I am very pleased that you fit in so nicely, I can recommend you highly.So that was my stint with Esso, at least I thought so, then I moved to Grand Prairie and my husband decided that after a year he would like to go back to pharmacy where he started out in Germany. So he asked me to write to
oh I forgot to tell you Midori you’ve been promoted!
What’s the name of that place, what’s the name of that person?And I just go to my photographs and recapture those moments.
Wou don’t do that to her.And I had wonderful friends there, wonderful teachers. So – yeah my education was cut off right there in grade nine. Until we went to Selkirk in
No you’re a farmer.They had a very lucrative mandarin orange farm but the Grandfather said
No you’re a farmer’s son, you’ll stay, your life is in the farm so you can’t go.But in
You come back toSo he dutifully went back and met the girl, didn’t like her.Japan and marry that girl we picked for you, it’s an order.
I’ve found a girl I want to marry.
You know what, one of these days the house is gonna be a shrine because I was born there.You know what happened? Right across from the house they built a secondary sewage treatment center.
Well that’s what they think of youYeah, is it still on? Oh my goodness! So what was your question? I have quite a few. Oh! Okay then. Stop me when I talk to long! While we’re on the topic ofMidori .
Family has to stay together,he said. But they were good friends, yeah. What was I going to say now?
In case they come attacking I’m ready to shoot them.Yeah,
Are you going to be on the same bus tomorrow?I said
Yes.And so next day he got the address and phone number of Success Business College and he said
Phone them and get to a class and get an office job.That was the last I saw him, I hope he got his degree too. And Mr. Bonham is French teacher, oh he was a great guy. Yeah he was so interested and concerned that I should go to university and he was hired in the my final year to teach at the
Are you going to be at the university?Oh he said
I’ll see you at the university next year!But of course I never got there but he was so caring, oh he taught Latin and French. No he– I guess I met, he was interested in me because I had high marks in French and also in the final grade 11 I decided to take up Latin because they told me that I had to have Latin to get into medical school. So I had missed two years of Latin, nine, ten. But Mr. Bonham gave me Latin text to study through summer holidays. So I took that text and studied because I was working full time at mental hospital summer job but very minute I had, I was pouring through it, learning, learning, learning. So grade 11 the final year when I had to write the exam to qualify for grade 11 Latin, so I did and I think I scored something around 90 something on that and he said in front of the class, he used to do it purposefully to make sure the other class would be inspired or something. He said
The only mistake she made were the things that wasn’t in the textbook.It was things he taught in class to do with, that those are the points I missed so. But I don’t regret that I took the Latin, you know studied all that. Because I understand the English language so much better because you see the derivative. And especially when I got so interested in botany, you’d say
Oh yeah, there’s a botanical name that’s a Latin name.Yup, it helps me associate the general species by those Latin nomenclatures.
Nothing is ever lost when you earn things.I’m so grateful that I had taken Latin, of course a lot of the things are Greek too but I never got to learn Greek. Oh yes and I got botany book when I went to
OhBy, mowed the lawn mower all over my grass and my mosses!! He mowed the grassy part too in on this side but he completely destroyed my moss garden. I didn’t have the heart to tell him all this, he destroyed my . . .Dori , were you surprised I thought I’d do you a favor.
Oh! I should mention this and that,
If you have to have a model to paint or draw, you’re not an artist cause it’s up here and you transfer it onto the paper.Well anyways, he came– I wish he had the proper paper to paint on at that time. I’m talking about way back in the 50s.
Why doesn’t she throw that away?I said
No you can’t!I’m one of those, waste not want not people, from that generation. Yeah, they’re not many of us left. If you could pass on a message to future Canadians, what would it be? Or to future generations. Of Canadians or Japanese Canadians? Just in general. Well, hmm. I would say have faith, you have to have faith regardless of what denomination of religion or philosophy or whatever that you embrace but you have to believe that there is a God. I mean how how can there be creation without a creator, so it’s infinite. It’s so infinite that we could never even envision what God’s force was or is. Its God is, never was or will be, we’re living in this God’s world. And he has spoken to mankind, since day one or there was no beginning so it can’t be day one so. To Aboriginals to Australia, Māoris in New Zealand, Natives in this country, Natives in America, all those people in India they have their own name for them, they’re all from emanated from God’s force so you have to believe in that and believe in yourself. I mean I could go to any church or temple or anywhere and I would feel perfectly at home. I go to Buddhist church the only thing I can’t take is the incense, they make me sick.