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This oral history is from an interview conducted by the Oral History cluster of the Landscapes of Injustice project.
nobody can hear you.I went to Japan five times. I went to all the hot springs. Yeah, they're nice. Up and down the coast there. When was the first time you went to Japan? I went to Kyushu, the island there. Uh, Beppu. Yes, the amount of the cities there are very ... Mhm. Do you like the food in Japan? Love it. Absolutely love it. When I was there in July we made the point of going to every tonkatsu house you could think of because you can't get the same thing here in Canada. No. And, soba, like good quality soba you can't get back here either. So we went to Jindaiji which is really well known for their soba there. It's my grandfather's favourite food so we took him out too and he was happy as a clam. Just eating nonstop. Yeah, oh yeah. It was really good. I wish I could have the food in Japan and bring it over to Canada. It's difficult to find something that's the same. Even my grandkids, they like sashimi and that. Oh, yeah. When you were younger did your mother cook Japanese food a lot or was it ... Yeah, mostly all Japanese food. Mostly all Japanese food? Yeah. I didn't have sashimi and that because you can't get fish. No. So what kind of things would your mother cook? Sukiyaki and all that. You got the meat and vegetables, you know? Yup. I sure miss the tsukemon she used to make. Oh, yeah! I know a woman in Ucluelet she makes her own and she has a big freezer. She just keeps them stocked up. She goes
every day I make sure to have something.
it's that time to evacuate and go to Alberta. We owned two boats, five acre land, and then the house.At that time there weren't many, many people. I was going to say that's quite a bit of property to have. I don't know how much they got the money from the government. $1700. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, for the five acres you said 1700. Yeah, for the boat too. Oh, so that included the boat. Boat and the house. Oh, god, that's cheap. They got the money and they wanted to go
anything you want.That's why they went with the family together and go to Alberta. It's more ... You can keep the family together. It's more important to keep the family together, yeah. I know that. Mother told me the whole story all the time. Well, I'll be asking you some questions too then. I think he wrote it a little and so ... So your mother then was quite open about what had happened. We looked after the mother and I give thirty years to my mother in-law. I looked after the mother. And she would tell you what happened during the war? Yes, yes. The whole thing and we moved to Alberta. Yeah, it's very hard. Did she talk about the war with you when you were older as well? No. I don't think it's ... not that much because he's the younger one. Yeah. The oldest has passed away so they know. Yeah, the brother and sister. There's only two of them left. My dad and his youngest sister out of the ten kids. Yeah, so the two youngest are still ... Oh. Three and two oldest brother and the one sister and the family. That house is old after, how many ... It's uncle Mas too ... Daddy, it's together? Uncle Yook
oh, that's nothing.Yeah. Maybe, I don't know, she never said that kind of stuff. Maybe she doesn't know, too. It's a lot of money at that time, too. I think they saved the money from the sugar beet kind of stuff. I don't know. Okay. But anyways, everybody was a hard worker so it's not only the Nishi family it's the whole Japanese families that work so hard. It's lucky, we were all healthy. Yeah. When you were in Alberta did you come across other Japanese-Canadian families? Oh, yes, quite a few. You said not everyone was lucky, so did you know ... I don't know. You don't know, yeah. They even had Owotera at Taber. They had a reverend
we could all smell the sake the next morning, but we'd have to do these long training sessions
why wasn't my name on the boat?It's because she wasn't there. Why did you name your daughter Audrey?
you're going to have half the lot.Wow, very informal. You didn't want to move anywhere else? Well, we might have to, just the two of us we're getting too big for it. There's two of us. She's got to look after the yard, you know. It's a transition now. So much things that have accumulated. It's not only a memory but it's little things that you can't get rid of. Was there anything that you kept from your time in Steveston before or after the war that you still have with you today? Any mementos or favourite objects? It's just memories, I guess. Just memories? Yeah. Oh, Wilson looks beautiful. Not that Wilson didn't look good before. Oh, he's got a nice haircut.
War Measures Act.During the war the government came up with a special measure where we had to go according to that. We can't bend that. So it's tough for a lot of people, you know, my parents.
do you really want to go to Sydney?and I said
Yes, I do want to go to Australia to teach there.He says
because there's still a lot of racism there.All white Australia, the white immigration policy, and he says it could be similar to what we experienced here and I said
oh, no. I'm going.So I did go there and the area that I actually taught in was a predominantly white, upper-middleclass area. It would be like teaching in Shaughnessy, in Vancouver. So when I went to teach there one of the kids in the class put up their hand and there were only three non-Caucasian people at this school and I was one of them. The other one, his father was a professional. I think his father was a doctor but he was from India and this other boy was from China. We were the three visible minorities at the entire school of 400.
Well, my mom and dad told me that you're really not Canadian.And I said
Oh, why is that?he says
because you're Asian. You're Japanese you can't be Canadian.So that was the first time that I experienced something like that and it wasn't here. It was when I went to Australia. So when I met the parents at meet the teacher night I was talking to them and, you know, I said
Oh no, yeah my dad was born in Canada.
Oh no, that can't be.And I said
No, he was.It was very interesting after I talked to them. They thought I was okay. That was the only time I kind of experienced that sort of discrimination or racism but it wasn't here. It was really interesting. Yeah, that is really interesting. I heard this the first time. No, no, I told you that. I did. I always thought
wow, that is really interesting.This little girl put her hand up and said
No, no, Ms. Nishi is not, my mom said she's not Canadian because she's Japanese and that can't be she's Canadian.So, it was really interesting. What about this property for you, you know, we asked your dad about what it meant to him and why he stayed but what does this property mean to you? Well, it's, because I said all of us now have moved out and they still have the biggest house for all of us to gather at. I mean, we're in Vancouver. Our house isn't big enough for everybody. My sister's in a house but none of us have a big space like this to come to so we have Christmas, Thanksgiving is coming up. We just go
Okay, let's come here.Birthdays, any significant ... My sisters, they do have houses, but it's just easier. It's just the gathering place. Everyone comes here. This is home for everybody. Even my husband Ben said he really would hate to see this house go. So whenever that time comes, whether or not we will purchase it to keep it in the family or my other sisters would decide to do that, so we can at least keep it in the family because they had it for such a long time. So that's, you know, that's kind of the thing that we're thinking about. It would be sad to see it go. I know it's big but we're helping them with getting gardeners into do things and with the upkeep because it's a lot for them but it'd be nice to keep it because there is so much history here. Once you sell it then it's gone and it's been in the family for such a long time. My thinking is that it's a family get together. It's most for that thing. It's here. It's easy to gather together. You guys have a lovely space to do family gatherings. Yeah, it's that plus three dogs. Plus three dogs. You have to have the dogs
you know Susan, when I get old I'm not going to walk up and down the stairs anymore so there's a master suite here and there's also going to be a master upstairs.So he is able to stay here because he planned it that way twenty years ago. Strategic thinking, very good. You know why? We looked after the mother in-law, his mom, so at that time he's upstairs and when he gets sick or something he can't get downstairs. I had that bedroom built so that you could go in there with a wheelchair.
Susan, just in case we will need it.And then now he does need it. The door space is a little bit bigger. It's wide. It's because the wheelchair is going in. So, for now it's okay. So far it's worked out dad. It's a nest. It's very hard to let go of it. Yeah. Because he used to walk into town all the time and back and forth to the coffee shop with the other fishermen friends in the morning. And the doctors, and the bank, and can go to the grocery store. Everything is so close. Everything is really close. It is convenient. I know when I Google mapped your address, when Susan gave me your address to come visit you, I thought
Oh, Moncton Street. Oh, okay.And I searched in the computer. Were you ever here before in Steveston? Oh, I've been to Steveston plenty of times but to find exactly where your house was I searched it on the computer and Google map says
a three minute walk from the community center.I'm like
Oh my god.When Susan said,
Oh, my father lives right in the heart of StevestonI was like
Oh, yeahbecause, you know, I've been through the neighbourhood. Oh, yeah it could have been the other side. But you guys are right smack in the middle. Before it was farmland. There was nothing there. No community center. Well, you especially since you've came back have seen Steveston change so much from the time that you returned or even beforehand right? Yeah. Even when I came here in 1960 it's very, very changed. Both sides there's a ditch. Yeah, there's ditches. And then it's farmland. It's everywhere, yeah. Well, just to finish up the interview, can I ask you one more question? So, these interviews that we're doing will be archived in a museum for people to listen to later on. Is there a message that you'd like to pass on from your own personal experiences to future Canadians who will listen to this interview? There's so many things I want to pass on but ... You could think of it, dad, in terms of when Sophia and Wesley are older, they're only one and a half and three, you know, and they listen and hear about it, what message do you think that you would like them to learn? Oh, you have grandchildren. Right. Because they're so little right now, what message do you think ... I just can't find the words to express it.
an education you can never ...you know
it's so valuable and no one can ever take it away from you.I thought
Oh, okay.When I went on and ... It was good. You know, my husband is a good fisherman. It's only one income and there's four kids and then grandma. So it's very tough I think. He always said that
I want to go back to schoolbut at that time he can't say that
I want to go to schoolto his parents. Everybody was working so hard. BC Packers is right there, it's five minutes away. Everybody was working there. The mother was working at BC Packers. It's only three people. It's only a stay at home mom. It's only me and so it's only one income. At that time it's very, very, you know, both parents working so hard. Not us. It's only one. It's very hard for us. We don't tell that to children. We never missed out. We had piano lessons, swimming lessons, Japanese school, lots of activities. We didn't miss out on anything. I took them to Disneyland, too. Yeah, we went to Disneyland, Hawaii
I'm so happy. I can skate, I can swim.Some boys can't. It's both parents are working. Yeah, great. Any last words you'd like to add, Mr. Nishi, to your interview? Pardon? Any last words you'd like to add to your interview before we finish? No. I can't find the right words. All I can say is adios. No, that's a good ending