Having spent 10 years in postwar Japan and adjusting to life and the culture there, returning to Canada involved yet another uprooting and to some degree a process of culture shock and readjustment for the family. For the two youngest sisters, Akemi and Noami, there was additionally a linguistic adjustment to be made. Even for the older siblings who had been using English in their work with the occupation forces, the cultural adjustment to life in Canada was not always easy though there were also pleasant experiences.
Margaret
Margaret reflects on her own process of re-adjustment to life in Canada as follows:
After returning to Canada as an adult, after 10 years of living in Japan, I already knew there would be obvious changes to be expected, especially in lifestyle, but I did have some apprehensions about how I would be accepted both by my Japanese Canadian peers and in the working world. Because I found a job soon after my return, I did not have an opportunity to adjust gradually to my surroundings.
One thing that impressed her early was the politeness shown by men towards women:
I found out that women are treated differently here. Men were so polite it took me awhile to get used to it. For instance, I would stand in line for the bus, and when the bus arrived, the men would wait for me to board it first. Doors would be held open for me. These were little things that were quite foreign to me.
About her work environment she adds:
The staff of the first and only office that I worked in in Canada was made up mainly of staid, very British and Scottish stiff upper lip types, so the atmosphere was very proper and unlike the American GI style that I had grown accustomed to while working in Japan.
The few ladies that I had to work with were also genteel and kind, which helped me get accustomed to my new surroundings. I’m sure they did not know what to expect of me since there were no other Asians employed there. In fact, back in those days, it was unheard of to have Asians and other people of color working in offices.
Margaret’s reintegration into the Japanese Canadian community and in particular the United Church also seems to have gone quite smoothly. She explains, “As for being accepted by my peers (other nisei, that is, second generation Japanese Canadians), it was as if I had never left. The first day I attended the Nisei church (Japanese Canadian United Church), the reception was cool (as I had hoped) so I was able to gradually ease in and stayed as an active member for many years until the congregation had to close.”
Before long, she became very involved in the church. When the deaconess found out that Margaret could do shorthand, she quickly recruited her to be church secretary, a role she continued to serve in for many years. She also ended up taking on additional administrative and leadership roles and participated in various ways in the worship services such as doing the scripture readings and so on. Church activities came to occupy many of her weekday evenings in addition to the Sunday worship services.
Akemi
Akemi vividly remembers her arrival in Vancouver and initial impressions of the city, her shyness, and her first experiences meeting and speaking English with white people:
Right after we got off the ship, Mary and Margaret were there to meet and take us to their place, so I wasn’t alone. Vancouver's view was just wonderful—some snow on top of the houses looked like a picture in a book. At first we stayed in a rented place for about two weeks and then moved to a house.
At that time they ordered a small cabinet for us to put some of our clothing in. Two huge tall men came to deliver it and that was my first time to meet hakujin (white people). I didn't know what to say, so I just said “Thank you very much!” in a small voice. Then one of them replied “Thank you!!” I thought, “Oh my! How kind!!”
Then he gave me a piece of paper. I didn't know what what it was so showed it to my brother John when he came home. He looked at it and said, “Hey, Akemi, this is a love letter!His phone number is written on it!” I had only said, “Thank you very much!” That's all! Anyway, that was the first time I saw a huge hakujin person and talked to him in English!
Apparently she was still quite shy and introverted when she got her first job but recalls being treated very kindly:
Even when I worked at the insurance company, they all treated me like a tiny girl, and a quiet one, so I just enjoyed my job without trouble. I worked there until I married and had my first baby (a girl). The boss wanted me to come back to work, but I wanted to stay with my baby girl and care for her. I used to take her to a clinic and I had to study English so was always carrying my Japanese dictionary with me in order to understand the new words and their meanings.
Akemi does not remember experiencing racial bullying or discrimination when she first arrived in Vancouver. However, she does recall her older sisters Mary and Betty seemingly being discriminated against once when they were trying to find an aparment to rent:
They wanted to rent a room in the West End. They were perfect at speaking English on the phone and were told that a room was available and to come over and look at it, but when they went to look at the room, they were told it was already rented out. So, there was still some discrimination.
Akemi’s brother John had a good friend named Shig Hirai, and he introduced her to him. Shig used to often come to the Eto house. Akemi, being a very cautious person, first regarded Shig as a just a valued friend as she really wanted to have friends.
I felt comfortable with Shig because my parents knew his parents. I was such a careful person actually, so didn’t want to go out with many guys. But I felt comfortable talking with him—he was very good at talking and talked about his old times, and I thought, “Oh my goodness, he has a lot in common with me!” He was still working in a barbershop at that time…I was very happy to meet Shig. He was liked by everybody.
Soon their relationship would blossom into romance and marriage.
By the time she and Shig started Maneki restaurant, she felt more comfortable using English although Shig did most of the talking with customers, and a lot of Japanese was spoken by the staff and the Japanese customers:
When we opened Maneki Restaurant, I didn't have to talk much English with the customers, as Shig was the one who talked to everyone. By that time I was able to speak English more easily, and more than half of the customers spoke in Japanese. The restaurant employed many local girls—mostly Kika-nisei's (second-generation Japanese who had lived in Japan and come back to Canada) as waitresses and kitchen workers also. So, mostly Japanese was spoken.
There weren't very many places for Kika to work, so many of them wanted to work for us and that's how we started to learn more about families and enjoyed one another—it was like a family reunion sometimes. I still remember that the price of a huge plate of curry rice was only $1.75 (some of the customers said they couldn't finish it!). Udon with shrimp tempura was about the same price.
Dinner was a full course meal starting from otsumami (appetizers), and by the time they finished eating the customers were rolling over on their zabutons and exclaiming what a great meal they had eaten. So, we were doing fine and Shig's childhood dream to start a restaurant had come true!
Akemi does remember one unforgettable experience of racism that occurred later when she and Shig had just established the first Fujiya Japanese grocery store on Powell Street in 1977.
I was doing cashier and a lady with a cane walked past with a man who looked like her son. The man was about to open the door, but then the lady saw the sign on the door and realized that it was a Japanese food store, so she banged it with the cane and said “This is a Jap store,” and then she grabbed her son and walked away…she must have had a reason for that—perhaps she had lost her husband or a son in the Second World War so couldn't help it!
Naomi
As the youngest sibling (14), Naomi, who had spent almost her entire childhood in Japan, had the hardest obstacles to overcome when the family returned to Canada. She had no knowledge of the English language or Canadian culture and had to face her teenage years in a completely new and unfamiliar environment.
Fortunately, she was naturally good at talking and communicating with others, which really helped her learn English quickly, and she was able to adapt quite well compared to other returnees in her age group, even finding a job as a live-in babysitter for a very socially prominent family during her first summer in Canada. The lady of the household was very gracious and entrusted Naomi with the job of looking after their three children. During this time, she found herself reading bedtime stories to the family’s seven-year-old, which vastly improved her own English. This experience was an impetus for her to continue her schooling.
Yet, she does remember experiencing some difficulties, including occasional racial discrimination. She recalls, “I think I was kind of bullied, because my teacher was not very kind, but I made lots of friends. On the first day, some students said, ‘Jap go home!’ I think I dealt with it pretty well—I’m pretty tough. Later I went to hair dressing school and became a hairdresser.”
She was slim and tall and enrolled in a modelling school. 18 years of age at the time, she was the only Asian girl in the modelling school, which turned out to be an asset for her, and she successfully did modelling and hairdressing for several years until she got married.
Currently Akemi continues to live in her home in Vancouver where she enjoys working in her garden and regularly visits Shig in the care home, and Margaret continues to live with Naomi and her family in Port Moody. Naomi and husband Yutaka still make occasional visits to Japan.
© 2025 Stan Kirk
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