Stuff contributed by Stankirk

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 7: Formation of JC Exiles Group in Kansai, Life after Retirement

Stanley Kirk

Involvement in forming and leading the JC Exiles Group in Kansai

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 6: Career in the Private Sector - Santai Trading Company & Fujicopian

Stanley Kirk

Employment with Santai Trading Company

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 5: Career in the Private Sector - Amerex & Sogo Department Store

Stanley Kirk

Employment with Amerex

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 4: Employment with the US Occupation Forces

Stanley Kirk

Soon after moving to Japan Tak found work with the US occupation forces. While it included room and board, the salary itself was rather low and was frozen by law at about 1500 yen per month, of which he was only permitted to withdraw 500 yen per month while the …

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 3: Exile of the Matsuba Family to Japan

Stanley Kirk

Tak was 19 when his family was exiled from Canada to Japan. There were various reasons why his parents chose exile to Japan over dispersal to eastern Canada. One was uncertainty about what would happen if they chose the latter. They were also concerned about the welfare of close relatives …

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 2: Life in the Lemon Creek Internment Camp

Stanley Kirk

Tak vividly remembers hearing the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. “It was a Sunday and I was with friends out on Powell Street on our way home from playing badminton at the Japanese Language School when we heard the news from a radio in a parked car. It …

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Takeshi (Tak) Matsuba

Part 1: Life in Vancouver before WW2

Stanley Kirk

Birth and Family

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Kazuko Makihara

Part 5: Life and Retirement with Takeshi in Canada

Stanley Kirk

As a young man in Onomichi, Kazuko’s husband Takeshi got experience writing for a religious sect called Nanmyo Horen Gekkyou, which helped him become a very skilled writer in Japanese. Soon after moving to Canada his writing talent was discovered by his friend Gordon Kadota who was the founder of …

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Kazuko Makihara

Part 4: Return to Canada and Building a New Life in Vancouver

Stanley Kirk

Both Kazuko and Takeshi continued working in Kobe and financially supporting the education of Kazuko’s younger brother and sister till they finished high school. After graduating, Kazuko’s younger brother and sister returned to Canada around 1955. First the younger brother worked for a lumber company and then for Nelson Chocolate …

A Japanese Canadian Teenage Exile: The Life History of Kazuko Makihara

Part 3: Exile and Life in Post-War Japan

Stanley Kirk

Kazuko was thirteen years old when her family was exiled to Japan. Her parents made the difficult choice of exile to Japan because their kids were still small and her father felt a strong responsibility to take care of his adoptive mother who was still alive and living in Onomichi. …

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About

I grew up in a small conservative town in western Canada and am now teaching English at Konan University in Kobe, Japan. During my college days at the University of Calgary, I met a few Japanese Canadians, including an office administrator who was a sister-in-law to Joy Kogawa. After coming to Japan I was fortunate to come in contact with several fascinating Japanese Canadians who had been illegally deported to Japan after the war and have lived in Japan ever since. A couple years ago I started my present research on the life histories of these exiles and am finding it to be the most fulfilling research I have ever done. I hope to continue this research and eventually develop some English language education materials around these life histories.

Nikkei interests

  • community history
  • family stories
  • festival/matsuri
  • Japanese/Nikkei food
  • Japantowns
  • taiko

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