ノーム・マサジ・イブキ

(Norm Masaji Ibuki)

Masaji

オンタリオ州オークビル在住の著者、ノーム・マサジ・イブキ氏は、1990年代初頭より日系カナダ人コミュニティについて、広範囲に及ぶ執筆を続けています。1995年から2004年にかけて、トロントの月刊新聞、「Nikkei Voice」へのコラムを担当し、日本（仙台）での体験談をシリーズで掲載しました。イブキ氏は現在、小学校で教鞭をとる傍ら、さまざまな刊行物への執筆を継続しています。

（２００９年１２月更新）

culture en

The Artistry of Kimiko Koyanagi

ノーム・マサジ・イブキ
2009年12月18日

Even long after I’ve seen them, some of the sculptured figures that artist Kimiko Koyanagi has created haunt me in the way their long vertical lines rise upward and finding their nadir of expression in faces that are contemplative, inward feeling, seeking some kind of inner peace. What I find most striking about her creations is the lines she creates. Anyone who has ever looked at the brush strokes of Zen master Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) or swordsman/artist Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) can see the bold, powerful energy contained in each stroke. As simple as ‘a line’ might se…

identity en

Tadaima Sendai!

ノーム・マサジ・イブキ
2009年11月27日

It had been about three years and I was really itching to get back to Japan this past summer. I figured that having taken all of those teacher courses over the past three years and going through all of the excruciating things that one does to get resettled after living abroad for so long, that we deserved this journey back to Japan. With the recession, tickets were actually pretty cheap. It was a necessary trip back to see old friends and family. There are few places on the planet that I now feel that I need to see. I have done enough travelling and have seen enough to satisfy my wanderlust…

identity en

Defining A New Nikkei Paradigm with Junko Mifune

ノーム・マサジ・イブキ
2009年11月4日

What does being Nikkei mean to you? Do I have a greater claim on Nikkeiness because my grandparents immigrated to Canada before World War Two, were interned and dispossessed of their property? Does it matter that my father served in the Canadian army? Does it matter that you can speak better Japanese than me? Does it matter that your spouse is white and mine is from Japan? Does it matter that I was born here and you weren’t? Does being a descendant of the “first” Japanese immigrants group give you the right to dictate what should and should not be allowed to go into the c…

culture en

Memoir Celebrates Yoneyama Family of Haney, B.C.

ノーム・マサジ・イブキ
2009年10月5日

The hands that brought me into this world were Dr. Misao Yoneyama’s at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital and it was about 30 years later that I met her and husband Dr. Wes Fujiwara during the Ghost town bus tour that was part of Homecoming, outside the Ainsworth Hot Springs Hotel in B.C. As Dr. Yoneyama was my mom’s gynecologist, I grew up hearing the name always spoken with a great deal of respect and reverence. Mom also pointed out that her two sisters, Yachiyo and Mitsue, were also doctors: a dentist and optometrist, respectively. I first met Yutaka Harold Yoney…

community en

The Lemon Creek Harmonica Band Plays On 65 Years Later

ノーム・マサジ・イブキ
2009年8月12日

“Hail to new Canadians. Pledge loyalty with the land that gave us birth and our destiny yonder gleam the challenge bright, though the way be dark. All together with one voice onto victory…” words by Dr. Irene Uchida, first principal of Lemon Creek School, Officer of the Order of Canada (1993) Rare are the stories that have continued in our community for the past sixty years. But the Lemon Creek Harmonica band, certainly one of Canada’s oldest, are now into their 65th year as a musical group and, if you are lucky, you can still catch them at the odd event in the Tor…