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## Tour
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tour.name = Historic Joy Kogawa House
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HTMLText_0749C1CC_3FFE_58C6_41A5_ECCE50DC98B7.html = This plaque, presented by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, can be found on one of the original stone pillars at the street entrance to the house. The plaque marks Kogawa House as a heritage building pertinent to understanding Vancouver's history related to Japanese Canadians in the 20th century.
In 2006, The Save the Joy Kogawa House Committee, in partnership with The Land Conservancy of BC, purchased the house to prevent its demolition. The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society now offers an author-in-residence program, writing workshops, and educational tours. In 2016, ownership of the house was transferred to the City of Vancouver.
Click the icon below to learn more about the house and its importance.
This plaque, presented by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, can be found on one of the original stone pillars at the street entrance to the house. The plaque marks Kogawa House as a heritage building pertinent to understanding Vancouver's history related to Japanese Canadians in the 20th century.
In 2006, The Save the Joy Kogawa House Committee, in partnership with The Land Conservancy of BC, purchased the house to prevent its demolition. The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society now offers an author-in-residence program, writing workshops, and educational tours. In 2016, ownership of the house was transferred to the City of Vancouver.
Click the icon below to learn more about the house and its importance.
This metal car belonged to Joy Kogawa’s brother, Timothy, and went with him to the internment camp at Slocan.
These metal cars belonged to Joy Kogawa’s brother, Timothy, and went with him to the internment camp at Slocan.
The dark, rich carpet was another core memory of Joy's remembrance of the house. Joy and her brother, Tim, would spend the day playing on a carpet similar to the one shown here.
Joy describes the carpet from memory in Obasan as "a deep blue Indian rug with a complex border of multi-coloured designs and a ribbon of rectangles and roads" where they would "line the lead soldiers in their bright red coats along the edges, march them around the sofa legs on their flat bases, leap them upwards to land them off balance on the soft velvet frieze of the sofa."
Click on the audio icon to learn more.
The dark, rich carpet was another core memory of Joy's remembrance of the house. Joy and her brother, Tim, would spend the day playing on a carpet similar to the one shown here.
Joy describes the carpet from memory in Obasan as "a deep blue Indian rug with a complex border of multi-coloured designs and a ribbon of rectangles and roads" where they would "line the lead soldiers in their bright red coats along the edges, march them around the sofa legs on their flat bases, leap them upwards to land them off balance on the soft velvet frieze of the sofa."
Click on the audio icon to learn more.
Joy Kogawa added an inscription to the surface of her old desk.
Joy Kogawa added an inscription to the surface of her old desk.
Joy Kogawa was only six years old in this photograph of the Grade 1 class at David Lloyd George Elementary School, 1942.
Joy Kogawa was only six years old in this photograph of the Grade 1 class at David Lloyd George Elementary School, 1942.
The cherry tree stands in the backyard in full view from the window in Joy Kogawa's bedroom. Joy spent much of her childhood playing on and around the tree, and she is very fond of it. She calls it the "friendship tree" and it features in her children's picture book Naomi's Tree.
The importance of the tree to Joy, as well as to many others, comes from an experience Joy had at the tree late in life, when she rediscovered the old house and the tree that lives on in the back lane.
Click the audio icon to hear Joy tell this story.
The cherry tree stands in the backyard in full view from the window in Joy Kogawa's bedroom. Joy spent much of her childhood playing on and around the tree, and she is very fond of it. She calls it the "friendship tree" and it features in her children's picture book Naomi's Tree.
The importance of the tree to Joy, as well as to many others, comes from an experience Joy had at the tree late in life, when she rediscovered the old house and the tree that lives on in the back lane.
Click the audio icon to hear Joy tell this story.
Joy Kogawa with the cherry tree.
Photo by Linda Ohama. Used with permission.
Joy Kogawa with the cherry tree.
Photo by Linda Ohama. Used with permission.
Little girl with bird from the 1937 calendar, and a series of other images from the calendar.
Little girl with bird from the 1937 calendar, and a series of other images from the calendar.
Naomi's brother, Stephen (sang by Sam Chung), plays piano while her father (sang by Sung Taek Chung) keeps time, from Naomi's Road operetta by Vancouver Opera in Schools, relaunched by Tapestry Opera, 2016.
Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Naomi's brother, Stephen (sang by Sam Chung), plays piano while her father (sang by Sung Taek Chung) keeps time, from Naomi's Road operetta by Vancouver Opera in Schools, relaunched by Tapestry Opera, 2016.
Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Music played an important role in Joy Kogawa's family.
In her novel Obasan, Joy details her family's time in the music room: "A piano, a violin, another stringed instrument that is half constructed, a piccolo, and a shakuhachi (sha-koo-ha-ch-ee; a Japanese flute-like instrument) with its eerie wail are in this room. My father plays every instrument by ear. My mother and Stephen play the piano."
Click on the audio icon to learn more about the role of music in the Kogawa House.
Music played an important role in Joy Kogawa's family.
In her novel Obasan, Joy details her family's time in the music room: "A piano, a violin, another stringed instrument that is half constructed, a piccolo, and a shakuhachi (sha-koo-ha-ch-ee; a Japanese flute-like instrument) with its eerie wail are in this room. My father plays every instrument by ear. My mother and Stephen play the piano."
Click on the audio icon to learn more about the role of music in the Kogawa House.
The piano in the living room of the Historic Joy Kogawa House.
The piano in the living room of the Historic Joy Kogawa House.
This life-size cut-out of Joy Kogawa was created for the exhibit “The Party” at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria to celebrate BC 150, a program of events in 2008 to celebrate 150 years since British Columbia joined Confederation.
At the heart of the exhibition were images of 130 prominent BC people "welcoming" guests to celebrate with them.
After the exhibit, the life-size cut-out came to live at Historic Joy Kogawa House, and for many years authors who wrote or read at the house continued the tradition of standing with the cut-out for a commemorative photograph.
This life-size cut-out of Joy Kogawa was created for the exhibit “The Party” at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria to celebrate BC 150, a program of events in 2008 to celebrate 150 years since British Columbia joined Confederation.
At the heart of the exhibition were images of 130 prominent BC people "welcoming" guests to celebrate with them.
After the exhibit, the life-size cut-out came to live at Historic Joy Kogawa House, and for many years authors who wrote or read at the house continued the tradition of standing with the cut-out for a commemorative photograph.
Created and donated by Japanese craft group Nuno Ehon, this cloth book transports the illustrations from the children's picture book Naomi’s Tree, written by Joy Kogawa and illustrated by Ruth Ohi, into another medium.
Completed in February 2015, this cloth book took eight months to create. Fabric from discarded kimonos and other articles of clothing were stitched together in weekly meetings by the Nuno Ehon Suginoko workshop, a group of women artists in Fukuoka, Japan.
Click on the audio icon to listen to an audio recording of Joy Kogawa reading Naomi's Tree.
Created and donated by Japanese craft group Nuno Ehon, this cloth book transports the illustrations from the children's picture book Naomi’s Tree, written by Joy Kogawa and illustrated by Ruth Ohi, into another medium.
Completed in February 2015, this cloth book took eight months to create. Fabric from discarded kimonos and other articles of clothing were stitched together in weekly meetings by the Nuno Ehon Suginoko workshop, a group of women artists in Fukuoka, Japan.
Click on the audio icon to listen to an audio recording of Joy Kogawa reading Naomi's Tree.
Personal items - like books and photographs - and necessities - like warm blankets and cooking utensils - all had to fit into the suitcases.
Personal items - like books and photographs - and necessities - like warm blankets and cooking utensils - all had to fit into the suitcases.
Here you can see photographs showing the creation of the book, and flip through some of the cloth book's pages.
Here you can see photographs showing the creation of the book, and flip through some of the cloth book's pages.
This calendar is saved from the year Joy Kogawa and her family moved into this house. The title "Christian Fine Arts Calendar" and the images inside speak to the importance of religion for Joy's family.
Together with the hiragana and kanji (Japanese phonetic letters and Chinese characters), the calendar highlights the duality of Western and Japanese culture. The calendar went with the family when they were forced to leave the house in 1942, and it has survived all these years.
One page of the calendar shows a little girl looking up at a bird in a tree and is described in Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan (chapter 9) and her children’s novel Naomi’s Road (chapter 1). The calendar was donated to Historic Joy Kogawa House by Joy Kogawa.
Click on the icons to hear an audio recording of each chapter that describes the calendar.
This calendar is saved from the year Joy Kogawa and her family moved into this house. The title "Christian Fine Arts Calendar" and the images inside speak to the importance of religion for Joy's family.
Together with the hiragana and kanji (Japanese phonetic letters and Chinese characters), the calendar highlights the duality of Western and Japanese culture. The calendar went with the family when they were forced to leave the house in 1942, and it has survived all these years.
One page of the calendar shows a little girl looking up at a bird in a tree and is described in Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan (chapter 9) and her children’s novel Naomi’s Road (chapter 1). The calendar was donated to Historic Joy Kogawa House by Joy Kogawa.
Click on the icons to hear an audio recording of each chapter that describes the calendar.
Writers who visit the house like to stand with the cut-out image of Joy Kogawa.
Writers who visit the house like to stand with the cut-out image of Joy Kogawa.
This apology was issued in 2016 by the Anglican Bishop of Calgary and the Anglican Bishop of New Westminster regarding Reverend Gordon Nakayama (Joy's father) and his sexual misconduct during his time as a priest. The apology comes 22 years after Nakayama's written and verbal confession to the Archbishop of Calgary, in which he states that he engaged in "sexual bad behaviour ... to so many people."
Joy has spent much of her writing career addressing the issue of her father's harmful impact on children as a minister of the Anglican Church, and the issue is specifically addressed in her books The Rain Ascends and Gently to Nagasaki. Nakayama's confession and the Church's apology for silencing the families who came forward questions the authority of the church and priest culture in the 20th century. More importantly, they demonstrate that clergy abuse is not exclusive to the Catholic Church and highlights the harm that comes from unquestioned status and authority.
Click on the video icon to learn more.
This apology was issued in 2016 by the Anglican Bishop of Calgary and the Anglican Bishop of New Westminster regarding Reverend Gordon Nakayama (Joy's father) and his sexual misconduct during his time as a priest. The apology comes 22 years after Nakayama's written and verbal confession to the Archbishop of Calgary, in which he states that he engaged in "sexual bad behaviour ... to so many people."
Joy has spent much of her writing career addressing the issue of her father's harmful impact on children as a minister of the Anglican Church, and the issue is specifically addressed in her books The Rain Ascends and Gently to Nagasaki. Nakayama's confession and the Church's apology for silencing the families who came forward questions the authority of the church and priest culture in the 20th century. More importantly, they demonstrate that clergy abuse is not exclusive to the Catholic Church and highlights the harm that comes from unquestioned status and authority.
Click on the video icon to learn more.
(1) "There is a silence that cannot speak. There is a silence that will not speak." – Obasan
(2) A copy of Rt. Rev. Nakayama’s apology, 1994.
(1) "There is a silence that cannot speak. There is a silence that will not speak." – Obasan
(2) A copy of Rt. Rev. Nakayama’s apology, 1994.
Packing Life into a Suitcase
Packing Life into a Suitcase
When the government issued the mandate for Japanese Canadians to move eastward towards the inland, each person was limited to only two suitcases of belongings - everything else was expected to be left behind.
These suitcases serve as reminders of the abrupt upheaval to their lives, as well as a physical reference to the restrictions placed on Japanese Canadians during that time.
Click on the video icon to learn more.
When the government issued the mandate for Japanese Canadians to move eastward towards the inland, each person was limited to only two suitcases of belongings - everything else was expected to be left behind.
These suitcases serve as reminders of the abrupt upheaval to their lives, as well as a physical reference to the restrictions placed on Japanese Canadians during that time.
Click on the video icon to learn more.
The Government of Canada issued a formal apology on September 22, 1988.
The Government of Canada issued a formal apology on September 22, 1988.
(1) Joy’s mother, Lois, with children at west side of house, 1930s.
(2) Vancouver Heritage Foundation Places That Matter plaque.
(1) Joy’s mother, Lois, with children at west side of house, 1930s.
(2) Vancouver Heritage Foundation Places That Matter plaque.
On September 22, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney issued an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government to Japanese Canadian survivors of the WWII internment camps and their families. The apology came 40 years after the war in which approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were uprooted from their homes, separated from their friends and communities, and sent eastward to the Interior of British Columbia and other parts of the country. Joy Kogawa and her family were among those affected.
Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan significantly advanced the Japanese Canadian redress movement for compensation for lost property. The novel was quoted in Parliament as part of the 1988 apology from the government to the Japanese Canadian community.
Click on the icons to learn more.
On September 22, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney issued an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government to Japanese Canadian survivors of the WWII internment camps and their families. The apology came 40 years after the war in which approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were uprooted from their homes, separated from their friends and communities, and sent eastward to the Interior of British Columbia and other parts of the country. Joy Kogawa and her family were among those affected.
Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan significantly advanced the Japanese Canadian redress movement for compensation for lost property. The novel was quoted in Parliament as part of the 1988 apology from the government to the Japanese Canadian community.
Click on the icons to learn more.
The large-paned windows across the front of the house are original to 1912, the year the Craftsman-style home was built. Joy Kogawa writes most vividly about the light these windows would let into the sunroom where she and her brother, Timothy, would often play.
The windows take a crucial role in her memories and her longing for life before the internment. Joy mentions them in her books, particularly in Obasan, where "Naomi" sits in the music room filled with plants and a round goldfish bowl while "Mother sings and Stephen and Father play.”
Click on the audio icon below to hear a recording of the prologue from the 2016 Naomi's Road operetta.
The large-paned windows across the front of the house are original to 1912, the year the Craftsman-style home was built. Joy Kogawa writes most vividly about the light these windows would let into the sunroom where she and her brother, Timothy, would often play.
The windows take a crucial role in her memories and her longing for life before the internment. Joy mentions them in her books, particularly in Obasan, where "Naomi" sits in the music room filled with plants and a round goldfish bowl while "Mother sings and Stephen and Father play.”
Click on the audio icon below to hear a recording of the prologue from the 2016 Naomi's Road operetta.
This war bond flag was raised whenever war saving certificates were available for sale to raise funds for the war effort.
This flag is said to have been raised at David Lloyd George Elementary School, the school that Joy Kogawa and her brother, Tim, attended in the Marpole neighbourhood.
School children brought their nickels and dimes to school to buy war savings stamps, which they stuck into special booklets for post-war redemption at a higher value.
We don't know whether Joy or Tim bought war savings stamps, but we do know that of the $5.5 billion raised in Victory Loan appeals during the Second World War, millions were contributed by children.
This war bond flag was raised whenever war saving certificates were available for sale to raise funds for the war effort.
This flag is said to have been raised at David Lloyd George Elementary School, the school that Joy Kogawa and her brother, Tim, attended in the Marpole neighbourhood.
School children brought their nickels and dimes to school to buy war savings stamps, which they stuck into special booklets for post-war redemption at a higher value.
We don't know whether Joy or Tim bought war savings stamps, but we do know that of the $5.5 billion raised in Victory Loan appeals during the Second World War, millions were contributed by children.
This is the desk on which Joy wrote her novel Obasan. She inscribed it with the message, “I've had this desk for years and years - hope it serves you as well as it served me - many poems, a couple of novels - goodbye desk - Love, Joy Kogawa April 20/96"
Click on the video icon below to watch Joy speak about the important of Obasan.
Click on the web icon below to watch Joy discuss her career during her recent Talk at Google.
This is the desk on which Joy wrote her novel Obasan. She inscribed it with the message, “I've had this desk for years and years - hope it serves you as well as it served me - many poems, a couple of novels - goodbye desk - Love, Joy Kogawa April 20/96"
Click on the video icon below to watch Joy speak about the important of Obasan.
Click on the web icon below to watch Joy discuss her career during her recent Talk at Google.