This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s description of how Toko Nuburi and his son [Shusei] worked to create the pole carvings in 1989. She also relates that seeing Toko, a man of the north of Japan, explains her own physical characteristics
This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s description of how Toko Nuburi and his son [Shusei] worked to create the pole carvings in 1989. She also relates that seeing Toko, a man of the north of Japan, explains her own physical characteristics
Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
Biographical Notes
Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Photograph of student Trina La Berge and instructor Jerry Cannon posing next to a row of desktop computers displaying images of scans in BCIT's radiation therapy lab.
Photograph of student Trina La Berge and instructor Jerry Cannon posing next to a row of desktop computers displaying images of scans in BCIT's radiation therapy lab.
Photograph of an unidentified person looking at a laminated page of QSL cards, as a promotion for the Burnaby Amateur Radio Club's "field day" event. Ham radio equipment is visible in the background.
Photograph of an unidentified person looking at a laminated page of QSL cards, as a promotion for the Burnaby Amateur Radio Club's "field day" event. Ham radio equipment is visible in the background.
Collected by editorial for use in a November 2000 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-1683-1:"George McKay, of McKay Security Supplies, is captured on a video monitor by one of the micro-sized cameras he installs."
Caption from metadata for 535-1683-2: "George McKay, of McKay Security Supplies, shows off one of the micro-sized security cameras."
File contains photographs of people using adaptive technology at the Neil Squire Foundation (now Neil Squire Society) in Burnaby. Photographs depict researcher Joel Macht with a SafeType keyboard; Mandakini Wineberg using voice-recognition technology; Sunny Doig with his morse code-controlled compu…
File contains photographs of people using adaptive technology at the Neil Squire Foundation (now Neil Squire Society) in Burnaby. Photographs depict researcher Joel Macht with a SafeType keyboard; Mandakini Wineberg using voice-recognition technology; Sunny Doig with his morse code-controlled computer; and Jova Bosanac using a desktop computer.
Collected by editorial for use in a July 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-2596-1: "Joel Macht, a researcher and instructor at the Neil Squire Foundation, trains injured and disabled computer users to use adaptive technology, like the SafeType keyboard. The keyboard is designed to ease the pain of repetitive strain injuries by allowing users to keep their hands and wrists in a more natural upright position. The mirrors attached to the keyboard allow users to check the position of the keys."
Caption from metadata for 535-2596-3: "Mandakini Wineberg is learning how to use voice-recognition technology at the Neil Squire Foundation after being diagnosed with repetitive strain injury."
Caption from metadata for 535-2596-4: "Sunny Doig uses his computer to express himself by writing stories and diary entries despite being blind and a quadriplegic. He writes by tapping out morse code on a touch pad pinned to his shirt."
Caption from metadata for 535-2596-5: "Jova Bosanac's limited mobility because of Noonan's Syndrome means it can take a superhuman effort for him to use his computer."
Collected by editorial for use in a February 2003 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Rita Brown, the vice-president of consumer and customer care and sales for Telus, examines some of the 800-1000 data lines and 800 phone lines that will service their new consolidated call center in Burnaby."
Photograph of Simon Fraser University science student Stacey Scott sitting next to a desktop computer with two mice. The monitor displays a graphic from a software program.
Photograph of Simon Fraser University science student Stacey Scott sitting next to a desktop computer with two mice. The monitor displays a graphic from a software program.
Collected by editorial for use in a March 2000 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Stacey Scott, an SFU science student, is developing software that will allow kids to work together on the same program, on the same computer."
File contains photographs of technology in use at Burnaby public schools. Photographs depict students and a teacher from Burnaby South Secondary, Burnaby North Secondary, and Stoney Creek Community schools with Personal Digital Assistants, computers, and projects designed and made with computer tec…
File contains photographs of technology in use at Burnaby public schools. Photographs depict students and a teacher from Burnaby South Secondary, Burnaby North Secondary, and Stoney Creek Community schools with Personal Digital Assistants, computers, and projects designed and made with computer technology.
Collected by editorial for use in a January 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-2931-1: "Steve Fuerderer, a physics teacher at Burnaby South, uses a projector hooked up to a desktop computer to illustrate his lectures."
Caption from metadata for 535-2931-2: "David Carne, a Grade 11 student at Burnaby South Secondary, uses a Personal Digital Assistant to help him keep track of his class assignments."
Caption from metadata for 535-2931-3: "Chris Dickson adjusts a character while William Shand lines up the next shot as they work on a stop-animation project in their Grade 9 Media Arts class at Burnaby North Secondary."
Caption from metadata for 535-2931-4: "Wesley May, 12, a Grade 7 student at Stoney Creek Community School, helped design the school's website."
Caption from metadata for 535-2931-5: "Ilario Ghilarducci, a Grade 10 student at Burnaby North Secondary, used a computer to design the plans for a frame house he built for a class project."
Photograph of Tony Antonias, the winner of the 2001 Bernie Legge Cultural Award, presented by the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce. He is leaning on an Olympia manual typewriter and holding autographed scripts toward the camera.
Photograph of Tony Antonias, the winner of the 2001 Bernie Legge Cultural Award, presented by the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce. He is leaning on an Olympia manual typewriter and holding autographed scripts toward the camera.
Collected by editorial for use in a February 2001 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "The winner of this year's Bernie Legge Cultural Award, Tony Antonias, still types on the old Olympia manual typewriter he used to compose his famous Woodward's $1.49 Day jingle. He's holding autographed scripts he wrote to introduce such stars as Ben Heppner, John Kimura Parker and Kiri Tikanawa."
Photograph of Christine Berka and Marlyn Allison demonstrating Xantrex XPower emergency power generators. The generators are powering a television and an emergency light.
Photograph of Christine Berka and Marlyn Allison demonstrating Xantrex XPower emergency power generators. The generators are powering a television and an emergency light.
Collected by editorial for use in an October 2000 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Christine Berka and Marlyn Allison,demonstrate the X POWER 300 and X POWER 600, two new Xantrex products that produce portable, household electricity."
Photograph of the display case that housed the George Jeffrey family collection during the opening of the Burnaby Community Archives at the Burnaby Village Museum.
Photograph of the display case that housed the George Jeffrey family collection during the opening of the Burnaby Community Archives at the Burnaby Village Museum.
Photograph of Rob Mills, an employee at Blooming Deals Garden Centre on Hastings Street, posing with an assortment of garden tools, in front of dandelions gone to seed.
Photograph of Rob Mills, an employee at Blooming Deals Garden Centre on Hastings Street, posing with an assortment of garden tools, in front of dandelions gone to seed.
Collected by editorial for use in an October 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Rob Mills, of Blooming Deals Garden Centre, on Hastings St., shows some of the tools Burnaby gardeners will have to use to rid their gardens of weeds if city council bans the use of herbicides by homeowners."
File contains photographs of Gerry Passmore and John Cannon, who were retrained for computer technology skills through the Burnaby Skills Centre's Access Ability Program. Photographs depict Passmore posing with an ethernet cable; Cannon posing in his workplace; and Cannon meeting as a mentor with s…
File contains photographs of Gerry Passmore and John Cannon, who were retrained for computer technology skills through the Burnaby Skills Centre's Access Ability Program. Photographs depict Passmore posing with an ethernet cable; Cannon posing in his workplace; and Cannon meeting as a mentor with student Allan Newstead.
Collected by editorial for use in a December 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-3038-1: "Gerry Passmore went from manhandling logs with thick steel cables to running fine ethernet cable and installing computer systems after he was retrained through the Access Ability Program following an accident that ended his career in the logging industry."
Caption from metadata for 535-3038-2: "A carpenter since he was 15 years old, John Cannon had to get used to the shirt-and-tie world as a computer programmer after job retraining through the Access Ability program following an accident that made it impossible to continue working in the trades. He's a senior manager of electronic communication for Future Shop/Best Buy, and he's now giving back to the program by volunteering as a mentor to new students."
Caption from metadata for 535-3038-3: "John Cannon, a graduate of the Burnaby Skills' Centre's Access Ability program, and now a senior manager of electronic communications for Future Shop/Best Buy, is giving back to the program that retrained him for a new career by mentoring new students. He's meeting with his latest protege, Allan Newstead."
Photograph of Jesse Chen, a grade 12 student at Burnaby North Secondary School, showing a computer game to Allan Rock, the federal Minister of Industry, and other unidentified officials, students, and news reporters.
Photograph of Jesse Chen, a grade 12 student at Burnaby North Secondary School, showing a computer game to Allan Rock, the federal Minister of Industry, and other unidentified officials, students, and news reporters.
Collected by editorial for use in a September 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Jesse Chen, a Grade 12 student at Burnaby North Secondary, explains a computer game developed by students at the school, to federal Minister of Industry, Allan Rock. The Minister was visiting the school to announce the names of 30 new schools to the SchoolNet's Network of Innovative Schools."
Photograph of Al Mattrick, the director of business development for Internet broadcaster insinc.ca, posing with a video camera inside of a recording studio.
Photograph of Al Mattrick, the director of business development for Internet broadcaster insinc.ca, posing with a video camera inside of a recording studio.
Photograph of high school student Sophie Lee holding up a slug balanced on a test tube during the Aventis Biotech Challenge at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Photograph of high school student Sophie Lee holding up a slug balanced on a test tube during the Aventis Biotech Challenge at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Collected by editorial for use in an April 2001 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Sophie Lee, a student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, keeps her eyes on a slug balanced on a test tube of slug slime. Sophie and her lab partner, Iris Liu, were studying the sticky properties of slug slime for the Aventis Biotech Challenge, at BCIT. The Challenge is held to generate interest in biotechnology amongst budding scientists from area high schools, who work on their projects under the guidance of expert biotechnologists."