Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to O…
Recording Device: Zoom video communication and Facebook platforms
Recording Note: Film was edited from it's original recorded version (97 min., 37 sec.) to edited version (84 min., 20 sec.) for public viewing on Heritage Burnaby.
Scope and Content
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to Ofuro: Japanese Canadians in Burnaby".
In this webinar, Raymond Nakamura shares his own Japanese family history (Yamashita and Nakamura families) in British Columbia; provides insight into the Fuki plant (also known as butterbur) which was used by Japanese Canadians as a special culinary plant; describes the customs behind the ofuro (Japanese bathhouse) at Burnaby Village Museum and shares some of his research on Japanese Canadians who lived in Burnaby prior to the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II.
The title slide of Raymond's presentation reads "Japanese Canadians in Pre-War Burnaby". Raymond's presentation is supported with his own illustrations along with historical photographs from personal and public archival collections including the Nikkei National Museum, The City of Burnaby Archives and the Burnaby Village Museum.
Japanese families highlighted in Raymond's talk include the Nakamuras; Yamashitas; Yasuis; Kokuryos; Kojimas; Shimotakaharas; Kariatsumaris; Ibatas; Marie Karamoto family and Dr. Taihei Kuzuhara. Many historical references regarding Burnaby residents come from Burnaby publications; "In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" and "Pioneer Tales of Burnaby".
During breaks in the presentation, Christina and Raymond take questions from webinar participants on zoom as well as viewers from the live recording on Burnaby Village Museum's Facebook page.
Resource links shared during presentation include:
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/res.../search-the-collection/
Landscapes of Injustic Archive
https://loi.uvic.ca/archive/
Raymond's Brain
https://www.raymondsbrain.com/
In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/permalink/museumlibrary5173
History
Raymond Nakamura was born and raised in Toronto, and has lived most of his adult life in Vancouver. Holding a PhD in Marine Sciences from University of Toronto, Raymond’s study specializing in the hydrodynamics of sand dollars. More recently, he has been recognized for his research work on Japanese Canadians, leading to fact and fiction writing, co-hosting podcasts and delivering creative presentations on the subject –one of which we are honoured to see today. Raymond has worked collaboratively with cultural centers across the Greater Vancouver Region, including Science World, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Nikkei National Museum, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, to name a few.
Photograph of (left to right) the Kokuryos, Sukegoro Yasui and Louise Irwin standing on the former site of the Barnet Mill. The north shore of Burrard Inlet is visible in the distance.
Photograph of (left to right) the Kokuryos, Sukegoro Yasui and Louise Irwin standing on the former site of the Barnet Mill. The north shore of Burrard Inlet is visible in the distance.
History
Henry Stanley Irwin (1890-1966) started work at Barnet mill in 1924. Henry and his wife Elsie May Irwin (Taylor) Irwin (1894-1985) first lived with thier two daughters, Eleanor (Nelson) (1924-2005) and Louise (1927-) in a worker's cabin before moving to the Barnet Mill's managers' residence. The household included Elsie's mother, Elizabeth (Shephard) Taylor (1868-1950). The family resided at Barnet until they moved to Vancouver in September 1939. Louise and her older sister Eleanor attended Barnet School like other children in the Barnet area. After the mill closed in 1931, Henry was unemployed for two years, during this time, he hired a horse and driver and cut logs from the slopes of Burnaby Mountain to support his family.
Photograph of Sukegoro Yasui with his daughter, Yasue and son, Harding with their 1918 Dodge sedan. Mr. Yasui is standing next to the car and his children are standing on ther running board. The car is parked on the side of a bridge with a wooden railing.
Photograph of Sukegoro Yasui with his daughter, Yasue and son, Harding with their 1918 Dodge sedan. Mr. Yasui is standing next to the car and his children are standing on ther running board. The car is parked on the side of a bridge with a wooden railing.
History
Sukegoro (Shoyen) Yasui (1884-1972) and his wife Tane (Hirata) Yasui (d.1987) emigrated from Japan to Canada in 1919. Sukegoro and Tane had two children Yasue Margaret (Matsumura) (1921-2019) and Harding Yasui (1923-2008). Sukegoro worked as a burner operator for the Nichols Chemical Company of Barnet B.C. The family lived on the site with five other families in a bunkhouse including the three Kokuryo brothers and their families and the Kojima family. The children attended Barnet School for three years before the family moved to Surrey in 1934 after purchasing farm land. Sukegoro and Tane Yasui grew strawberries and raised chickens on the farm and Sukegoro continued to work shift work at the Nichols plant. In 1942, the Yasui family were interned and sent to work on a sugar beet farm near Lethbridge, Alberta. While living in Picture Butte, Alberta,Yasue married Matsuo Matsumura. Following the war, the whole family moved to Kingston, Ontario where Harding completed his senior year of high school. A few years later, Harding moved to Montreal and his parents joined him.
See page 129 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Mr. Sukegoro Yasui with Yasue and Harding by their 1918 Dodge car, 1926"
Date of photograph [1927] based on birth dates of Yasue "Margaret"- born 1921 and Harding Yasui- born July 1923
In the Shadow by the Sea spells Sukegoro's wife's name as "Lane" (Harata) Yasui, obits for Sukegoro Yasui and his wife use the spelling "Tane" Hirata Yasui.
Photograph of Tane (Hirata) Yasui and Sukegoro Yasui with their daughter, Yasue Margaret and son Harding Yasui. The family are seated on a log with a tall grass and bushes behind them.
Photograph of Tane (Hirata) Yasui and Sukegoro Yasui with their daughter, Yasue Margaret and son Harding Yasui. The family are seated on a log with a tall grass and bushes behind them.
History
Sukegoro (Shoyen) Yasui (1884-1972) and his wife Tane (Hirata) Yasui (d.1987) emigrated from Japan to Canada in 1919. Sukegoro and Tane had two children Yasue Margaret (Matsumura) (1921-2019) and Harding Yasui (1923-2008). Sukegoro worked as a burner operator for the Nichols Chemical Company of Barnet B.C. The family lived on the site with five other families in a bunkhouse including the three Kokuryo brothers and their families and the Kojima family. The children attended Barnet School for three years before the family moved to Surrey in 1934 after purchasing farm land. Sukegoro and Tane Yasui grew strawberries and raised chickens on the farm and Sukegoro continued to work shift work at the Nichols plant. In 1942, the Yasui family were interned and sent to work on a sugar beet farm near Lethbridge, Alberta. While living in Picture Butte, Alberta,Yasue married Matsuo Matsumura. Following the war, the whole family moved to Kingston, Ontario where Harding completed his senior year of high school. A few years later, Harding moved to Montreal and his parents joined him.
See page 126 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Mrs. Lane Yasui, Yasue, Harding and Mr. Sekagoro Yasui, 1926.
In the Shadow by the Sea spells Sukegoro's wife's name as "Lane" (Harata) Yasui, obits for Sukegoro Yasui and his wife use the spelling "Tane" Hirata Yasui.