Kikiai 聴き合い Collaborative

Category: events

  • rooted / reconnected

    rooted / reconnected

    On Sunday, June 25, 2023 a group of nearly 50 Japanese Canadians, ages 16-40, gathered in the Sunshine Valley for an “ensoku” (Japanese for “field trip”) to connect with community and personal histories. 

    This event was organized by volunteers Kayla Isomura, Lisa Uyeda, Kendall Yamagishi, Mika Ishizaki, Carolyn Nakagawa, and Erica Isomura, members of Kikiai Collaborative (kikiai 聴き合い translates to “listening to each other”), a grassroots group formed for young Japanese Canadians based in Vancouver, B.C. This followed the first ensoku gathering in May 2019, which brought “young-ish” participants from across North America to Vancouver to connect over shared culture, history, art and food. These unique “ensoku” events are in response and resistance to the Japanese Canadian community’s forced dispersal and assimilation after the Second World War. 

    After the COVID-19 pandemic postponed a planned 2020 slate of follow-up programming to the first ensoku, organizers regrouped in 2022 and decided that a trip to the former Tashme internment site would be a meaningful opportunity for learning and reconnection. Former Japanese Canadian internment sites are often challenging for individuals to visit independently due to limited options for public transportation from cities. For many participants—a number of whom descend from survivors of internment at Tashme or other sites—this was their first time visiting a former internment site. 

    While most attended from the Greater Vancouver area, some participants flew in from Eastern Canada and the United States to travel together and experience a range of activities including a visit to the Tashme museum, site tours with museum owner Ryan Ellan and assistant curator Christine Tomlinson, a shared lunch prepared by the volunteers, and an open mic. After a performance on the shamisen from participant and musician Kevin Takahide Lee, Ellan commented that the three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument likely hadn’t been heard on this site for 80 years. 

    Individuals shared that the visit left them feeling “humbled,” “grateful,” and “rooted.” For many, highlights of the visit included the chance to meet others their age who share their history, some for the very first time. Following this event, organizers hope that participants will keep in touch with each other, continue learning about their community and family histories, and return to visit Tashme and the Sunshine Valley again in the future.

    The organizers would like to thank the Tashme Museum, Ellan family, Gaila Uyeda, Denise & Kevin Isomura, Guy Louie, hua foundation, Powell Street Festival Society, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Toronto NAJC, Toko Foods, and Aiyaohno Cafe for their contributions and support in making this event a success. 

  • for us, by us

    for us, by us

    Originally published in The Bulletin, July 2019

    ensoku 2019 brings young Japanese Canadians and Americans together in unprecedented Vancouver event

    Over the May long weekend, 40 young-ish Japanese Canadians, Japanese Americans, and their friends came together to build community and explore our shared heritage and identity. What started as an idea to organize a regional young people’s conference (instead of a national conference as part of the NAJC annual general meeting) became an independently organized “un-conference.”

    This community gathering welcomed local attendees from across the Lower Mainland and out-of-town visitors from Canadian cities including Victoria, Kamloops, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ottawa. This was truly an international event with Japanese American participants travelling from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Massachusetts!

    Six members of Vancouver’s Kikiai Collaborative, Kayla Isomura, Erica Isomura, Davin Shikaze, Carolyn Nakagawa, Reiko Pleau, and Lisa Uyeda, formed an organizing committee and reached out to friends, family, and community members to produce this unforgettable experience for young people in the community.

    The full weekend event included a gyoza-making workshop, an open mic with poetry and storytelling, dialogues on present-day Japanese Canadian experiences (connecting to culture, TLGBQ+ and multi-racial identities), a community lunch, a stop-motion animation workshop, cross-cultural walking tour of Strathcona, and optional day trips to the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Steveston, and Tashme. Lots of fun was had and many new meaningful relationships were built.

    Participants shared the following about their experiences at ensoku:

    “ensoku reinforced the importance of storytelling and creative expression for our community, which I’m coming to see as key.”

    “There’s a lot of younger Japanese-Canadians who are interested in connecting (with each other and with their history and culture).”

    “We need each other and are richer for having this community.”

    “I am now hoping to find the Nikkei community within my own city and province.”

    ensoku organizers were committed to making this event financially accessible and because of the support of so many organizations and individuals, we were able to provide subsidies for participants to attend and billets for out-of-town guests.

    An event like ensoku is one-of-a-kind. While we have no current plans to turn this into an annual event, participants from other cities have expressed interest in organizing an event like this in their home cities of Regina, Ottawa, Seattle, and Toronto!

    We will definitely take these memories and experiences forward into organizing new gatherings and community initiatives in the future.

    On behalf of the organizing committee, our sincerest thanks to everyone who attended, volunteered, and donated goods or cash to make this event possible.

    Sincerely,

    ensoku organizers: Kayla Isomura, Erica Isomura, Davin Shikaze, Carolyn Nakagawa, Reiko Pleau, & Lisa Uyeda