Interview with Jean Peasah (nee Kobayashi)

タイトル
Interview with Jean Peasah (nee Kobayashi)
Accession number
2010.063
Interviewer
Lisa Uyeda
Videographer
Lisa Uyeda
Date of Interview
Language
English
Description

Jean Peasah (nee Kobayashi) was born on September 27, 1933 in Vancouver, B.C. in 1933. Jean talks about her family's history. Her grandfather emigrated to Hawaii and then her father arrived in Canada in 1918. Her father travelled to Japan when he was getting married. Jean talks about growing up with her siblings in Little Tokyo, Vancouver including going to school and attending church gatherings. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Jean's father was sent to Petawawa, ON and then Angler, ON. She talks about not feeling secure after her father left and essentially growing up without him. During WWII, Jean and her family were interned in Lemon Creek, BC. She talks about life in Lemon Creek internment camp. After the war, Jean and her family migrated to Japan. Jean talks about the living conditions of postwar Japan, and her experiences attending school in Japan. She talks about her initial disinterest in returning to Canada, and her eventual decision to temporarily return to finish her education and gain work experience in social work. Jean talks about meeting her husband, Joseph Peasah, and moving with him to Ghana, where they raised one child. After briefly living in Nigeria, Jean and her family settled back in Canada in 1984. Jean ends the interview by talking about her involvement in the Japanese-Canadian community, and her desire to support the Sedai project any way she can.  

Clip from Japanese Canadian Experience Conference: https://vimeo.com/337588482

Jean Peasah is the the sister of Arthur Shogo Kobayashi, whose interview is listed under accession number 2011.327

 
Format
Videotape
Video File
Length of Interview
2 hr 36 min
Period
Pre War
Post War
World War II
Event
Redress
World War II
Relocation
Forced Removal
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Internment
Location
Vancouver, BC
Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
Angler, ON
Lemon Creek, BC
Popoff, BC
Slocan City, BC
Japan
Osaka, Japan
New Denver, BC
Montreal, QC
Hastings Park, Vancouver
Petawawa, ON
Topic
Japan town
community
social activity
church
work
fishing
discrimination
education
Japanese language school
housing
British Columbia Security Commission
internment camp
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
food
language
family
military
travel
ghost towns
marriage
religion
recreation
employment
Prisoner of War (POW)
Number of Physical Tapes
3
Permission
For uses other than research or private study, researchers must submit a Request for Permission to Publish, Exhibit or Broadcast form.
Citation
Jean Peasah, interview by Lisa Uyeda, September 17, 2010, 2010.063, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.