Interview with Roy Akira Nagamatsu

Title
Interview with Roy Akira Nagamatsu
Accession number
2010.074
Interviewer
Lisa Uyeda
Videographer
Lisa Uyeda
Date of Interview
Language
English
Description

Roy Akira Nagamatsu was born on September 5th, 1923 in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. He describes his childhood growing up in a large family, with five sisters and three brothers, on a large farm his family owned on which they grew berries, daikon, and other crops. In the spring of 1942, he and his entire family had to move to Hastings Park and were eventually relocated to New Denver. He describes living in Hastings Park, where he worked as as fireman at the hospital in Hastings Park, a job which he continued in New Denver. After leaving New Denver, Roy lived in Hamilton, Montreal, and eventually settled in Toronto where his mother, father, and two siblings joined him in 1954. In 1957 he met his wife. In conjunction with sharing the stories of himself and his family members, Roy shares the Japanese ancestry of his family and his wife's family, as well as engages in a passionate discussions on favourite Japanese foods with interviewer Lisa Uyeda.

Clip from Japanese Canadian Experience Post War Conference: https://vimeo.com/338691493

Format
Videotape
Video File
Length of Interview
2 hr 5 mins 
Period
World War II
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
Event
Redress
World War II
Relocation
Forced Removal
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Internment
Location
Hamilton, ON
New Denver, BC
Montreal, QC
Toronto, ON
Topic
agriculture
detention camps
displacement
family
funeral
food
ghost towns
issei
Japan
logging
marriage
military
nisei
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
social life
sports
travel
work
Jewish community
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC)
religion
fishing
road camps
health
deportation
British Columbia Security Commission
employment
newspaper
Nikkei Voice newspaper
sansei
yonsei
Number of Physical Tapes
2
Permission
For uses other than research or private study, researchers must submit a Request for Permission to Publish, Exhibit or Broadcast form.
Citation
Roy Akira Nagamatsu, interview by Lisa Uyeda, November 11, 2010, 2010.074, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.