Interview with Mary Setsuko Katsuno (nee Ishii)

Title
Interview with Mary Setsuko Katsuno (nee Ishii)
Accession number
2011.153
Interviewer
Lisa Uyeda
Videographer
Lisa Uyeda
Date of Interview
Language
English
Description

Mary Setsuko Katsuno (nee Ishii) was born in Victoria, BC on March 12, 1928. She talks about her parents' background and immigration history. They moved to Vancouver, BC and family owned and ran a store with employees but it went bankrupt during the Great Depression. She talks about her father trying to pay back debts in Vancouver. Mary talks about their lives there including going to a Christian church. She talks about facing discrimination at school and having to leave the cadets after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. During WWII, her family was interned in Slocan, BC. She talks about life in the camp including sports, being uncomfortable with bathhouses because she was not used to it. After the war, she relocated to Toronto where she worked as a domestic help. She talks about having to quit teacher's college to get a job and figuring out the welfare system during and after the war. Mary talks about her mother's love of writing and correspondence, translating her mother's writing, and Nipponia Home residents. She reads her mother's documents about Nipponia Home, why and how the seniors' home was started, appeals to the Japanese Canadian community to start the home and help the elderly.

Clip from Japanese Canadian Experience Conference: https://vimeo.com/338322344

Format
Videotape
Video File
Length of Interview
4 hr 45 min
Period
Pre War
Post War
Event
Redress
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Internment
Location
Japan
Vancouver, BC
Victoria, BC
Popoff, BC
Montreal, QC
Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
USA
Toronto, ON
Slocan City, BC
New Denver, BC
Topic
family
children
immigration
newspaper
United Church
transportation
odori
church
Buddhism
employment
food
marriage
language
discrimination
education
The Great Depression
religion
farming
Christianity
odori
language
education
The Great Depression
Asahi Baseball Team
teaching
volunteer
health
military
food
sports
bathhouse
radio
music
photography
transportation
housing
church
sports
language
travel
clothing
Number of Physical Tapes
4
Permission
For uses other than research or private study, researchers must submit a Request for Permission to Publish, Exhibit or Broadcast form.
Citation
Mary Setsuko Katsuno, interview by Lisa Uyeda, June 2, 2011, 2011.153, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.