Kiyoshi (Kay) Shimizu was born on February 16, in the 1920s in British Columbia. This interview is about Kay and her family’s life in Kingcome Inlet, BC (prior to World War II), Vancouver, relocation to New Denver (during World War II), and Toronto. Shimizu discusses the living conditions and social life at the longhouses by the barns during her childhood. Shimizu’s work is traced back to her experiences as an interpreter during elementary school, as she was a racial minority and specifically one of the few Japanese Canadian children who was bilingual. Shimizu won a scholarship during her teens, which allowed her to pursue higher education at the University of British Columbia. She intended to pursue a path of becoming a librarian, but then experienced discrimination and decided to become a social worker in the pursuit of change for Japanese Canadians.
Content Warming: Please note that this interview contains reference to an incident of sexual assault.
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Citation
Kay Shimizu, interview by Elizabeth Fujita-Kwan, November 5, 2012, 2012.310, Sedai: The Japanese Canadian Legacy Project Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.
