Interview with Elsie Toguri (nee Iwasaki)

Elsie Toguri (née Iwasaki) was a nisei Japanese Canadian who was born on February 13,1932 in Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia. This interview is about Toguri’s perspectives on Japanese Canadian identity, reflecting on influences from her family upbringing. Her great uncle started the Japanese Canadian newspaper Tairiku Nippō (Continental Daily News) as a source of information for new Japanese immigrants in British Columbia in 1907. When he wanted to retire, Toguri’s mother moved to Canada to take over the newspaper business in Vancouver. Toguri’s father became the editor of the newspaper business, and together they became very active in the Japanese Canadian community. Toguri discusses how the family were forcibly uprooted to Toronto, Ontario and how she and her husband, Jim Toguri would relocate in various locations abroad and in Canada. She earned her master’s degree at the Children’s Aid Society and worked there for 20 years.

*Note that this interview contains reference to outdated terminology regarding Inuit and Native peoples from the north and anti-Chinese stereotypes.