Title
Interview with Joanne Sugiyama
Accession number
2013.361
Interviewer
Katharine Fish and Elizabeth Fujita Kwan
Date of Interview
Language
English
Description
Joanne Sugiyama was born in Vancouver British Columbia. In this interview she shares her life story, starting with her father's arrival in Canada in 1919 and her grandfather's arrival in 1906. When she was 10 years old she, along with her father and mother, were relocated to Slocan City where her father ran a successful watch business. She recounts her childhood memories at Slocan City from swimming and fishing to going to the bathhouse. After the war ended. her family stayed longer in Slocan City than other families as her father battled cancer. He lost this battle in 1946 and afterward she moved to Winnipeg with her mother. At this time they were reunited with her brothers from her mother's previous marriage. At this time she found out that her mother's ex husband was her biological father and a member of the Asahi Baseball team. She shares her memories of meeting her husband Henry and her participation in the redress movement.
Clip for a Sedai feature: Joanne Sugiyama - "A Feminist Before Feminism" on Vimeo
Format
Videotape
Video File
Length of Interview
1 hr 19 min
Transcript
Period
World War II
1900s
1910s
1940s
1950s
Event
Redress
World War II
Relocation
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Location
Slocan City, BC
Vancouver, BC
Winnipeg, MB
Japan
Toronto, ON
Topic
Anglicanism
Asahi Baseball Team
bathhouse
Buddhism
children
marriage
immigration
issei
nisei
sansei
employment
family
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC)
Japanese language school
nuns/sisters
Shinto
religion
teaching
Number of Physical Tapes
2