Interview with Shigeo Kimura

Shigeo Kimura was born on June 28, 1949, in a fishing village in Miyagi, Japan. He received kendo training throughout his youth and university years. Despite being a talented sportsman, Shigeo had a growing concern that his identity only consisted of kendo. In 1973, Shigeo took the opportunity to immigrate to Canada, which he initially saw as the start of his journey to reinvent himself outside of kendo. Having no language skills, Shigeo worked labour jobs for five years until 1978, when he partnered up with a fellow kendo sportsman and started a restaurant business. Shigeo believed that his success was not achieved by effort alone, but also heavily depended on the acceptance from Canadian society, including Japanese Canadian communities. As a result, he developed a deep sense of duty to give back to Canada through the promotion of healthy Japanese diet and teaching kendo. Shigeo’s story is a testament to the identity-forming effects of immigration on the individual. Immigration opened doors for Shigeo to new and unanticipated fields, business opportunities, and socio-political positions; as well as provided the opportunity for rediscovering and reinventing his existing relationship with kendo.