Heritage

Onde as Ondas Quebram | Where the Waves Break

Yuko Matsuki — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 18:44:44 +0000

Onde as Ondas Quebram | Where the Waves Break Yuko Matsuki Jul 28, 2025

September 11, 2025 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Event Category

Brazil is home to the largest Nikkei diaspora in the world — sharing similarities with other Japanese diasporas, with key differences. In the essay film “Where the Waves Break”, the Japanese Brazilian documentary filmmaker Inara Chayamiti investigates her fragmented identity by gluing together pieces of her family’s story and the Japanese Brazilian saga, marked by two diasporas between opposite sides of the world: Brazil and Japan.

In this first feature-length documentary directed by a Japanese-Brazilian woman, she builds generational and cultural bridges from an authentic point of view and a curious and affective quest. And by revisiting the past from erased angles, she tells invisible stories from her community. It is historical and current, personal and universal.

A virtual panel will take place directly after the film featuring two Japanese Latin American artists and academics in conversation, Dr. Monica Okamoto and Harumi Lopéz-Higa.

Don't miss this opportunity!

Tickets

Phase in My Journey Exhibition

Samphors Say — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 23:26:48 +0000

Phase in My Journey Exhibition Samphors Say Mar 3, 2025

April 5, 2025 10:00am - June 30, 2025 7:00pm

Event Category

The JCCC Arts Committee is pleased to announce that we will be participating in the CONTACT Photography Festival once again! Phase in my Journey, featuring artist Walter Borchenko and curated by Shin Sugino, will be on view from April 5 to June 30, 2025.

More about the show

The work of Canadian-born photographer Walter Borchenko represents a profound and singular exploration of the Modernist photographic aesthetic. This 20-year retrospective traces a remarkable journey, beginning with the evocative self-portrait, Self Portrait, Hollywood Florida (2006), and culminating in the integration of infra-red techniques in Grassy Brook - Talbot River Road (2024). Borchenko's work transcends homage, evolving the Modernist tradition into something new: a "Modernist evolved" aesthetic rather than a postmodern reinterpretation.

Over the last two decades, Borchenko has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the principles of Modernist photography. His dedication to achieving the essence of the image through meticulous camera work, optics, and lighting- eschewing heavy digital manipulation—is a rare practice in contemporary photography. The singularity of his approach is further heightened by his use of consistent digital capture technology throughout this period, providing continuity and integrity to his artistic evolution.

Borchenko's images are further elevated through the use of hand-made Japanese Awagami paper, which imbues his prints with a tactile depth and subtlety that harmonizes with the Modernist ethos. The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre is honored to present this unique and memorable exhibition, celebrating Borchenko's evolution of Modernist photography and his contribution to its legacy.

An Artist Talk will take place on May 24 at 2:00pm as part of Doors Open. See details here.

Spirit Place: The Magnificent Woodcut Art of Naoko Matsubara

Samphors Say — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 16:40:04 +0000

Spirit Place: The Magnificent Woodcut Art of Naoko Matsubara Samphors Say Aug 27, 2024

September 25, 2024 7:00pm-January 3, 2025 12:00pm

Event Category

Please note that the exhibit is now closing on January 3rd, 2025 at 12PM due to unforeseen circumstances. This is a few hours earlier than announced prior. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Nature is a sweeping backdrop of inspiration for renowned Japanese Canadian woodcut artist Naoko Matsubara. A distinguished print artist known for creating cheerful and joyful works, Matsubara’s images range from black and white to vibrant colour, intimate to monumental, playful to contemplative.

Spirit Place will explore the work and remarkable career of Naoko Matsubara. Since 1960, Matsubara has had over 80 exhibitions around the world, but none have focused on her creative process and the influence of nature and the architecture of her studio. Spirit Place acts not only as a retrospective of Matsubara’s work, but also a reflection on her creative process and the influence of nature, spirituality, and the studio where she works – her spirit place.

Forty dynamic woodcut prints will hang in the JCCC Art Gallery, along with her rollers, paints, brushes and handmade paper. Photographs depicting Matsubara in process in her studio will be hung, and a short documentary featuring the artist, her work, and her studio, will premiere.

Please join us for our opening reception on September 25th from 7-9:30 PM.

Opening Reception

More programming to be announced shortly!

Mottainai Artists' Walk and Talk

Samphors Say — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 02:43:04 +0000

Mottainai Artists' Walk and Talk Samphors Say Feb 8, 2024

March 9, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Event Category

Community Event

Exhibition

Heritage

Please join us on March 9th from 2-4 pm in the JCCC Gallery to hear from artists in our current community show, Mottainai(勿体無い): The Beauty of Reclaimed Materials. Mottainai (勿体無い) is a well-known Japanese word that carries a profound message of respect and appreciation for resources and the environment. Artists will give short talks on their featured work and their artmaking process and incorporate the ethos of Mottainai in their work.

Green tea and rice crackers will be served.

Schedule:

2-3 pm: talks by Keiko Shintani, yoco, Lois Schklar, Joy Takahashi, Neli Iordanova, Momiji Kimono Remake Program, Irene Sakata, and Barb Miiko Gravlin.

Short break

3-4 pm: talks by BReal art + design, Laura Shintani, Shuichi, Mui-Ling Teh, Emi Saito, Vera Kabo Tse, Nancy Hayako Peng, Ken Sugamori, and Maryam Pazooki.

See here for more information on the show.

Artists Walk and Talk - Artsu Matsuri 2023

SuYen — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 15:22:26 +0000

Artists Walk and Talk - Artsu Matsuri 2023 SuYen Feb 27, 2023

March 26, 2023 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Event Category

An artist walk-and-talk will take place on March 26, 2023, where each artist will talk about their creations, what inspired them, and the process of how they brought their ideas to life. During the last Artsu Matsuri in 2020 the walk-and-talk was canceled due to Covid-19, however this year’s walk-and-talk offers insight into the new ideas and perspectives artists have gained during their time in isolation. This event will provide an opportunity for guests to meet some of the artists and their families as they informally dialogue with art enthusiasts in a casual setting.

Artsu Matsuri is a community based exhibition celebrating art in the JCCC community. This exhibition features the works of 25 artists: Katherine Adachi, David Bernhard, Kumiko Claros, Ruben Claros, Lois Fuse, Barbara Miiko Gravlin, Gerry Yumiko Hewson, Roslyn Levin, Gloria Kagawa, Tsutao Machida, Kai Morrison, Kaz Ogino, Harvey Okawara, Maryam Poozaki, Nancy Peng (Yamada), Michelle Ramos, Irene Sakata, Keiko Shintani, Ken Sugamori, Naomi Tsuji-Tamaki, Jerrold Tanaka, Kayoko Tanaka, Mui-Ling Teh, Rita Wong, and Hiroshi Yamamoto.

Artists Walk & Talk is happening on March 26 at 2pm.

This exhibition is available for viewing until April 21, 2023.

Broken Promises

SuYen — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 18:27:20 +0000

Broken Promises SuYen Aug 23, 2021

September 19 - November 22, 2021

Event Category

Heritage

Exhibition

Grounded in research from Landscapes of Injustice – a 7 year multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, community engaged project, this exhibit explores the dispossession of Japanese Canadians in the 1940s. It illuminates the loss of home and the struggle for justice of one racially marginalized community. The story unfolds by following seven narrators. Learn about life for Japanese Canadians in Canada before war, the administration of their lives during and after war ends, and how legacies of dispossession continue to this day.

Visiting Hours

Registration for on-site exhibit tour appointments of Maru: Immigration Stories and Broken Promises is now available for booking:

ON SITE VISIT SIGN UP

To learn more about JCCC's Vaccine Policy when visiting the exhibits, click here.

More Resources

Complementary website: Landscape of Injustice - Narrative Site

Download exhibit tour app: Apple Store or Google Play

Broken Promises Catalogue (PDF)

La brochure Promesses Brisées (PDF)

Learn more about Landscapes of Injustice Project: LOI Online Archive

This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.

https://jccc.on.ca/exhibition-tour-sign-ups

Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and The Wartime Constitution Book Talk

Erik Sano — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:53:39 +0000

Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and The Wartime Constitution Book Talk Erik Sano Jan 6, 2026

February 18, 2026 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Event Category

Heritage

Community Event

Join us February 18, 2026 at 7:00pm for the launch of the latest book from the Past Wrongs, Future Choices collective.

In September 1945, Canada proposed exiling Japanese Canadians to Japan, a country devastated by war. Thousands who had experienced internment and dispossession were now at risk of banishment.

In Challenging Exile, Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross detail the circumstances and personalities behind the exile. They follow the lives of families facing government orders that uprooted them from their homes, stripped them of their livelihoods and possessions, and proposed to exile them from Canada. And they analyze the court case in which lawyers and judges grappled with the meaning of citizenship, race, and rights in times of war and its aftermath.

Check out the Challenging Exile book review by The Globe and Mail here.

This is a free event reserve your spot: RSVP

Authors

Eric M. Adams is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of
Alberta and has written widely on constitutional law, legal history,
employment law, human rights, and legal education. He lives in
Edmonton.

Jordan Stanger-Ross is a professor of history at the University of
Victoria and is the author of numerous works on the history of
migration and race in North America. He lives in Victoria.

Moderator

Masumi Izumi

Professor at Doshisha University and a leading scholar of
Japanese American and Japanese Canadian history.

Japanese Connection Stories

Erik Sano — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:44:05 +0000

Japanese Connection Stories Erik Sano Jan 5, 2026

January 1, 2026 10:00am - March 31, 2026 11:00pm

Event Category

Wendy Tanaka is a fine art portrait photographer whose work focuses on social diversity. She has recently begun a personal journey to rediscover her Japanese heritage. A fourth generation Japanese Canadian, Wendy’s family experienced the government-enforced dispersal from the West Coast and the subsequent assimilation into broader Canadian society. Through photographic portraits and personal narratives, Wendy expresses her family’s enduring connection to their Japanese roots. Her current photographic series, Japanese Connection Stories, is on display at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre through March 2026.

This photographic collection explores Tanaka’s family’s identification with and connection to their Japanese heritage. Following the government-enforced Evacuation of Japanese Canadians from the West Coast during World War II, many displaced families eventually assimilated into Canadian society, relinquishing much of their cultural identity to avoid further persecution. As a fourth-generation descendant of the Evacuation, Tanaka has only recently begun to explore her heritage. To begin this journey, she reached out to relatives across six generations, asking about their connection to their heritage — how they identify as Japanese Canadians, and what continues to link them to their roots. Tanaka captures her family members in photographic portraits accompanied by objects that symbolize their bonds. While traditional heritage portraiture often ties cultural identity to heirlooms, Tanaka’s family’s connections are represented through new acquisitions, as many of their belongings were lost to dispossession during the Evacuation. To deepen the narrative, Tanaka also invited family members to express their connections in their own words. This personal photographic collection offered Tanaka’s family an opportunity to reflect on their ties to Japanese heritage, revealing connections that might otherwise have remained unspoken. Through this work, Tanaka hopes to inspire others to rediscover their own family roots and reflect on how heritage continues to shape identity today.

The Samurai in Our Closet

Yuko Matsuki — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:54:33 +0000

The Samurai in Our Closet Yuko Matsuki Sep 25, 2025

November 30, 2025 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Event Category

Community Event

Heritage

SOLD OUT

Walk ins will not be accommodated

What if the most powerful story you ever learned was the one your family never told you?

On Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm, the JCCC Sedai Project presents a special live event on the acclaimed podcastThe Samurai in Our Closet.

Mandy Shintani grew up with a secret: her father George hid a 450-year-old samurai sword that was never spoken of, in their family closet. She retraces her father’s remarkable life to uncover the untold stories of Japanese Canadians—from his childhood in Vancouver’s vibrant Japantown, his teen years interned in a remote ghost town, to where he received his samurai sword while serving with the Canadian Intelligence Corps in Singapore at only 20. Finally, she explores how the next generation is recovering these stories to ultimately better understand our grandparents, our parents, and ourselves.

"Captivating" — Joyce Shimokura

"One of the best podcasts I have ever listened to" — Mary Kitagawa, Order of BC

Join us for this one-hour presentation with Mandy and researcher Susan Yatabe to hear behind-the-scenes insights from 70+ interviews, including from the Sedai Project, readings from interviewee from the podcast, as well as excerpts from the projectExperiences of an Internment Camp Teacher, a moving story based on Susan’s mother. A Q&A will follow the talk.

Celebrate this beautiful tribute to the JC community—light refreshments will be served. The podcast is available at www.thesamuraiinourcloset.com

The Shape of Loss

Yuko Matsuki — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 19:47:20 +0000

The Shape of Loss Yuko Matsuki Aug 25, 2025

October 4, 2025 7:00pm-January 23, 2026 7:00pm

Event Category

Join us during Nuit Blanche and beyond to slow down and reflect through Japanese Canadian artist Louise Noguchi’s The Shape of Loss, on view from October 4th until January 23rd, 2026 in the JCCC Gallery.

Noguchi’s visionary work brings the Japanese Canadian loss of livelihood, property and dignity into physical form through a co-created, live installation during the all-night Nuit Blanche festival on October 4th at 7pm For 12 hours, artists will draw a huge life-sized hull of each fishing boat confiscated from Japanese Canadians during WWII, while announcers read aloud each boat’s name, owner, type and size, and annotators record this information.

Visitors are invited to linger, bear witness, and stay for as long as they would like. Tea will be served outside the gallery and books on Japanese Canadian history will be available to complement the performance.

See more details about Nuit Blanche, here.

The drawn hulls and a time-lapse video of the performance will remain in the gallery until the show closes on January 23, 2026

Citations:

University of British Columbia Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Japanese Canadian Research Collection. JCPC-12b-010
Confiscated boats held at the Annieville Dyke on the Fraser River in British Columbia. Courtesy Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre (NNM 2010.4.2.11.A)