Author: Joanne Nakamura Rollins
The Regina Japanese Cultural Club had two luncheons to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Internment. Since Saskatchewan is unique in the sense that most of the Japanese Canadian families were here before the war, we dedicated the first luncheon to the ‘survivors’ who told their stories, and also invited all the seniors of the club.
The first luncheon was at the Conexus Art Centre, a beautiful building designed by the Architect firm Izumi, Arnott and Sugiyama – of which two are Japanese Canadians and former members of our club. We were in the ‘Theater Lounge’ with a beautiful view of Wascana Park. Our survivors were highly honoured guests, given corsages and gift baskets with Japanese items and reading material. There was a catered meal, welcome speeches, and stories from survivors. A story from each of our two out-of-town survivor members was read by a committee member.
The second luncheon was for all Japanese Canadian seniors where any senior could tell a family story. There were many favourable comments after each luncheon, and we were proud to hear and honour the stories of our seniors and survivors.