At eight years old, Grace Eiko Nishikihama was forcibly removed from her Vancouver home and interned with her parents and siblings in the BC Interior. It was 1942 and more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians on the West Coast were interned and had their belongings, property and homes confiscated, and then sold off by the Government of Canada. After the war ended, restrictions on Japanese Canadians movement continued for another four years and the Government ordered anyone of Japanese ancestry to move east of the Rockies, or be deported to Japan. There was nothing on the West Coast to return to, so the Nishikihama family moved first to rural Manitoba and, when government restrictions were lifted, later to Winnipeg. While translating her mothers journal, Grace began to add her own experiences alongside her mothers, exploring how generational trauma can endure, and how differently she and her mother interpreted those years of struggle. As an advocate for reconciliation, she openly shares her story with the next generations; throughout, Grace returns to her mothers teachings of hope and resilience symbolised in the cherry blossoms around what was once their home.
Grace Eiko Thomson is a second-generation Japanese Canadian, who lived in Vancouver with her family until 1942 when they were sent to the internment site of Minto Mines, BC, then in 1945 to rural Manitoba. Graces education focused on her cultural roots through art; she graduated from University of Manitoba (BFA), and University of Leeds, UK, (MA). She worked as curator of various art galleries and launched the Japanese Canadian National Museum in 2000. She was President of the National Association of Japanese Canadians in 2008. She is mother to two sons and grandmother to five grandchildren, and currently participates in various Downtown Eastside activities and issues in Vancouver, BC.
"Grace's stories about growing up in the Powell Street (Paueru Gai) area of Vancouver, juxtaposed with her mother's recollections, bring to life the once vibrant Japanese Canadian community that existed prior to the forced uprooting of Japanese Canadians in 1942. Her compelling family story seen from both her and her mother's eyes give us insight into generational differences, separation of family, and the internment experiences of women and girls, which is something you wont find in history textbooks." --Lorene Oikawa, president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians"
