Vancouver City Hall “Joy Kogawa Cherry Tree Planting”
Today,
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell pronounced November 1st as “Obasan
Cherry Tree Day.” Campbell read the proclamation in celebration of the
planting of a cherry tree graft from the childhood home of author Joy
Kogawa. Mayor Campbell acknowledged Councillor Jim Green who
spearheaded the tree planting initiative, going to the house with
Kogawa last year to take the tree clippings that were nurtured for a
year for the planting.
Also speaking at the ceremony was Paul Whitney, City Librarian,
Vancouver Public Library, and James W. Wright, General Director,
Vancouver Opera. Joy's novel Obasan was the 2005 choice for the
library's award winning program One Book One Vancouver.
James Wright said that when he came to Vancouver he was given a copy of
the book “Great Canadian books of the century” written by Vancouver
Public Library (1999) (ISBN 1550547364). He said that he read
about Obasan, and it was one of the first books he read after arriving
in Vanouver. Next he discovered Kogawa's children story Naomi's
Road, and was so moved by it, he commisioned it as an opera.
Joy Kogawa expressed thanks and gratitude to everybody involved.
She said she was very happy that these things were happening and it was
like a shooting star. She also gave special thanks to Ann-Marie
Metten and myself, for the work we are doing with the Save Kogawa House committee.
There was a good sized crowd for the tree planting including media from
Globe & Mail, Metro News, CityTV, and Shaw TV. City
councillors attending the ceremony included Raymond Louie, Anne
Roberts, Ellen Woodsworth, Fred Bass, Tim Stevenson. Vancouver
Opera staff who worked on Naomi's Road included Music Director Leslie
Uyeda, Artistic Coordinator Hitomi Nunotani.
The following is the text that Mayor Campbell read from and was presented in a program that was handed out:
Joy Kogawa Cherry Tree Planting
In Commemoration of the Japanese-Canadian experience during the Second World War
In 2005, Japanese-Canadian writer Joy Kogawa's novel Obasan
was Vancouver Public Library's choice for One Book, One Vancouver, a
book club for the entire city. Throughout the summer people read,
discussed, and celebrated Kogawa's novel and explored the
Japanese-Canadian experience in Canada. This fall, Vancouver
Opera presented “Naomi's Road,” and opera for young people based on
Kogawa's children's book, Naomi's Road.
2005 also marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia.
Kogawa's book Obasan
is one of the most powerful books ever written about the experience of
Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. The story of Obasan
and its message about the consequences of of war and prejudice are as
relevant today as they were when the book was first released in 1981.
The house of Obasan
still exists in Vancouver with a cherry tree that Joy Kogawa remembers
from her childhood as “propped up and bandaged, but still very much
alive.”
On September 10, 2005, Vancouver City Council
adopted a Motion on Notice to plant a cutting of Joy Kogawa's cherry
tree on the City Hall campus as a way to commomorate the experience of
Japanese Canadians during the Second World War.
Today, we plant a cutting from Kogawa's cherry
tree as a symbol of friendship and to commemorate the experience of
Japanese-Canadians during the Second Warld War.
Joy Kogawa with City Librarian Paul Whitney, Oper Managing Director James Wright, and City Councillor Jim Green – photo Deb Martin
