Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest May 20, 2005

Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest: Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians in the Twentieth Century

Book Launch

The Japanese Canadian National Museum welcomes contributors Michiko Midge Ayukawa, Andrea Geiger-Adams, Masumi Izumi, and Patricia E. Roy to the Vancouver launch of this exciting and ground-breaking publication edited by Louis Fiset and Gail M. Nomura. Co-sponsored by UBC Press.

Challenging the notion that Nikkei individuals before and during World War II were helpless pawns manipulated by forces beyond their control, the diverse essays in this rich collection focus on the theme of resistance within Japanese American and Japanese Canadian communities to twentieth-century political, cultural, and legal discrimination. They illustrate how Nikkei groups were mobilized to fight discrimination through assertive legal challenges, community participation, skilful print publicity, and political and economic organization. Comprised of all-new and original research, this is the first anthology to highlight the contributions and histories of Nikkei within the entire Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia. Admission is free.