Expanding Access to History: Mitsubishi Canada Ltd. Signs MOU to Strengthen TAIKEN Field Trips Program
We are pleased to share an exciting development for the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC)!
On February 14, 2025, the NNMCC officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsubishi Canada Ltd., launching a three-year partnership that will enhance and expand their TAIKEN Field Trips Program.
Pictured: Memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between NNMCC and Mitsubishi Canada Ltd., witnessed by Consul General Takahashi
The TAIKEN Field Trip offers an immersive educational program that brings Japanese Canadian history and culture to life, exploring key moments from early immigration to the internment era and beyond. Through this partnership more students will participate in enhanced activities supported by the expansion of educational resources, providing an improved field trip experience.
Thank you to Mitsubishi Canada Ltd. for their dedication to education and cultural understanding. Together, we are making Japanese Canadian history more engaging, accessible, and impactful for future generations!
Nikkei Matsuri returns Sept. 1-3 at Nikkei Centre
Celebrate Japanese Culture at the Nikkei Matsuri and Zenyasai events
Nikkei Matsuri returns Sept. 1-3 at Nikkei Centre
The 11th annual Nikkei Matsuri festival takes place on September 1-3, 2023, to celebrate Japanese culture. We invite families and all ages in Metro Vancouver and beyond to join this authentic cultural celebration!
The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) is excited to announce the 11th annual Nikkei Matsuri, a cultural celebration of an authentic Japanese festival. Taking place at the Nikkei Centre in Burnaby, this vibrant gathering will provide an immersive experience for families and individuals alike to enjoy the richness of Japanese culture.
Nikkei Matsuri is the NNMCC's largest fundraising event of the year, with all proceeds helping provide important funding for their cultural and community programs, educational outreach, and museum. This festival is not possible without the support of sponsors, donors, volunteers, community partners and members. Your contribution helps bring the community together by making enjoyable and affordable programs possible. Thank you to all our supporters!
Opening Ceremony in front of the Yagura Tower (2022)
This year, a pre-festival “Zenyasai Beer Garden” celebration with will take place on Friday, September 1, with the main festivities happening on Saturday and Sunday, September 2 & 3.
Zenyasai is an evening of music, art, and relaxation in the picturesque and festive Nikkei Garden. The event features summertime house music, hi-tech soul vibes, dancing with DJs Rennie Foster, Byegas, Move78, and live mural painting by celebrated artist Taka Sudo.
The Nikkei Matsuri festival serves as a cultural gathering place inviting everyone to participate in the celebration of Japanese heritage. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a range of dance and music performances, powerful taiko drumming, martial arts demonstrations by local artists, and much more. Visit the festival website for a list of performances. Special guests KAMUI, samurai artists, are travelling from Japan to grace the event.
Samurai Artists KAMUI from Japan
Japanese drum performance by Chibi Taiko (2022)
Bushido Performance (2022)
A Lasting Legacy: Nikkei Centre Events Hall Renamed The Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi Hall
On May 6, 2023 a commemorative event was held in honour of Mitsuo and Emmie Hayashi.
A Lasting Legacy: Nikkei Centre Events Hall Renamed The Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi Hall
Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi
林光夫・恵美子夫妻
Nikkei Place and the Japanese Canadian community in Vancouver are grateful for the many contributions by Mitsuo and Emmie Hayashi. They leave behind a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire and enrich future generations. In their honour, Nikkei Centre’s Event Hall was renamed the Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi Hall.
On May 6, 2023 a commemorative event was held in honour of Mitsuo and Emmie Hayashi. The couple was known for their tireless efforts to build strong relations between Canada and Japan, as well as their dedication to the Nikkei Place community since the 1990s. To honour their legacy, the Event Hall was renamed the Mitsuo and Emmie Hayashi Hall. About 50 attendees, including volunteers, Board Directors, Auxiliary, and friends, gathered to pay tribute.
L-R: Frank Kamiya, Akiko Gomyo, Kohei Maruyama, Kayoko Ihara, Herbert Ono, Ruth Roles, Karah Foster
(左より、敬称略) フランク・カミヤ、五明明子、丸山浩平、伊原香代子、ハーバート・オノ、ルース・コールズ、ケーラ後新門フォスター
Photo by Manto Artworks.
Keiko Funahashi, the Development Director of the Nikkei Place Foundation, delivered welcoming remarks, and special guest Kayoko Ihara, Mits Hayashi's niece from Japan, was in attendance.
Karah Foster, the Executive Director of NNMCC, spoke about the couple's generous contributions to the Nikkei Place community from the early days of visioning and fundraising to its opening and development as an active cultural gathering place. Upon their passing the couple left a generous legacy gift.
Consul General Maruyama paid tribute to Mitsuo and Emmie Hayashi's significant contributions to Nikkei Place and the Japanese Canadian community, including Mr. Mitsuo Hayashi’s receipt of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays by the Japanese government in 2012 for his outstanding contributions to the Japanese Canadian community and the Japanese in Canada.
Frank Kamiya, who served on the board of NNMCC with Mits and knew the couple since the beginning, spoke about their involvement with the centre and how they supported the NNMCC Auxiliary. He also highlighted Mits's role in building bridges between Nikkei Place and Japan through his business network.
Akiko Gomyo, past President of NNMCC, expressed gratitude for Mits's contributions, including his establishment of the Nikkei Community New Year's celebration, and described him as her mentor in volunteering in the community.
Ruth Coles, past President of the Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society, highlighted their support for the development of the organization through financial contributions, mentorship, and team building. She described them as dignified and respectful individuals who left an enduring legacy for the community.
The event concluded with the unveiling of the Mitsuo Emmie Hayashi Hall sign, followed by the display of exquisite Ikebana in the newly named hall. The commemorative event was a touching tribute to the Hayashi’s significant contributions and lasting legacy.
2023年5月6日、林光夫・恵美子夫妻を称える記念式典が行われました。夫妻は、カナダと日本の関係構築や、日系プレースと日系カナダ人コミュニティへの献身で知られていました。この式典では、夫妻の遺贈を称え、イベントホールが「林光夫&恵美子ホール」と改称されました。50人の参加者が集まり、日系プレース基金の船橋敬子氏が司会を務め、林夫妻の姪である伊原香代子さんが日本より特別ゲストとして出席されました。
日系文化センター・博物館の事務局長のケーラ後新門フォスター氏は、夫妻が設立初期のビジョンと資金調達から、センターの活発な文化的な集会場としての発展に至るまでの、日系プレースと日系カナダ人コミュニティへの多大な貢献について語りました。丸山浩平在バンクーバー日本国総領事は、林夫妻が日系プレースと日系カナダ人コミュニティに与えた重要な影響、特に2012年に日本政府より旭日双光章を授与したことについて言及しました。
林光夫氏とともに日系文化センター・博物館（以下、NNMCC）の理事を務め、NNMCC活動補助グループの一員であるフランク・カミヤ氏は、夫妻のグループへの貢献や、林氏がビジネスネットワークを通じて日系プレースと日本の架け橋をになったことを強調しました。
NNMCCの前理事長である五明明子氏は、林氏が日系コミュニティ・ボランティア活動のリーダーであり、林氏が設立した日系合同新年会などへの貢献に感謝の気持ちを表しました。また、日系シニアズ・ヘルスケア＆住宅協会前理事長のルース・コールズ氏は、林夫妻が財政的な貢献やメンターシップ、チームビルディングを通じて組織の発展を支援したことを強調し、夫妻を尊敬し、品格ある人物であると表現しました。
当日「林光夫&恵美子ホール」の看板の除幕式に続き、新しく名前が付けられたホールで生花ショーが開催されました。
The 2022 Legacy Gala raises over $105,000 for the Japanese Canadian community at Nikkei Place
Thank you to all our friends, donors, sponsors, volunteers and staff for making the Nikkei Place Legacy Gala a great success!
The 2022 Legacy Gala raises over $105,000 for the Japanese Canadian community at Nikkei Place
On October 22, 2022, the Nikkei Place Legacy Gala was hosted at Nikkei Centre. On behalf of the Nikkei Place Foundation and Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, thank you to all our guests for joining us! We extend our deepest appreciation to our friends, donors, sponsors, volunteers and staff for making the Nikkei Place Legacy Gala a great success.
Special thanks to our Gold sponsors Canadian Tire (Cambie & 7th and Grandview Hwy & Ruper St.), Tompkins Wozny, and our Award sponsor DLA Piper for their support.
Our event committee worked tirelessly to bring together an evening to remember; 180 guests gathered to reconnect, rediscover, and honour community leaders for their enduring and dedicated service. Among the guests included Premier John Horgan, City of Burnaby Mayor, His Worship Mike Hurley, newly appointed Consul General Kohei Maruyama, and Deputy Consul General Masayo Tada.
Emceed by actors Hiro Kanagawa and Jennifer Spence, the program included:
Welcome Blessing by Elder Sam George of Squamish Nation
Live Entertainment by Jason de Couto Jazz Trio
Silent Auction featuring spotlight sponsor Air Canada
Welcome to Burnaby from Mayor Mike Hurley
Dinner Service by Zen Japanese Restaurant
Award Presentations
Speech by Premier John Horgan
Fund-a-Need
50/50 winning number drawn by Consul General Kohei Maruyama
It was an inspiring evening, that gave us the opportunity to celebrate our 2020-22 nikkei youth athletics bursary recipients Max Hamanishi, Kenji Yamamoto, and Kianna Darbyshire, and honour the following six awardees for their immense contributions to the Japanese Canadian community:
ROBERT BANNO
2022 Thomas Shoyama Lifetime Achievement Award
Posthumous Recipient
YOSHI HASHIMOTO
2022 Outstanding Community Service Award
RAYMOND MORIYAMA
2020 Thomas Shoyama Lifetime Achievement Award
PAUL KARIYA
2022 Outstanding Community Service Award
SUKI TAKAGI
2020 Nikkei Community & Business Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award
SUSANNE TABATA
2022 Outstanding Community Service Award
In conjunction with the award presentation to Susanne Tabata and Paul Kariya for their leadership for BC Redress, Premier Horgan spoke poignantly about historical wrongs, and the $100M Legacy Package promised to the Japanese Canadian community by his BC Government in May 2022.
The evening also came with an official announcement of the naming of Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi Hall at Nikkei Centre:
“...It is a pleasure to officially announce the naming of this event hall in their honour through a legacy gift to the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre from the family of Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi…Stay tuned for upcoming news on the official unveiling and honouring their legacy!”
In the room, we saw a number of generous donors raise their paddles during the fund-a-need portion of the program, and we are immensely grateful for all the support. We also wish to thank donors who contributed directly to the Robert Banno Endowment Fund. In total, the Legacy Gala raised over $105,000 for Nikkei Place! These funds support the needs of children, families, new immigrants, and seniors in the Japanese Canadian community.
Thank you to everyone for being a part of continuing the legacy!
Legacy Galaへの多大なご支援、ありがとうございました。今後ともどうぞよろしくお願い申し上げます。
Photo Gallery
Photographer: Adam PW Smith
Celebrate Family Day at Nikkei Centre
Enjoy free admission to the NNMCC gallery + family-friendly activities on Saturday, February 19!
Enjoy free admission to the NNMCC gallery + family-friendly activities on Saturday, February 19!
If you're looking for something to do for Family Day next weekend, head to Nikkei Centre for some family fun! There will be workshops + activities, a magic show and more! Visit Nikkei Centre’s website for full details on times and how to participate.
THINGS TO DO INCLUDE…
Tsumami Zaiku Workshop | つまみ細工ワークショップ
Learn the traditional Japanese craft of Tsumami Zaiku with Fumiko Horan, where you will make flowers using small square-cut pieces of cloth!Cookie Decoration Workshop | クッキーデコワークショップ
Enjoy the art of cookie decorating that includes all materials!Girls' Day Kimono Dressing Demonstration | 桃の節句着物着付けデモンストレーション
Join us for our Kimono dressing demonstration to learn the steps and tricks to putting on a Kimono by Fumiko Horan. Enjoy a beautiful visual display of traditional Japanese clothing.Magicjo's Magical World | マジックジョーのマジカルワールド
Enjoy the Art and Science of Magic performance by MagicJo! Awaken your wonder and revitalize your mind through an element of surprise.Hina Doll Displays | 雛段飾り & Scanvenger Hunt
Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to take a photo with the stunning Japanese Hina dolls! Can you find all the Hina Doll displays? Come and grab the entry ticket for the scavenger hunt at the reception and explore the centre. Children can enter to win a small gift!Free admission to the SAFE | HOME Exhibit
Browse the Museum Shop
The Province of British Columbia has provided Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre a grant in support of this free, community Family Day activity.
To learn more visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/celebrating-british-columbia/bc-family-day
Last month to see Iron Willed: Women in STEM exhibit at Nikkei National Museum
On until October 2, 2021
See the exhibit Iron Willed: Women in STEM before it closes on October 2, 2021
The Nikkei National Museum is pleased to host this travelling exhibit from Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation. It celebrates women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and features inspiring individuals such as Irene Uchida, Donna Strickland, and Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
See Iron Willed: Women in STEM this month before it closes on October 2, 2021 and travels to Quebec!
Nikkei National Museum
6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby BC
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm
$5 admission | NNMCC Members and students are free
Nikkei Matsuri Returns this Summer with Mini Matsuri – September 4 & 5, 2021
Mini Matsuri is just one of the many ways the NNMCC is working to fulfil its mission to honour, preserve, and share Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian history and heritage for a better Canada. All proceeds from Mini Matsuri will support the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre.
The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) is excited to bring “Mini Matsuri”, a scaled back version of Nikkei Matsuri, to the community on September 4 and 5, 2021.
Nikkei Matsuri is Burnaby’s authentic family-friendly Japanese festival. It is one of Canada’s largest Japanese festivals celebrating arts, culture and heritage, and has been bringing the community together at Nikkei Centre for the last 8 years. The NNMCC adapted to public health restrictions in 2020, and this year is no exception.
Mini Matsuri is about bringing a bit of the spirit of Nikkei Matsuri to Burnaby this summer. It’s a family-friendly event, set to feature some festival favourites such as a marketplace with local vendors and artisans, cultural performances, Japanese-style games, museum exhibits, and a variety of local eateries and food trucks. The NNMCC will adapt the Mini Matsuri experience to adhere to all public health restrictions – more details to come. Be sure to follow Nikkei Matsuri on social media or visit www.nikkeimatsuri.ca for the latest updates!
“Let’s re-connect with each other, and feel the community spirit while celebrating Japanese culture”
Mini Matsuri is just one of the many ways the NNMCC is working to fulfil its mission to honour, preserve, and share Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian history and heritage for a better Canada. All proceeds from Mini Matsuri will support the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre.
Stay tuned for more! Visit www.nikkeimatsuri.ca for the latest.
NNMCC ‘Resilience Fundraiser’ Campaign Concludes, Surpassing $250,000 Goal
The NNMCC is pleased to announce that the Resilience Fundraiser campaign raised over $306,000, surpassing their target by over $55,000!
NNMCC ‘Resilience Fundraiser’ Campaign Concludes, Surpassing $250,000 Goal
Community support has been overwhelmingly positive, and echoes the importance and desire for Nikkei Centre to serve as a place of community gathering, historic preservation, and cultural exchange.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic created great challenges for individuals, families, businesses and organizations. The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) was no exception, and faced significant uncertainties and financial challenges. However, through resilience, resourcefulness and the generous support from all of our Resilience campaign donors, the Nikkei Centre persevered through the year, and found new ways to remain operational and serve the community.
The NNMCC launched the ‘Resilience Fundraiser’ campaign on April 1, 2020, and concluded in the new year on January 22, 2021, to raise essential operational funds. The support of community members was overwhelmingly positive, and echoes the importance and desire for Nikkei Centre to serve as a place of community gathering, historic preservation and cultural exchange.
The NNMCC is pleased to announce that the Resilience Fundraiser campaign raised over $306,000, surpassing their target by over $55,000! Thank you to all donors for supporting the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre!
““On behalf of the Board of Directors [of the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre], I would like to thank you – our Community – for your extraordinary support of our aptly-named Resilience Fundraiser. As a result of your incredible generosity, we are better positioned than many charitable organizations to meet the unprecedented operational challenges that we continue to face during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very generous group of anonymous donors who graciously provided the matching donations.”
”
Photo credit: Manto Artworks
The generosity of donors provided a lifeline for the NNMCC, and helped ensure they could continue to their charitable mission to honour, preserve and share Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian history and heritage for a better Canada. While many public facilities closed or became unavailable due to pandemic restrictions, the Nikkei Centre, with approved safety plans, was able to re-open and allow limited activities such as: martial arts, Japanese language school, small-scale outdoor markets, and visits to the Broken Promises exhibit, while many locals enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of Nikkei Garden. We expanded our online shop and online programs, presentations and workshops, and educational resources for distance-learning.
Discover:
As a gathering place, the Nikkei Centre was able to provide some semblance of normality to an abnormal year. All of these opportunities and achievements could not have been possible without the generous support from all of our Resilience campaign donors.
The NNMCC will continue to work hard to fulfill our mission and continue to meet the needs of our seniors, families, individuals and community.
To conclude the Resilience campaign, all gifts are acknowledged on the Resilience Fundraiser Donor Wall (also viewable in the February issue of The Bulletin and soon to be on display in the Nikkei Centre lobby).
ご支援いただき、誠に有難うございました。
Broken Promises Exhibit Opens at Nikkei National Museum Sept. 26
The new Broken Promises exhibit opens at Nikkei National Museum on September 26. Watch the livestream!
Broken Promises exhibit explores the dispossession of Japanese Canadians in the 1940s
The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) is celebrating 20 years in its Burnaby BC location at Nikkei Place which was born of dreams to provide a gathering place for our varied and diverse community. Today, the NNMCC continues its mission to honour, preserve, and share Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian history and heritage through programs, exhibits, and community partnerships extending nationwide through education, research assistance, and communications.
On Sept 26, 2020, Nikkei National Museum opens a new travelling exhibit, Broken Promises, co-curated by the Nikkei National Museum with the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Landscapes of Injustice research collective.
WATCH: Broken Promises - 1min Trailer
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 over decades. 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.
This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.
Virtual launch: Sept. 26, 2020 — Join the live stream!
Join in on the live stream and virtual programming
Saturday, September 26, 2020
1:00-2:00 pm PDT/ 4:00-500 pm EDT
Programming will include the launch of a Landscapes of Injustice book, knowledge mobilization outputs, and exciting information about digital offerings.
From September 29 onwards, the exhibit will be open 10am - 5pm Tuesday - Saturday.
COVID protocols are in place. The gallery has a limited capacity of 8 people.
For more information about the exhibit
Visit https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/exhibits/broken-promises/
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Turns 20
The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre celebrates 20 years since opening their doors on September 22, 2000.
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Celebrates 20 years
Over 30 years ago, the idea of having a gathering place for Japanese Canadians of all ages, and welcoming the larger community to share in this space, was just a dream. In December of 1986, a small group conceived of Nikkei Place — a multi-purpose complex joining a national Japanese Canadian cultural centre, seniors’ housing, and a care home. It took planning, commitment, and tenacity to bring the project to construction. On August 9, 1997, a ceremonial groundbreaking and tree planting took place to begin construction of the New Sakura-So seniors’ housing facility, the first building of the Nikkei Place campus.
Soon after, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) was built (then named the Nikkei National Heritage Centre) and officially opened to serve the community on September 22, 2000. The community gathered, along with dignitaries and special guests, to share in fanfare and celebration. Since then, NNMCC has welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to experience exhibits, cultural programs, special events, educational tours, and more.
NNMCC’s 20th anniversary year has been unlike any other in its history. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the facility in March 2020, and a re-opening in June under drastically reduced capacity to comply with public health orders. Popular community events such as their Japanese Book Sale and Nikkei Matsuri have been completely re-imagined to allow for safe gatherings and cultural exchange to continue. Their online resources have become more important than ever — working to maintain and enhance the online archival research database, educational activities, and online exhibits, and to develop innovative distance-friendly programming.
As the 20th anniversary of Opening Day arrived, the NNMCC marks the occasion in a similar way to the beginning of Nikkei Place with the planting of a pine tree. Due to the pandemic, the ceremony on Sunday, September 20, 2020, was kept to a small gathering of current board members and guests.
At the start of 2020, the NNMCC envisioned a large 20th anniversary gathering that would also see the opening of the Broken Promises exhibit. Broken Promises is the culmination of a 7-year partnership with the Landscapes of Injustice project exploring the 1940s dispossession of Japanese Canadians through a multi-disciplinary lens with academic and community partners across Canada. Although the grand in-person celebration had to be cancelled, Broken Promises will host an opening via online livestream September 26th, available to anyone around the world. And on Friday, September 18, 2020, the NNMCC hosted the Nikkei Kotoba Forest Lounge where they presented an original live poetry installation, Nikkei Poem, at Nikkei Centre in collaboration with the local Tasai Collective. Nikkei Poem gathered literary submissions from the Nikkei community to create a unique and distance-friendly work of art.
WATCH: The NNMCC Then & Now - Video Slideshow
No one could have foreseen a 20th anniversary year like this one for the NNMCC. A place that has served as a physical gathering place for a our diverse community, the NNMCC has faced enormous challenges from government orders for public health. But enormous challenges have also come with opportunities for resilience: for NNMCC to continue modified programming and a sense of community at a time when many other gathering places are unavailable; and to broaden our reach to a worldwide community online.
We need your support today to maintain Nikkei Centre as a gathering place for future generations. Your support can help protect Japanese Canadian history, heritage, and culture. Please consider donating to the NNMCC’s Resilience Fundraiser. All donations made before December 31 will be matched up to $100,000.