I am a Canadian of Japanese-descent. I was born in Edmonton 45 years ago. I have absolutely no ties to Japan other than through my father who severed his own ties 5 years before his death by taking out Canadian Citizenship. So there is no reason why I should be so absolutely ecstatic about the Japanese Emperor showing up to Nikkei Place.
His country was the cause of many of Japanese-Canadian descent being shoved into internment camps. If they hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor, the Canadian government of that time wouldn't have had a good reason to shove them into internment camps.
Have those who cheered Akihito's arrival just realized his father's complicity in many Japanese-Canadians losing their possessions and freedoms during WWII? As an immediate descendant of an Japanese-Canadian internee, I resent the glorification of the Japanese monarchy by the Nikkei community.
If I was there, I probably would have waved a Canadian flag as well as a photo of what internment camp my mother and her family ended up in.
No comments:
Post a Comment