How do the artifacts change your understanding of the book’s place in Canadian (or World) history?
I believe that in many cases artifacts bring stories to life and provide support to show that a certain event did happen and that it affected so many individuals. For me personally I like to have a hands on approach when trying to fully understand something and seeing the archives really helped me understand the larger picture of Obasan. Before I had seen the artifacts that related to Kogawa’s book I knew that the event had taken place in history but didn’t have any solid evidence presented to me to back up the idea that this awful event did happen and profoundly impacted our country. The archive that stood out the most to me was the letters i read from people telling Kogawa just how much her book impacted them. One 11 year old girl from Ontario wrote to Kogawa asking for help on a school project about the Japanese internment camp. She then sent another letter saying that she would remember this project forever unlike some of the other meaningless ones she had done in school and thanked her for her help with the project. Kogawa received another letter from a man from Vancouver who was a pilot during the period of the Japanese internment camp. He wrote her to apologize for his actions and the guilt he had felt after reading her book. He said that his actions during the Japanese internment camps were a typical Canadian response to how the Japanese were supposed to be treated and now he realizes how wrong that was. She also received a letter from a little boy in London saying how he liked her book and drew her a picture and was very concerned about her father eating mushrooms in the book. I was amazed at the variety of people Kogawa’s book had touched and influenced. Not only was her book impacting people in Canada but it was impacting people all over the world regardless of their age or political views. Reading these archives brought everything to life for me. The archives prove as evidence to show that this major historical event is now being recognized worldwide and is deserving the attention it should have received many years ago. I believe that having archives available for major historical events is very beneficial when trying to understand what actually happened during the time of the event because it allows people to personally connect with how it directly affected individuals internationally.