We’ve made it (nearly) to the end of the first term! In our last week of our ASTU class we visited the rare books and special collections library in the basement of Irving library. Here, Joy Kogawas records surrounding the writing of her novel, Obasan (1981), are kept – including letters, drafts, and documents about Japanese internment in Canada.

The folder I had the opportunity to explore included letters between Joy Kogawa and Premier of Ontario, William G. Davis, and the Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1981. I found them really interesting. Obviously, the novel Obasan set out to make a certain impression, it was an account of ‘the other side’, and the issues Japanese Candians have had to confront. However, the letters written by Kogawa show just how determined she was in making her book matter.

These are important people she is writing to, and she doesn’t mince her words. She outright states how this would not have happened had a Bill of Rights existed during the time of internment, and that Canada has a responsibility to address the experience. Furthermore, she uses her voice to advocate for a Japanese retirement home in Toronto, again being very frank as she states old Japanese citizens are “dying in nursing homes run by white Canadians”.

These letters make realise how important Joy Kogawa has been in advocating her cause, and although Obasan is a work of fiction, it is a powerful force in society. The way she states her intent to such important people is quite inspiring, and although she gets somewhat lukewarm responses from them in responding letters, Obasan did have an impact in government – a section was read in parliament during the official apology to Japanese Canadians in 1988.

At the beginning of this semester I had no knowledge whatsoever of Canada’s internment of Japanese citizens – I knew only a little about internment in the US. It has been fascinating to look at it in a historical perspective and on the personal. Particularly, how certain individuals can have such an impact on a narrative, or how people access and view a narrative. Joy Kogawa has been such an individual here, and her letters show how purposeful this was – and just how determined she was to get her voice, and the voice of an oppressed group out there.

I hope everyone has a brill winter break.