Sansei

Lynne Kutsukake

Lynne Kutsukake is a novelist and short story writer. She studied Japanese literature in Canada and in Japan, and worked for many years as a librarian. She was a finalist for the Journey Prize in 2010. Her translation of Mizuko Masuda’s fiction, Single Sickness and Other Stories, was published in 2011. Lynne’s debut novel, The […]

Sherri Kajiwara

Sherri is Director|Curator of the Nikkei National Museum at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby. She has been a fine arts professional since 1992 as a gallerist, gallery director, gallery owner, writer, editor, publisher, and curator. She holds a B.Comm from the Sauder School of Business at UBC and is a graduate […]

Toru Fujibayashi

I was born at home into a world of chaos on the 23rd February, 1942 in Vancouver, BC, an enemy alien destined for internment in the Slocan Valley…brief stays in Popoff, Bay Farm, then settling in Slocan City. In 1963 fate would find me at the Alberta College of Art for 4 interminable years. And […]

Kathryn Hatashita-Lee

Kathryn Hatashita-Lee was born in Toronto and raised in Vancouver. She studied for a B.A. in History at the University of British Columbia, where she worked for several years before marrying Roger Lee. A SEAD grant from The National Association of Japanese Canadians helped finance her second year at the Emily Carr College of Art […]

Keri Latimer

Keri Latimer is a Japanese/Irish/Canadian songwriter, film composer and front woman of the band Leaf Rapids from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Live performances include guitar, vocals and theremin which are looped into haunting layers. Her music emanates from a sensibility that crosses genres and blends disparate styles. Her songwriting often incorporates stories inspired by her ancestors who […]

Tsutao Machida

Judy Nakagawa

Judy Nakagawa began studying sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art+Design in Washington, DC in 1998 and in 2002, was awarded the Berthold Schmutzhart Award for sculpture. She exhibited her work at the Whitewalls Gallery, in the Corcoran, the Jackson Art Centre, in Georgetown, and had a solo show at the Errant Space Gallery in […]

Norman Takeuchi

Norman Takeuchi is a painter. Shortly after graduating from the Vancouver School of Art, he moved to London, England, for one year to concentrate on painting. While there, a chance encounter with a gallery owner resulted in his first solo exhibition. Back in Canada, he found employment in Ottawa as a graphic and exhibition designer, […]

Mike Sasaki

Mike took to drawing early in his life, spending focused hours honing the skill as a child. He was also taught woodworking by his father at an early age. In school he excelled in visual arts and decided to pursue a degree in Design. Mike Sasaki graduated from the Bachelor of Design Honours program at […]

Chuck Tasaka

Chuck Tasaka was born in Midway, B.C. in 1945, and was given the name Hachiro. Baptized as Charles in 1951, he goes by the present name. He received all of his schooling in Greenwood, B.C., having graduated in 1963. Chuck attended King Edward Adult Education grade 13, and in 1968, graduated from UBC with a […]

Raymond Nakamura

Raymond was born and raised in Toronto but has lived most of his working life in Vancouver. Long, long ago, the University of Toronto gave Raymond a degree in Zoology and Japanese Language. Then Kyushu University in Japan granted him a Master’s degree for studying the population ecology of stalked barnacles and finally, the U […]

Nancy Peng

Nancy Peng has a degree in math from The University of Waterloo and blends her analytical skills and creativity in her approach to art and teaching. She enjoys the technical aspects of printmaking and teaches watercolour, mixed media painting and printmaking at Button Factory Arts in Waterloo. Nancy is a co-op member and Marketing Chair […]

Joyce Harumi Kamikura

Joyce H. Kamikura, NWS, SFCA Joyce was one of the first Canadians to be bestowed Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society (NWS – U.S.A.). She was also one of the first women to be given the top ranking title in the Federation of Canadian Artists as a Senior Signature Member (SFCA). Exhibitions of her […]

Ryan Takatsu

Ryan Takatsu is a sansei, designer, video artist and cultural equity advocate. Born in Winnipeg and studied at the University of Manitoba – Faculty of Architecture: Interior Design graduate; Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Toronto Publishing Workshop; the University of Toronto: ITDC ADMC; and the University of Winnipeg. During the 1980s and 1990s, he […]

Dona Nabata

I graduated with a major in Japanese language from the University of British Columbia, and then studied pottery at The Shimpi Togei Center, and later at Kyoritsu Primitive Art in Japan. I continued my pottery studies at Emily Carr Univerisity and graduated in Ceramics. Pottery still informs my work, but now I maintain a studio […]