Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 18

BY K AT H E R I N E YA M A S H I TA
PROFOUND,
RELEVANT &
RESONANT
TO THE CORE
Japanese Canadian art emerges from the shadows
In 1877, Manzo Nagano became the first documented Japanese person to immigrate to
Canada. Arriving in New Westminster, BC, he worked as a salmon fisherman, a restaurateur and
a hotel owner, among other pursuits, eventually settling in Victoria and raising a family there.
One hundred years after his arrival, a peak of the Coast Mountains was named in his honour:
Mount Manzo Nagano.
Soon after the first Japanese immigrants came to this country, the more artistic sorts began to
explore their place in Canadian culture, while honouring their heritage at the same time. This
unique cultural group has experienced a varied history in Canada, one marked by a divisive
period during World War II and, since then, has moved on to become an integral part of a rich
multi-cultural landscape.
“Japanese Canadian artists stare down the image in the mirror and attempt to come to terms
with self-identity and the historical mistreatment of their community,” says Bryce Kanbara,
Curator/Chair of the Arts Committee of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.
“Their works emerge from a collective impulse—to explore and elucidate the present and the
past of the Japanese Canadian experience.”
For more information on these and other artists, visit www.japanesecanadianartists.com.
But for now, enjoy the work of these talented individuals.
AKIRA YOSHIKAWA
Akira Yoshikawa was born in Hiroshima in 1949 and moved to Canada when he was 12 years
old. He studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), and has been awarded several
grants from the Ontario and Canada Arts Councils.
Akira’s work explores the simple and the complex in daily life, inspired by an emphasis on being
in the moment. His pieces challenge the viewer to examine the deeper meanings suggested by his
titles and the combination of elements, whether the work is on paper, uses found natural objects or
is composed with his camera. He works to “strip away the excessiveness and to deal only with the
core of the matter. In this way, it allows one to see the perfection in the imperfect daily life.”
“We are forgetting to slow down or even to stop for a while to examine ourselves,” he explains
further. “The time we allow ourselves to reconcile with self for adjustment has been taken away. My
artworks are meant to be used as ‘poetic tools’ to create a place to rest your soul, and to reflect on
one’s inner self.”
His work has been shown at Queen’s University, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the Japanese
Canadian Cultural Centre and the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In particular, Akira is
noted for his influence on the conceptual art scene in Toronto.
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