Tonari Gumi / 隣組

On Saturday, June 8^th, some 325 people from throughout the community gathered for an enjoyable evening of good food, prizes and friendship.  Welcomed into the renewed Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant by the beat of Chibi Taiko’s drumming, the event literally started with a bang—or at least a boom.  John Greenaway, an accomplished taiko drummer himself and editor of the GVJCCA Bulletin magazine, took on the task of Master of Ceremonies and ensured that the evening unfolded with good memories and cultural renewal.  In attendance, and acknowledged as honourary guests, were Japanese Consul General Seiji Okada and his wife; Vancouver City Councilor, Kerry Jang; and John and Phyllis Hamada, brother and sister-in-law of Jun Hamada, the founder of Tonari Gumi.

Joy Kogawa, as our keynote speaker, focused the attention of the audience on how the community was changing, asking those in attendance to identify their birthplaces.  Joy was surprised that those of Japanese birth were the largest group in attendance that evening, suggesting that the community was continuing to evolve and renew itself.  While the JCCA had largely been dominated by the prewar Issei and Nissei, Tonari Gumi was now attracting the postwar immigrants from Japan and a younger generation of volunteers who were taking up the challenge of serving the community.  Joy’s comments were thought-provoking and provided food for thought on how the community was regenerating and the responsibilities of Tonari Gumi and the JCCA in responding to these new challenges.  Takeo Yamashiro, supported by Tamio Wakayama’s background images of Tonari Gumi’s early days, recalled the spirit of service upon which Tonari Gumi had been founded.  Gordon Kadota, recalled the beginnings of the Greater Vancouver JCCA, and issued a challenge to the current organization to respond to the new needs of the community.  Kozue Matsumoto and Yuriko Nariya on the koto and Minoru Yamamoto on the shakuhachi provided a haunting preamble to Joy Kogawa’s keynote address. 

Throughout the evening, energetic Tonari Gumi volunteers sold raffle tickets and manned the silent auction tables.  We were thrilled by the enthusiastic and generous responses of our guests.  The raffle grand prize of a massive basket of Japanese food items brought together by our Tonari Gumi Craft Club was won by Grace Eiko Thomson and the second prize of a gorgeous potted flower donated by Hanamo Florist was won by Paul Reed.

A listing of our raffle and silent auction donors are as follows:

Grand Donors:  Emiko Ando, Taiga Chiba, Hiro Urakami

Gold Donors:  Keiko Alexander, ASM Natural Products Inc., D Way Beverages Inc., Les & Amy Fugeta, Ed Hamazaki, Hanamo Florist, Hy’s Steak House, JTB International Canada, Kim’s Mart/Sakuraya, Joy Kogawa, Tsuneko Kokubo, Listel Hotel Canada, Master Framers, Naoe McGuire, Cindy Mochizuki, Murata Art, Northern Light Travel Ltd., Seaborn Enterprises Inc., Seto Sushi, Kinichi Shigeno, Dennis Shikaze, Sushiyama, Naoko Takenouchi, OK Gift Shop, Grace Eiko Thomson, Tojo’s Restaurant, Tonari Gumi Craft Club, Henry and Yvonne Wakabayashi, Woogie’s Magic Lamp

Table Donor:  Bob Nimi.

Special appreciation is extended to all of the volunteers and staff who assisted in bringing this amazing event to fruition.  For more photos please click here!

We are absolutely amazed at the support we have received for the “100 Years of Service” Anniversary Dinner, celebrating Tonari Gumi’s 40th and the Greater Vancouver JCCA’s 60th anniversaries.  We are absolutely thrilled at the response from throughout the community and look forward to enjoying a wonderful experience this coming Saturday.

Our next major event will be the Tonari Gumi and Greater Vancouver JCCA Joint “Home Away from Home” Golf Tournament at Meadow Gardens on Saturday, July 20th.  For details please click on this link.  We look forward to seeing you there.

The milestone 100 years of service anniversary dinner on June 8th is fast approaching.  We have several beautiful works of art and other exceptional items being offered for the silent auction.  Among these wonderful artworks available is Squid Heaven, by the notable artist, Taiga Chiba.

Squid Heaven by Taiga Chiba

Artwork dimensions:
64.5 x 76 cm or 25 1/2 x 30 inches. 

Squid Heaven is part of a Woodcut Relief and Carborundum Collograph Print series from 2002 created at Snap Print Studio in Edmonton, Alberta.  Carborundum is a particular sand which is used for polishing Litho Stones.

Karen Dugas, Taiga Chiba’s colleague writes about the piece:  “Taiga’s work presents primordial shapes swimming in a colorful and densely saturated field. The work is both playful and appealing to the subconscious mind.”

Here Taiga Chiba describes how he created this piece:
“I pulled several prints for each images but never the same. I tried slightly different colors each time to print, so I could say that each print is a ‘Mono Prints’ = a Unique Prints.” 

We are honored to have received this remarkable artwork and expect a high number of bids for this item.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets for this special event, please be sure to do so before 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4th!  Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://tonarigumi.ca/100-years-of-service-anniversary-dinner-june-8-2013/ or by contacting the Tonari Gumi office at (604) 687-2172.

Here is some additional information about the artist:

Taiga Chiba was born in Shizuoka City, Japan.  He obtained B.A. from Musashino Art University in Tokyo.  Upon graduation, he taught studio arts for Six and a Half years in two public Senior High Schools in Shizuoka Province before immigrating to Canada, 1981.  He studied English at Seneca College in Toronto, then went onto Concordia University in Montreal to take the Master level studio arts program.  While he was living in Montreal, he took Summer French Immersion Programs for University Students at St. Helene and Chicoutimi in Quebec.  He received M.F.A. from Concordia University, then moved to Vancouver in 1987. Since then, Vancouver has been his home.  He taught Inuit artists Printmaking and Studio Arts in Pangnirtung, Baker Lake and Iqaluit, Nunavut.

He has had numerous exhibitions in Canada, USA and participated in many International exhibitions.  He loves to participate in Artists’ Residencies in different countries.

His next residency is at Lalit Kala Academi, Bhubaneswar, Orissa State in India.

Dinner ticket sales for the combined 100 years of service anniversary dinner are going very well, but if you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, ticket sales come to an end at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4^th.  Chibi Taiko will open the evening as we start the 10 course gourmet Chinese dinner being prepared by the Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant.  They will be followed by Joy Kogawa’s keynote address, nostalgic presentations by Takeo Yamashiro and Gordon Kadota, and a Japanese musical presentation with two koto’s (Kozue Matsumoto and Yuriko Nariya) and a shakuhachi (Minoru Yamamoto).   There will be an amazing silent auction and a raffle with great prizes.  In addition to being a great gathering of the Japanese Canadian community, all of the net proceeds will go towards completing the extensive renovations being undertaken at the new Seniors’ Drop-In and Community Outreach Centre being jointly funded by Tonari Gumi and the JCCA.  Come and have a great time while supporting the creation of a new Centre for the community!  Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://tonarigumi.ca/100-years-of-service-anniversary-dinner-june-8-2013/ or by contacting the Tonari Gumi office at (604) 687-2172.

One of the amazing items being offered in our silent auction is an exclusive woodblock print by the renowned Japanese Canadian artist, Taiga Chiba:

'Squid Heaven' by Taiga Chiba

Chiba Taiga the artist.

To see other silent auction items, please click on this link.

On Saturday, May 4th, in conjunction with the Steveston Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Tonari Gumi held a “Crisis Preparedness” seminar in Japanese for seniors and their family members.  Some 26 interested individuals attended to learn how to prepare for the unexpected, in particular with regard to representation agreements, powers of attorney, wills, etc.

Shihori making her presentation in Steveston.

The presentation was given by Shihori, Community Service worker at Tonari Gumi, and included handouts and a helpful set of real-life examples that elicited many questions from the group as they related the examples to their own lives.  Tonari Gumi expresses its appreciation for the support and assistance given by Kelvin Higo to make this event a success.  Tonari Gumi will be working with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre to hold other seminars of interest to the community in Steveston in the near future.  Individuals interested in participating in these seminars in both English and Japanese are asked to contact Kelvin Higo or the Tonari Gumi office at 604-687-2172.