Q: What do you like about Canada?
I love the diversity of Canada. I have been always curious about other countries’ culture, life and people since I was a child. I love the fact that I get to meet people from different countries, learn their culture and try different kind of food in Vancouver.
I felt that there was no categorization by gender or age here. I didn’t realized that I was putting so much pressure on myself to meet expectation by the society or families until I moved out my country. Also, people don’t get judged by being different from others. I felt FREE to be myself.
Life is slower in Canada than in Japan. I had never had time to think about what I like or what I want to do, thinking back my life in Japan. I like the fact that people here are enjoying their life by doing what they like to do.
Q: What is the hardest thing you faced living in Canada？ What have you learned from it?
When I moved to Canada in 2003, it was hard to get a decent job. I had minimum wage jobs for 3-4years until I was hired by UBC. While I was working for them, I realized that doing hard work is not good enough to be recognized in Canada. You need to be more vocal and aggressive. (for Japanese)
Raising children in a foreign country wasn’t easy. First of all, there was no family support. When you don’t have enough sleep every day, your brain doesn’t work well and you almost like become a different person. I didn’t feel like speaking English or couldn’t make good communications with other moms in English. I couldn’t connect with them well. Also, I felt the cultural difference in raising children. I felt lonely and isolated, but some Japanese friends gave me a hand and I survived the hardest time.
From this experience, I thought that if we help and support each other, we can enjoy raising children as a community.
an active volcano in my home town, Kagoshima
Q: What is your personal belief or motto?
There is no time like the present. When you think of something you want to do, I find it easier to just start right away, then I adjust as I go along. I don’t want to lose the momentum that comes from having a new idea. I like the feeling of trying new things. I can discover new things about myself by trying new things.
Q: What do you do now?
I founded a company called Ogojo Canada. As a part of the company’s project, I started “Ohanashi Ohanashi” at Tonarigumi in 2017. (It has been canceled since March 2020 due to COVID-19.) In Ohanashi Ohanashi, we did Japanese story time and sang Japanese seasonal songs so that kids could learn Japanese culture in Canada. We wanted to provide a place where Japanese moms and dads could relax, get some helpful information and make connections with each other. Anybody who are interested in Japanese culture are welcome to join us as well.
- We put on seasonal events for the Japanese community that provided a venue for Japanese artists and craftspeople to display and sell their products.
- In 2021, we started Japanese community group called” IDOBATA-KAIGI”. This is the place Japanese women in Canada can get together and connect with each other and create something outstanding!!
- We’re creating a new Japanese chili sauce that we would like to market and sell at public markets.
I have met so many Japanese women who have great talent and skills, but they are not well recognized in Canada. (As I mentioned before, we are too humble sometimes.)
There’s an old African proverb that says “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” We believe that if we, Japanese women, get together and help each other, we can make the impossible possible.
As Ogojo Canada, we would like to empower Japanese women in Canada and make a link to Canadian society by introducing them.
Editor’s comments
A kind woman with a strong heart, that was my first impression of her.
As I listened to her, I realized that her desire to support others was equally about supporting herself. I thought the name of her company reflected her desire to provide a place where all women, including herself, can freely express themselves.
OGOJO=A strong and kind woman in Kagoshima dialect. （Kagoshima is the prefecture of the south part of Japan called Kyushu where is from.)
