We present stories of Marpole (Vancouver, British Columbia) where Japanese Canadians lived, worked, and built a community before they were forcibly uprooted and relocated in 1942.

Kunji looks back on the past season of artist interviews with help from Nikkei National Museum staff member (and fellow theatre artist) Carolyn Nakagawa. Together, they reflect on season highlights, the connections forged through art and conversation, and speculate about the future of Sounds Japanese Canadian to Me.

Kunji speaks with dancer Benjamin Kamino about the philosophy that drives his dance practice, why he considers his work “very Japanese”, and his advice for younger artists.

Kunji speaks with theatre artist and filmmaker Mieko Ouchi about writing secretly during theatre school, the rituals she’s created while writing each of her plays, and finding universal stories in her own family throughout her career.

Kunji speaks with interdisciplinary artist June Fukumura about growing up with Western culture’s stereotypes about Japaneseness, the artistic practice of clown, and her own alter ego, Sumiko.

Kunji speaks with theatre and performance artist Matt Miwa about the risks and imperatives of performance, the generational nature of Japanese Canadian identity, and Matt’s work in and hopes for the Ottawa Japanese Canadian community.

Kunji speaks with performer and theatre creator Yoshie Bancroft of Universal Limited Theatre about representation, being a half-white BIPOC in the age of Black Lives Matter, and how to stand up and make things better for performers of colour.

Kunji speaks with actor, writer, and theatre creator Julie Tamiko Manning about the pressure to perform “neutrality”, challenging the model minority myth, and connecting with ancestry and community through art.

Kunji speaks with dancer Hiromoto Ida about their shared experiences transitioning artistically from acting to dance, Hiromoto’s changing relationship with his birthplace of Japan, and what motivates him to continue making art.

In this bonus mini-episode, continued from last week’s interview, Maiko Yamamoto reflects on advice for and from her younger and older selves, and the big question about experimental theatre that she struggles to answer.