Jack’S Japonica

This book is dedicated to the late Principal Tatsue Sato (1891-1983) and his wife, Hanako, for having spent fifty years teaching Japanese language, insisting us second-generation Japanese Canadians, the Nisei, to be good Canadian citizens. When the Pearl Harbor attack took place (December 7, 1941), he immediately called to assembly about a thousand students to declare firmly to stand loyal and faithful to Canada. This occurred while I was in England serving with the Canadian army. He was later awarded the Order of Canada in 1978 for his enriching Canadian society by the introduction of the best elements of Japanese culture. And the school where he had taught, still running today, was designated a historic site by Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 25, 2000.