ARCHIVES - CANADIAN INTERVIEWS
Since June 2022, a total of 13 oral history and written interviews of ‘Jewpanese’ people and families based in Canada have been collected by Carmel Tanaka for the Jewpanese Project, an international multi-phase community project at the intersection of being Jewish and Japanese. The majority of the Canadian interviews were collected thanks to Carmel’s fellowship with the Anti-Defamation League Collaborative for Change Fellow (2022-2023) and the Vancouver-based interviews have been processed and added to the archives thanks to a Yosef Wosk publication grant, administered by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation (June 2025).
Please note: Each interviewee provided Carmel consent to film and/or share the content from their interview. It is important to Carmel that everyone feels comfortable with their profile. Due to safety concerns, a number of these interviews were conducted anonymously. Carmel adds interviews to the archives as they are processed and approved by interviewees. She continues to receive requests for interviews and welcomes written interviews to add to the archives.
RESEARCH REPORT: THE JEWPANESE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE - COMING SOON!
Niki Bennett Kihira
Vancouver, BC
August 10, 2022
Maternal side is Ashkenazi Jewish via Russia, Belarus, Poland and Romania. Paternal side is Japanese from Yokohama.
Birthplace: Toronto, ON
Anonymous
Port Moody, BC
August 31, 2022
Anonymous is Japanese & Czech, and a Jew-By-Choice.
Birthplace: Vancouver, BC
MAZAL TOFU
You have made it to the end of the Canadian interviews of the Jewpanese Project Archives. Thank you for visiting!
Follow the Jewpanese Project on Instagram @JewpaneseProject for updates :)
If you are in a position to make a financial contribution towards processing more interviews, please contact Carmel!