After years of advocacy, Joy Kogawa’s historic home is close to receiving heritage designation.
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A modest home at 1450 West 64th Avenue will appear before the Vancouver city council on July 12 for heritage designation.
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The 1912 bungalow features a gabled roof, exposed Craftsman-style beams, tongue-and-groove soffits, diamond-paneled windows, and, hidden somewhere under the stucco, cedar-clad siding.
These elements recall a time and place in the city when Marpole residences began to replace farmland, but the house’s historical significance is much more than its structure. It is the house where author Joy Kogawa (then Joy Nakayama) lived with her parents and her brother until she was six years old.
In 1942, the Canadian government seized the house under the War Measures Act. The family was forcibly removed and imprisoned in a detention camp in Slocan, where they were forced to work as sugar beet farmers.
In 1944, the house was auctioned off by the government without the consent of the family. Kogawa’s family was not allowed to return to BC after World War II due to the exclusion zones, and she never lived in the house again.
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Kogawa eventually returned in his famous 1981 novel Obasan, which was set in the house. The novel raised awareness of the forced removal and incarceration of nearly 22,000 Japanese Canadians.
The house had changed hands several times before it was purchased in 2003. At the time, the owner applied for a demolition permit.
Kogawa visited the house in 2003, where he was inspired by a gnarled cherry tree growing in the backyard. In picture diary, Kogawa spoke about touching his trunk: “It filled me with awe and I had an overwhelming sense of presence, an all-knowing, all-loving presence, a sense that all was known: all the suffering that had ever happened between us, within our family, within our community. All the sufferings of the people were fully known, and we were all loved.
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After that meeting, she wrote a children’s book, Naomi’s Tree, and a A group of local and international authors lobbied the Land Conservancy of BC to preserve the house, as a site of historical and literary importance. Funds were raised for the purchase of the house, and it has served as an artists’ hub ever since, with more than 50 writers-in-residence and regular community events that focus on writing, healing, and reconciliation.
Ann-Marie Metten, founding director, said: “It is very significant that the writers are here. We are a place for writers, and that means a live workspace for visiting writers or local writers who need a retreat space while creating new work projects or researching a writing project.”
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Metten said he hopes the house can provide authors with “that sense of humility, that inspiration to write about social justice that Kogawa brought to the table throughout his work.”
Kogawa, who recently celebrated her 87th birthday, lives in Toronto, and although the tree that inspired her suffered significant damage during a 2021 storm, there is new growth as you see the broken branch and clumps of leaves appear on the trunk.
The tree, like the house, is a symbol of rupture, resilience and healing, Metten said.
“Writing has an important role in healing trauma and that is represented in this place of memory. If it weren’t for Joy Kogawa telling the story of a family’s internment in Obasan, the average Canadian would not have known the Japanese-Canadian burial story,” Metten said.
Metten said that in addition to city funds, nearly $1.2 million has been raised to continue the restoration of the residence. Restoration work will include making it fully accessible and removing the stucco to reveal the original cedar shingles.
