Survivors of abuse by Kogawa’s father were not consulted about an inheritance application for the family home.
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News of an inheritance petition for acclaimed author Joy Kogawa’s childhood home has caused deep pain in some Japanese Canadians for whom the house and its iconic cherry tree are symbols of something much darker than Kogawa’s literary legacy.
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Esther Matsubuchi is 85 years old. She and her siblings grew up in Marpole, not far from the small bungalow that has become a haven for writers.
“It is also the former home of (Kogawa’s) father, a pedophile priest who sexually abused hundreds of children,” Matsubuchi said.
Matsubuchi is not the type to talk about private matters, but he said, “This moved me.”
Four of his brothers were abused by Kogawa’s father, Gordon Goichi Nakayama.
Now she wonders why her family and other survivors of Nakayama’s abuse were not consulted about the estate application, which is due to go to city hall on July 12.
Peter Wallace, a representative of the Japanese Canadian Task Force, an organization that supports the healing of survivors of Nakayama’s sexual abuse, said: “Many members of the community see the house as a reminder of that abuse.”
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The report to the council mentions the house’s “national significance as a symbol of Japanese Canadians’ experience of discrimination,” including their forced removal and internment, and cites the house’s cultural value for its connection to author Joy Kogawa.
It contains no reference to the fact that Nakayama molested children while he owned and lived in the house.
“No one asked any Japanese-Canadian organization what the house meant to us before applying for this heritage designation,” Wallace said. “The Kogawa House has positioned itself as a mouthpiece for Japanese-Canadian history, but its history is only part of the story. For many Japanese-Canadians, the story presented about the Kogawa House does not reflect their experience.”
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Nakayama abused about 300 boys. In 1994, Nakayama confessed in a letter to the Anglican Church, excusing his crimes as “sexual misconduct.”
After receiving his confession, the Anglican Church removed Nakayama as a priest, but he did not report his crimes to the police.
Wallace said he’s not personally opposed to heritage designation, but the group wants open acknowledgment of the city’s history in its heritage documents.
On the Land Conservancy of BC website, the house is praised as “a literary landmark and a symbol of hope, healing and reconciliation for all Canadians.”
“There can be no reconciliation without truth,” Wallace said. “We want open disclosure when we talk about Kogawa House, that story of abuse needs to be told.”
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Wallace said that he admires Joy Kogawa, her work and all that she has done for the community.
“I have (Kogawa’s novel) obasanand in it is a note from my grandmother to my mother saying that she hopes this book can answer some questions about our history.”
He did, Wallace said.
“It’s not about Joy Kogawa: Joy’s work helped me and my mother understand our history. It is about the structure that is inextricably linked to the dark history of the house, and the exclusion of that history from heritage application.”
Anne Marie Metten, founding director of Joy Kogawa House, provided a statement to Postmedia that says, in part, that Nakayama “did many good things, including helping to build the Church of the Ascension in Kitsilano and the Japanese Language School in Marpole. “.
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The statement also acknowledges that Nakayama had abused children while living at the property and “caused considerable harm to the Japanese-Canadian community.”
“We are now working to position the Joy Kogawa Historic House as a site of trauma and healing from the unspeakable truths that happened in this house before the war,” Metten said.
In 2015, the Anglican church apologized for Nakayama’s behavior and for failing to report his abuse. The Anglican Church of Canada provided a $600,000 settlement to the National Association of Japanese Canadians for a “healing fund” for those affected by Nakayama’s abuse, but Wallace said it has been difficult for survivors to come forward.
“It is a complex story, with internment, abuse, racism. People have lived with this trauma for so long,” Wallace said.
Wallace hopes for more healing for the survivors and their families. “The healing background It is open to survivors and we want all members of the community to know that they can come forward, and we will provide them with the assistance they need and confidentiality.”
