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  • Bridging Community & Culture: Mosaic Cultural Identity

    Syarifah Nur Fathima is a Japanese International student of Malaysian descent who was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She came to Canada 2 years ago (September 2017) and has since been volunteering at the London Japanese School and acting as a TA for Professor Mitsume Fukui here at Western. In Japan, she studied Japanese Literature and Culture at Musashino University. For her graduate at Western, she completed an English Teaching program for International students in order to further develop her English-speaking skills. She just recently graduated and hopes to find work in London before returning to Malaysia. There she hopes to secure a career teaching Japanese while utilizing her polylingual skills.

  • Negotiating a Bi-cultural Identity: An Interview with Andy Fuchigami

    The video features an interview with Andy Fuchigami, a Canadian-born member of the Japanese community in London. He grew up in a North American cultural environment, which resulted in him negotiating between two very different cultural identities. The video focuses on his feelings and experiences as a minority at school, leading to his struggle in accepting his Japanese identity. He explains how he avoided making Japanese friends, speaking in Japanese, and even trying to hide his Japanese name. However, Andy’s views have now totally shifted, and he has completely embraced his Japanese cultural identity, owing to some life experiences he has had. He went from having only Caucasian friends to making more Japanese friends, and he now actively participates in Japanese cultural activities in London.

  • Integrating Japanese Culture into Canada

    In this portrait, Keiko Yano talks about the different aspects of the Japanese culture being adapted to Canada such as Girl’s Day and tea ceremony. She explains her participation in the community and her wish to keep the culture alive within her daughters. Keiko’s daughter, Erika, then briefly explains why she continues to learn the Japanese language. After that Keiko’s husband, Chris, describes the significance of Buddhism practices to him and discusses the activeness of the Japanese community in London. The portrait then ends with Keiko expressing her renewal of self and deeper appreciation in the Japanese culture by coming to Canada.