A new ballet opening in the Niagara Region this weekend tells the story of life before, during and after Japanese internment camps from the Second World War, centring around an artifact from almost a century ago that belongs to the family behind the performance.
Kimiko’s Pearl tells the story of four generations of the Ayukawa family, starting with a hand-made trunk made by Shizuo Ayukawa, who stayed in an internment camp in B.C.
Alexis Spieldenner, Ayukawa’s great-granddaughter, told CBC’s Fresh Air, she and her mother, Christine Mori, created the ballet to “look at a dark chapter in Canadian history” but also “celebrate how far we’ve come,” referring to families like hers.
LISTEN: Kimiko’s Pearl: An original ballet from a dark chapter in Canada’s history
Fresh Air8:48Kimiko’s Pearl: An original ballet from a dark chapter in Canada’s history.
Ayukawa left Japan for Canada in 1917 to start a new life, farming berries with his wife in Mission, B.C., according to press releases from Bravo Niagara Festival of Arts and the Canadian War Museum.
In early 1942, not long after Japan entered the Second World War, the federal government uprooted and relocated over 20,000 Japanese Canadians living on the Pacific Coast.
The government seized their homes, businesses and most of their belongings.
The story is told through the eyes of Kimiko, a 15-year-old Toronto girl, who discovers the old family trunk containing her great-grandfather’s diary and other precious keepsakes.
As Kimiko reads the diary, her family’s tale comes to life.
The performance also includes music, vibrant costumes, commissioned art and projected photographs.
WATCH: Archival footage of Japanese internment in B.C.
CBC archive video showing Japanese Canadians who are forced to sell major assets and relocate to internment camps in B.C.’s Interior.
One photo shows her grandmother, 16, at the time, holding her younger brother, with several shacks behind her.
“It speaks to the reality of the situation … the shacks and horrible living conditions they had to endure,” Spieldenner said of the image.
“Yet the look on her face is a sense of calm and strength.”
Spieldenner said creating the ballet has been “transformative” and brought her closer to her roots.
She hopes it may do the same for others.
“I hope this is going to shed light on the story in a new way and open the dialogue,” she said.
“Hopefully others will want to learn about their own families’ stories and explore that past.”
The world premiere of the ballet takes place June 22 at 7:30 p.m., and June 23 at 2:30 p.m., at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on St. Paul Street in St. Catharines, Ont.
Tickets range from $25 to $95 depending on age and the location of your seat.
Ayukawa’s trunk, now part of the Canadian War Museum, will be on display.
The nearby Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre also has an exhibit about Japanese internment running until July.