Grace Eiko Thomson, a museum curator and author who covered the Japanese Canadian experience, passed away at the age of 90 last week.
Thomson was the founding curator of the Japanese Canadian National Museum, now known as the Nikkei National Museum in Burnaby, B.C.
The National Association of Japanese Canadians confirmed in a statement that Thomson died peacefully at her home in Winnipeg.
Born in 1933, Thomson was raised in the Powell Street neighbourhood of Vancouver. According to her biography on the Japanese Canadian Artists directory, her family was forcibly relocated in 1942 under the Japanese Canadian internment policy during the Second World War.
Thomson’s family settled in the self-supporting internment site of Minto, B.C., after being forcibly relocated, before moving to Manitoba and eventually settling in Winnipeg.
Thomson later returned to B.C. for higher education, and in 2000 she opened the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Burnaby.
Sherri Kajiwara, the current director and curator of the Nikkei National Museum, considered Thomson her mentor.
“She has long been a champion not only of preserving Japanese Canadian history and heritage but also mentoring museum professionals,” Kajiwara said.
“She was a very petite, tiny lady, but she had a larger-than-life personality.”
In 2021, Thomson published her memoir Chiru Sakura — Falling Cherry Blossoms with passages from a journal kept by her late mother, Sawae Nishikihama, adding her own experiences to it and exploring the endurance of generational trauma.
“She was quite involved in the arts, the culture, and also about ensuring that the stories of Japanese Canadians are preserved and shared,” said Lorene Oikawa, the former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
“She referred to herself as the troublemaker, she wouldn’t keep her mouth shut,” Oikawa added.
Passion for groundbreaking baseball team
Oikawa noted that Thomson’s “biggest passion” was the Vancouver Asahi Baseball team — the legendary team that played in the city from 1914 to 1941 before being disbanded due to the internment of Japanese Canadians.
Thomson spent many years telling the team’s story through various projects, including the Leveling the Playing Field exhibit at the Burnaby museum.
Kaye Kaminishi spent the morning of his 102nd birthday accepting a proclamation from the City of Vancouver declaring Jan. 11 to be Vancouver Asahi Day in honour of the team that played in the city from 1914 to 1941, before it was disbanded due to the internment of Japanese-Canadians.
In a statement, the Asahi Baseball Association expressed sadness at Thomson’s passing, calling her a “pillar” of the Asahi legacy.
“As a historian, Grace helped educate members of our Association with valuable stories of the original Asahi and was proud that our Association has kept the legacy of the Asahi alive,” the association said.
Thomson is also remembered for curating Shashin, an exhibition showcasing rare photographs captured by Japanese Canadian studio photographers during the pre-internment era in Cumberland, Vancouver, and New Westminster.
The Japanese Canadian Legacies Society also took to social media to mourn the loss.
“Grace was an overarching inspiration who gave us courage to believe in ourselves and the permission to dream, advocate, and laugh – to always stand up for what you believe in,” said Susanne Tabata and John Endo Greenaway on behalf of the society.