description | Sepia toned indoor group photograph of fifty three people in a room with a tiled floor, long table set with dining ware, decorative hanging lights, and long fabric curtains hanging in the background. A majority of the people pictured are wearing full suits with neck ties, approximately eight women are wearing fur, there are two children in the group, and ten women are wearing hats.
Ed Kitagawa is pictured 3rd row 9th from the right (not counting baby).
Photograph is etched in white with Japanese text translated to read: "Commemorative Photo of Venerable Tetsujyo Sasaki's Visit to Vancouver / Welcome Reception Hosted by the Association of People from Kaideima Village, Minami Aoyagi Village Aza, Inukami County, Shiga Prefecture / Showa 9 (1934) December 9". Card stock frame is printed with "Columbia Studio; 313 Main St.; Vancouver, B.C." Verso is annotated with "1934". |
history of use | Welcome Reception for Venerable Sasaki Tetsujyo's Visit to Vancouver, Hosted by Association of People from Kaideima Village
Date: December 9, 1934
Place: Fuji Chop Suey (314 Powell Street)
In 1934, Venerable Otani Shojyo of Kyoto Nishi Honganji Temple made an inspection tour to the United States and Canada. The group was accompanied by Venerable Sasaki Tetsujyo of Kakushoji Temple in Kaideima-cho by the same head temple's order. The group went from Seattle to Vancouver, where they held a memorial service for the 33rd anniversary of the death of Myonyo Shonin on December 9 at the Buddhist church on Cordova Street. After the razor ritual (Translator’s comment: for a high-ranking Buddhist priest to ceremonially touch a person’s hair by the razor signifying the person’s devotion to Buddhism) for 270 people, Venerable Tetsujyo Sasaki gave a sermon entitled "Hotbed of World Peace”. After the sermon, more than 50 people from Kaideima, who lived in Vancouver, gathered at Fuji Chop Suey at 6:00 p.m. for the welcome reception of Venerable Tetsujyo Sasaki.
The photo is a commemorative photo of the welcome reception. Also, on this occasion, the Association of People from Kaideima Village was established and the Maple Young Men's Association, which had disappeared, was revived.
The officers of the Association of People from Kaideima Village were appointed as follows: president: Sannosuke Nishimura, vice president: Ihachi Miyazaki, secretary: Masuo Matsumiya (father of the writer), and treasurer: Shiro Teramura. The Association has over 80 members, including those from other areas.
The following are the names of the people in the photo of the welcome reception.
Upper row from left to right: Kue Ueno, Uta Kishimoto, Otohachi Tsuchikawa, unknown, Yosomatsu Nishizaki (Horii) (Asahi Player), Kishi Inamoto, Kyubei Nishikawa (management of a restaurant business), Torataro Tazawa, Jinshiro Inamoto (management of a restaurant business), Mitsu Nishimura, Yasu Horii, Shiro Teramura, Tojuro Inamoto.
Second row from left to right: Masajiro Miyazaki (recipient of The Order of Canada), Asako Nishizawa, Jisaburo Wakabayashi, and Eisaburo (Eddie) Kitagawa (Asahi Player), Tetsu Maekawa (mother of Asahi Player Mickey Maekawa), Shizu Takayama, Tsune Nakamura, Misao Nishizeki, Sumiko Miyazaki (wife of Masajiro Miyazaki), Yo Yoshitaro Horii (Asahi Player), Mickey Hatsujiro Kitagawa (Asahi Player), Heijiro Matsubayashi, Hatsujiro Matsumura, Kijiro Horii, Tsuichiro Nishimura, Sostojiro Teramura, Hana Miyazaki (wife of Ihachi Miyazaki), Yaeko Miyazaki (child of Ihachi Miyazaki), Ihachi Miyazaki (Asahi Manager, owner of Miyazaki Shoten/store).
Third row from left to right: Kazue Nishizeki, child, Tokusaburo Nishizeki, Kyushiro Nishizaki, Sadajiro Nishimura, Umejiro Horii (management of restaurant business), Tetsujyo Sasaki, Sanosuke Nishimura (management of a restaurant business), Ichitaro Nishimura, Unosuke Omoto, Tatsujiro Wakabayashi, Eiko Nishizawa.
Lower row from left to right: Tomotaro Nishimura, Kinzaburo Nishimura, Shinkichi Nishimura (inn operator), Masao Horii, Masayoshi Kitagawa (hotel man), Kazo Kitagawa (hotel man), Masuo Matsumiya (father of the writer, owner of Matsumiya Shoten/store), Gennosuke Nishimura, Shichirobei Tazawa. |