Richmond residents hoping to learn Japanese got an important boost to their community resources last week after the Steveston Japanese Language School donated 100 new books to Richmond Public Library.
The Japanese books, valued at over $1,000, will be held at the Steveston branch.
“To ensure the students and other children in the community have access to books that can stimulate their interest and ability in reading the Japanese language, the (school) offered to make a donation to the library,” said chief librarian Susan Walters.
School principal Tomoko Suzuki ordered the books directly from Japan.
“There’s a lot of Japanese history in Steveston. These books will help people enjoy and appreciate and understand Japanese culture,” said Suzuki.
Walters noted the library has about 500 Japanese books in circulation.
Of Richmond’s 198,309 residents, 2,150 claim Japanese as their mother tongue in the city, whereas 1,095 speak the language most at home, according to the 2016 Census. Richmond comprises about 10 per cent of B.C.’s Japanese-speaking population (21,350). Females account for those speakers, over males, by a two-to-one ratio.
The school operates out of the Steveston Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. While established in its present form in 1960, the Japanese community has had a long-standing history of education since the village’s inception. At the turn of the 20th century, the Japanese community was segregated and Japanese fishing families built their own school and hospital (although it was open to all). The Steveston Historical Society notes: “The Japanese Language School educated young children, with an increasing emphasis on English. Eventually the full BC curriculum was adopted and Japanese classes were taught after school.”
