Shimizu, Rev. Kosaburo

Identity area

Type of entity

Person

Authorized form of name

Shimizu, Rev. Kosaburo

Parallel form(s) of name

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      Other form(s) of name

      • Reverend Kosaburo
      • Shimizu, Kosaburo
      • Kosaburo Shimizu

      Identifiers for corporate bodies

      Description area

      Dates of existence

      1893-1962

      History

      Rev. Kosaburo Shimizu was born in 1893 in the village of Tsuchida, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He and his family immigrated to British Columbia in 1907. Shimizu attended public school, then studied at the University of British Columbia. He obtained an MA in English Literature from Harvard University in 1924, and became an ordained minister of the United Church in 1926. His first appointment as pastor was with the Vancouver Japanese United Church on Powell Street in 1926.

      Shimizu always worked towards building Japanese Christian fellowship, and strengthening ties between the Nisei and Issei (Second and First Generation) Japanese Canadians, and the Anglo-Saxon Canadian and Japanese Canadians. He worked tirelessly to build positive relations between these groups, even during rising tensions and racist ideologies.

      During the Second World War, Shimizu worked for the Co-operative Committee on Japanese Canadians (CCJC), the United Church Board of Home Missions, and the British Columbia Securities Commission to visit Ontario and Quebec. As before, Shimizu worked to foster better relations between the different communities, including the Japanese Canadians expelled by the Canadian government and Anglo-Saxon Canadians with racist’s ideologies against Japanese Canadians. Shimizu traveled across the country for CCJC, stopping in major cities to report on potential work, housing arrangements, and recreational activities Japanese Canadian may find if they chose to relocate to Eastern Canada. While traveling, he tried to speak and listen to every Japanese Canadian he met, listening to their concerns and offering counseling.

      After the war, Shimizu and his family moved to Toronto where he formed the Toronto Japanese Nisei Congregation in 1954. He was married twice, his second wife was Hide Hyoto, CM, an educator and activist. He was conferred by the United Church a Doctorate of Divinity in 1955. Shimizu passed away in Winnipeg in 1962.

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      Relationships area

      Related entity

      Shimizu, Hide (1908-1999)

      Identifier of related entity

      Category of relationship

      family

      Type of relationship

      Shimizu, Hide is the spouse of Shimizu, Rev. Kosaburo

      Dates of relationship

      1948 - 1962

      Description of relationship

      Married in 1948, in Toronto, Ontario. Lived together until Kosaburo Shimizu's death in 1962.

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      Authority record identifier

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      Status

      Draft

      Level of detail

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Created September 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Carroll.

      Language(s)

      • English

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Arai, Grace. “From the Diaries of the Rev. Kosaburo Shimizu.” Nikkei Images 9, no.1 (Spring 2004): 1-6. https://www.bc.united-church.ca/archives/photogallery/japanese/pages/08a%20Shimizu.htm

        Arai, Tsuguo & Grace Arai. “Review.” Review of Kosaburo Shimizu: The Early Diaries, 1909-1926 by, Patricia Roy. BC Studies, November 4, 2013. https://bcstudies.com/book_film_review/kosaburo-shimizu-the-early-diaries-1909-1926/

        Dowe, David. "The Protestant Churches and the Resettlement of Japanese Canadians in Urban Ontario, 1942-1955." Canadian Ethnic Studies 39, no. 1 (2007): 51-77. doi:http://dx.doi.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1353/ces.0.0002. http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/docview/215650317?accountid=14771

        Gwiazda, Emily. “Hide Hyodo Shimizu.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Last updated March 15, 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hide-hyodo-shimizu
        Ito, Sam. “Reverend Kosaburo Shimizu, M.A., D.D.” The Bayview United Church. Accessed August 30, 2019. http://bayviewunitedchurch.ca/images/25anniv5-13.pdf

        Maintenance notes