Interview with Molly (Iwasaki) Aihoshi

Molly Aihoshi (nee Iwasaki)'s interview was conducted on July 30, 2012 by Lisa Uyeda.

Molly Aihoshi (nee, Iwasaki) was a nisei born on August 4, 1924 in Vancouver, BC. She was a middle child among seven siblings. Her mother died young. Her father immigrated to Canada in his late teens, and worked as an assistant at a local drug store, and found himself unable to advance in his career due to racial discrimination. He remarried Molly’s stepmother, whose uncle was the founder of the Tairiku newspaper (Continential Daily News). The couple began working at Tairiku and became prominent figures in the Japanese community. Molly grew up helping out at the Tairiku with various tasks. Molly was also active in sports, as was the case with many of the Iwasaki siblings. These siblings communicated mainly in English and spoke to their parents, who had limited English, in pidgin Japanese. After Pearl Harbour attack broke out, the Tairiku was forced to close down. The Iwasakis were forced out of their residence, separated from one another, and uprooted from Vancouver. The oldest brother volunteered to move to Northern Ontario. Molly and two of her sisters were moved to New Denver under subpar living conditions. They later reunited with their parents in Rosebery. Four of the Iwasaki siblings became teachers and moved back to New Denver to teach, despite continuing inadequate living conditions and lack of government support at their workplace. Molly later moved to Toronto and worked as a hairdresser. She married her husband in Toronto in 1948.