A sequel, Itsuka (1992), was rewritten and retitled Emily Kato (2005), and then republished as Itsuka (2018).[10]
Obasan has been named as one of the most important books in Canadian history by the Literary Review of Canada and was also listed by The Toronto Star in a "Best of Canada" feature.[citation needed]Obasan was later adapted into a children's book, Naomi's Road (1986), which, in turn, Vancouver Opera adapted into a 45-minute opera that toured elementary schools throughout British Columbia. The opera was also performed before the general public in the greater Vancouver area, Red Deer and Lethbridge, Alberta, Seattle, Washington, and Ottawa, Ontario, at the National War Museum. Revival performances in November 2016 by Toronto's Tapestry Opera won rave reviews, especially in the Toronto Star, which recognized their setting as one "steeped in significance".
Although the novel Obasan describes Japanese Canadian experiences, it is routinely taught in Asian American literature courses in the United States, due to its successful "integration of political understanding and literary artistry" and "its authentication of a pan-Asian sensibility."[11]
Kogawa now lives mainly in Toronto, Ontario, but at one time divided her time between Vancouver and Toronto and was the 2012–13 Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto.[12] In 2018, Kogawa formed a group called Yojaros with a Vancouver-based Japanese poet Soramaru Takayama.
In 2010, the Japanese government honored Kogawa with the Order of the Rising Sun "for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history."[16]
Kogawa has been awarded several honorary doctorates. The most recent was by the University of Saskatchewan on November 10, 2020.[17]
Campaign to save Kogawa House
The Save Kogawa House committee initiated a campaign to save Kogawa's childhood home, owned by her father Gordon Goichi Nakayama, in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver from demolition. They developed national support from writers and writing organizations across Canada demonstrating that the house at 1450 West 64th Avenue was regarded by many as having historical value and literary significance, similar to Berton House, Emily Carr House and the Haig-Brown Institute. The Save Kogawa House committee made a successful presentation to the City of Vancouver councilors to create an unprecedented 120-day delay of the processing of a demolition permit on November 3, 2005, two days after the city had pronounced Obasan Cherry Tree Day[18] and planted a graft of the cherry tree at Vancouver City Hall from the original tree at Kogawa House.
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia became involved in the saving of Kogawa House on December 2, 2005.[19] Working with the Save Kogawa House committee, TLC took over the fund-raising efforts and media attention. TLC became the owner of the house on May 31, 2006.[20] Ownership transferred to the City of Vancouver in 2016.[21] They now are raising funds to renovate the house to increase accessibility and restore its appearance when Joy lived there in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Kogawa House was recommended to be given heritage status by the City of Vancouver and was placed on City Council's agenda for July 12, 2022.[22] Within the available application papers and heritage designation papers presented to the public and City Council for review, however, no mention was made of the house's heritage connection to the home's former owner Mr. Nakayama, a pedophile priest who abused hundreds of children.[23] Community members raised concern that the heritage application misled the City and the public by openly ignoring parts of the home's history. On July 11, 2022, the agenda item covering the heritage status vote was removed in order to address the community's concerns.[24][25]
The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society has operated a writer-in-residence program in the house since 2008. They have hosted four writers to date: poet and editor Dr. John Asfour of Montreal in 2009, novelist and writing educator Nancy Lee of Richmond in 2010, creative non-fiction author Susan Crean in 2011, short-fiction author Deborah Willis in 2012, and PEN Canada writer-in-exile, novelist, editor, freelance journalist, and faculty member Ava Homa in 2013.[26]
Bibliography
Poetry
The Splintered Moon. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1967.
A Choice of Dreams. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974.
