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February 28, 1924

Dear Mother,

I hope that you and Father are doing well. Has Junichiro returned from Korea? Have you finished making repairs to the house after the earthquake? I have arrived in Vancouver, and the weather the last few days has been cloudy and damp. I hope that you are having sunny weather at home.

I know you were concerned about my crossing the Pacific by myself, but it was uneventful. Although, I did hear some whisperings on the ship that people in Vancouver didn't care for cats. The crew was always polite to me, however, even when I stumbled over my English. Most of my time on ship was spent in my small cabin, brushing up on my English, making sketches and looking over maps of Vancouver and Chicago.

Cousin Makoto met me when the ship docked in Vancouver Harbour. In some ways, the scene reminded me of home in Yokohama, with all the ships and males working the docks. Even so, I was a bit overwhelmed by the range of peoples I saw as Makoto led me from the ship terminal to catch a trolley. I saw many wolves and raccoons with small boats called canoes in the water fishing in the harbour. The babble of voices in English overwhelmed me; it was nothing like on the ship.

The trolley was crowded as we made our way to what is called Japantown or Little Yokohama. There, I immediately felt a lot more at ease, as many of the signs were in Japanese and I saw a lot of felines like myself. I am staying with a business partner of Makoto, Mr. Kuroda and his wife. I admire Mrs. Kuroda's fur pattern, a very pretty tortoise shell pattern that she matches well with her clothes, Western or Japanese. I wish I could be that smart. She is letting me stay in a small room in the attic. She told me that even if I could afford to pay for a hotel for a month, many places wouldn't let me. Most travelers from Japan stay either with family or at places arranged by residents that are sponsoring their visits. She even told me she's heard rumours that California was going to ban Japanese from immigrating there. She is really glad that she is living in Canada.

The view from my room is very pretty. I will have to find a picture postcard to send before I leave. I have a north-facing window, so I can look across the harbour, which is very long and narrow, and see the wooded hills rising into the mist. There are some Native settlements on the far shore, so the canoes regularly head out and jostle with the ships of all sizes as they come into the harbour. I'm rather proud of some of the sketches I've done while admiring the view. I should send you a couple with my next letter.

A couple of days after I arrived, Mr. Kuroda accompanied me on a sightseeing trip around the city. The first place we went to was Chinatown, a short walk from Little Yokohama. In many ways, it reminded me of Chinatown in Yokohama. The street from Mr. Kuroda's house to Chinatown is paved, and fortunately wasn't very far to walk, despite the drizzly weather. Signs in Japanese shifted to signs in Chinese, though I could mostly make out what they said.

The people there wore a mix of clothes; leopards still with pigtails and robes mixed easily with pandas in Zhongshan suits or Western style jackets and trousers. Mr. Kuroda took me to a small family run restaurant he often visits for lunch. He and Makoto work with this business to import goods from China and Japan to Canada so they can use them for the restaurant.

I was surprised to see a few brave Anglos. They were a contrast to the mostly Chinese and few Japanese in the place. Mr. Kuroda seemed surprised as well; he hasn't seen many Anglos come into Chinatown. They stood out yet some were using chopsticks. They might have spent time in Asia. The other Anglos Mr. Kuroda sees in Chinatown are usually town officials or police officers.

After lunch, we took a trolley to a large park on the west side of downtown called Stanley Park. It was surprising to see such a large stand of large trees so close to a large city. It reminded me of the some of the temple grounds in Kamakura. Because it was a bit damp, there wasn't many people there. Mr. Kuroda told me that it is a very popular place in the summer to visit, and the trees and paths are very lovely.

The park sits on a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides. We were walking the path from the trolley station out to where what is called the Nine O'Clock Gun stands. This is a canon that is fired every night at nine PM by the local lighthouse keeper. From the trolley station to the point is a path that runs along side the water. Despite the weather, we came across a small group of does and vixens sitting along the seawall, having a small picnic. The group was all fashionably dressed in long coats and shapeless hats. The short skirts showed off their legs to an extent that would be considered scandalous in Tokyo.

(Don't tell Father, but I decided that I wanted to get a short skirt just like that for myself. I picked one up at The Bay Company the following day with the help of Mrs. Kuroda. I think it fits me very well.)

As we went to the gun to have a view of the city and the water, we passed by some houses. Mr. Kuroda said that the houses were built before the land became a park, and the city is letting them stay there. The people who lived there seemed friendly, as a couple of the residents waved to us as we walked along the path. Where the gun is located has a lovely view of the downtown and north shore of the inlet, with ships and boats large and small crisscrossing the water.

After heading back to the trolley station from the Nine O'Clock Gun, we took a detour to a memorial for Japanese who were killed in The Great War fighting for Canada. I was surprised to see such a large memorial; a giant column of bronze surrounded by cherry trees and topped with a light. It is a little early in the year for the cherry blossoms, but it is a fitting tribute. Dusk was starting to fall as we caught the trolley home.

A couple days later, Mr. Kuroda and Makoto had some business at their warehouse and I asked if I could tag along. Mostly, it was an excuse to get out of the house and see a little more of the city. Their warehouse is located on an island in a waterway south of downtown called Granville Island.

It took a couple trolleys to get to the island, but the entire area is full of factories, lumber mills and warehouses. Cousin Makoto's warehouse is shared with several other small businesses, with his goods being delivered either by rail or directly from the ships. He seems to be doing pretty well. The smell of straw reminded me of Father's workshop.

Makoto has a few people working for him, a surprising mixture of Anglos, Japanese, and one male I didn't recognize. All of them wore overalls that has seen hard labor, but there was one tiger whose fur was long and uncut. He wore a bright red turban on his head and the long fur on his tail was tied up in a neat bundle. When I asked Makoto about the tiger, he said he is a Sikh, from India. The Sikhs don't live that far from Granville Island and work heavily in the mills and warehouses along the channel. Makoto also told me that before the War, there was an incident where several Sikhs were not allowed to enter on a Japanese ship.

I've only been here a little over a week and I've seen such a diversity of people that live in this city. I can just imagine that when I get to art school in Chicago the range will be even greater. I thought that Yokohama had many different people. Mr. Kuroda tells me that Vancouver is only one-fifth the size of Yokohama, yet I've seen so many different ways of living, languages and dress here. It is overwhelming, but I am looking forward to the challenge.

I pray that you have continued health. I will write you before I leave Vancouver and get those postcards I promised to show off this growing city. Makoto consulted with Mr. Kuroda and has agreed to accompany me on the train. We will be leaving for Chicago on March 15.

Your devoted daughter,

Morikawa Natsuki