Chapter 5: Epic of Internment

Suddenly and without time to plan or prepare, Japanese are taken from their homes and gathered for forced displacement. The whistle of the trains signals departure, as the slow churning of the engines carry the Japanese into the interior and ever eastward. This piece is written both on a base of Edo Bayashi instrumentals, as well as momentarily incorporating the style of Danjiri Bayashi, in which a great drum is struck which accelerates and decelerates in time depicting the movement (traditionally) of great carts of timber.

In this piece, the unmistakable movement of the train’s rhythms slowly crossing through the high mountain peaks and then crashing downward into the plains below replace the timber carts of Danjiri. Stopping in Lethbridge and resting finally in Ontario. This piece can be played with modifications to include the stops of those performers whose families took up in other destinations along the way, allowing it to incorporate the stories of many Nikkei across Canada.