Koichi Kaye Kaminishi was overwhelmed by the attention he received back in January when he turned 102.
“This is too much for me,” he said before a ceremony at Vancouver city hall. “I don’t know what to say. I’m not a high-class person. I’m just an ordinary person.”
Kaminishi and his family were at city hall to do two things: celebrate his birthday and accept a proclamation from Mayor Ken Sim to mark “Vancouver Asahi Day.”
At the time, Kaminishi was the last surviving member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi, a team recognized in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
The spry centenarian met Sim, city councillors, spoke to media and signed a baseball at an event that included remarks from Japan’s Consul General Kohei Maruyama.
“Ever since I met him, I have held deep respect for his athletic lively demeanour and his noble character,” Maruyama said in a speech in the council chamber.
The ceremony would be the last major public event Kaminishi would attend. He died Saturday in his Kamloops home, with his son Ed, daughter Joyce and son-in-law Ray at his side.
“I think he was tired, just really tired,” Ed told Glacier Media.
“But one of the things that we're so thankful for was that Dad always wanted to die at home. He didn't want to go to the seniors’ home. He didn’t want to go anywhere. So he got his wish.”
New passport
Kaminishi had lived in the same house in Kamloops since he bought it in 1965, with his son and daughter taking months-long shifts of living with him, or having him live with them in his later years.
At 102, he knew his days were numbered but it was only last Thursday that he picked up a new passport — an indication of his positive outlook on life, despite his challenges.
Back in 2003, Kaminishi had issues with his heart and doctors told him he could die in five to seven years, recounted Ed, noting his dad also survived bowel cancer 20 years ago.
When asked in January how he had lived so long, Kaminishi attributed his longevity to sports.
“I played baseball in the summer and in wintertime I played quite a bit of badminton, so maybe that’s the reason I’m still here,” he said.
He was born Jan. 11, 1922 in the family-run rooming house at 143 Dunlevy Ave. in Vancouver, where he could see the baseball field at what is now known as Oppenheimer Park from his window.
At 17, he was selected to the Asahis. He recalled not sleeping the first night he received his uniform. He played third base, or “the hot pocket” as he described the position.
The 'vacuum cleaner'
He always insisted he was never a "star player," although did earn the nickname "the vacuum cleaner" from teammates for his ability to scoop up balls.
His time with the team, however, was cut short after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, sending the world into full-out war.
The proclamation given to Kaminishi by the mayor described what came next for Japanese people.
“The Government of Canada unjustly detained, dispossessed and dispersed 22,000 Japanese-Canadians for the remainder of the war. The Vancouver Asahi baseball team was disbanded, and Kaye Kaminishi and his teammates were either sent to internment camps, east of the Rockies, or exiled to Japan.”
The government considered all Japanese people in the country “enemy aliens,” no matter if they were born in Canada or immigrated from Japan.
Property and businesses were seized, with Kaminishi and his mother ending up in a camp in East Lillooet; his father, who died when Kaminishi was a boy, lost the family’s Royston Lumber Co. on Vancouver Island.
'Fairness, fair play and sportsmanship'
He eventually settled in Kamloops, where he worked at various jobs before operating a motel. And he continued to play baseball, which was more than a game for him, as Ed explained.
“He liked that whole idea of fairness, fair play and sportsmanship and the rules that went with baseball,” he said. “It was just something that he could fall back on — that you follow the rules and everything will be OK. He lived a lot of his life by baseball rules.”
Kaminishi told his son several years ago about his approach to life, despite what happened to him and his parents in the 1940s.
“He was saying that with the war issue, a lot of people held that grudge deeply and it made them sick, and they died early,” Ed said. “Dad was more ‘get on with it, and get over it’ — just like the way he died, quietly and quickly, no fuss, no muss.”
Since his death, the family continues to hear how much of an inspiration Kaminishi was to people young and old.
The Asahi Baseball Association, which continues the legacy that Kaminishi and others established all those years ago, posted a message Saturday on its Facebook page.
“We have been blessed to have had Kaye near us for the past 10 years from our first tribute game to our recent 10th Anniversary Legacy Games. His inspirational advice and motivational speeches will remain in the hearts of all our players and coaches.”
The message continued to say that despite the discriminatory treatment by society and the government of 1940s, Kaminishi carried himself with “dignity, poise, and restraint.”
'Symbol of resilience'
Sim, who wore an Asahi jersey during the proclamation in January at city hall, released a statement Tuesday, saying Kaminishi was “a symbol of resilience, determination and the unbreakable spirit of Vancouver’s Japanese Canadian community.”
Added Sim: “I am incredibly proud to have known Kaye. He was more than just a sports icon — he was a Vancouver legend. Humble, courageous and constant source of inspiration, he will forever hold a special place in our city’s heart.”
The family is planning a public celebration of life for Kaminishi at a later date. His wife of 66 years, Florence, died at 92 in April 2017.
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