Since moving from Nagasaki, Japan, to Winnipeg in 1998, artist, writer, translator, actor and filmmaker Junko Bailey has made a name for herself in Canada’s creative industries.
As an actress, right now you can catch her in streaming services in the horror blockbuster The Grudge (2019) as the Kayako Ghost (more on that below), in bit parts like the acclaimed Apple TV show Pachinko, and in numerous local commercials.
Most recently, Junko participated in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September to support the Winnipeg film industry and network. She also went to Hampton, Virginia, to appear as a talent at a Haunted Scream Expo to represent her character, Kayako, from The Grudge.
As a writer/director, Junko is currently working on a documentary called Arctic Sushi, about fisheries in Nunavut and their need for a market and is continually working on a series about Japanese Canadians in Winnipeg for the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba. The latter includes this first episode with acclaimed chef Sadao Ono, who was the first chef to bring the art of sushi to Winnipeg in 1988, and who still runs the kitchen of the Japan Pavilion at Folklorama while in his 70s.
Junko too has been involved with the Japanese Pavilion at Folklorama off and on for two decades, doing everything from chairing it, to volunteering at the language and craft tables.
In the below interview, we learn why Junko has stayed in Winnipeg, and why this is such a great place to get started in the creative industries.
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What brought you to Winnipeg?
I’ve been in Winnipeg since 1998. When I was in university in Japan, I met a guy from Winnipeg, and we got engaged, and I moved to Winnipeg right after my graduation. When he said he was from Winnipeg, what did you know about the city?
Nothing! All I knew about Canada was there are cities called Vancouver and Toronto. That's about it. And I remember specifically he told me Winnipeg is, like north of San Francisco... I don't know if I believed him, but here I am!
That’s over 20 years ago! What do you do here now?
I'm an actor, and I also work at an accounting office part time. I’m also a filmmaker, who is currently producing my own documentary.
Can you tell us a bit about what Winnipeg’s film and creative industries field is like?
It’s very diverse, and I think it’s a great place to start out right after you finish film school or any arts related education.
I know Winnipeg is still smaller, compared to Vancouver or Toronto, but it's a great place to start. And we're getting lots more business from the States because of the provincial tax credit. So, I think it's a great place to be for people in the film industry.
What are some changes you’ve seen in our creative industries in the past two decades?
I started to get involved in acting here in 2006, and that's the time when we started to get more productions from the US. I wasn't really trained as an actor in Japan, but it’s something that came up as an opportunity for me here.
I was always interested in this industry, so I thought, ‘okay, I’ll give it a shot.’ And then I fell in love with it. And it's just getting better and better with more opportunities.
I think people probably don’t know big names come to Winnipeg. Richard Gere, Keanu Reeves, even Brad Pitt, they all came up to Winnipeg to shoot something.
What are some projects you’ve recently worked on?
I've done a few films and commercials, and one of the recent films I've done was The Grudge (2019). It's a Japanese horror series, and it used to be called Ju-On, but the Hollywood version is called The Grudge. I played the character Kayako, the ghost, the iconic character.
[Because of this] I was recently invited to a horror convention in Detroit a couple weeks ago [ Motor City Nightmares], and that sort of opened a different venue for me to meet the fans and meet with other talents or actors who are at the convention. I thought, ‘oh, this is really interesting,’ because you never really have a chance to meet fans like that when you're working as an actor here. And everybody else there was from Hollywood, I was the only one from Winnipeg!
What are you currently working on?
For my current project, I'm interviewing Japanese people and asking them, ‘why are you in Winnipeg, and why are you still in Winnipeg?’ Because that's the question I was always asked.
I always thought that the most important thing is that people don't know anything about Winnipeg. People compare it to Vancouver and Toronto. That or, it’s ‘Winter Peg.’ But those labels –– it’s just the people who really don't know anything about Winnipeg. So, I wanted to highlight the good part of Winnipeg: Why Winnipeg is such a great place to live, and that's why people are still here.
What has kept you in Winnipeg?
It's a great place to raise a family and people are so warm.
We are welcoming of each other, and even [people with] diverse backgrounds, differences in religion or educational background, I think people are still very kind to each other. So, I think that what makes our city so great.
I was married here for 25 years, but we’ve recently separated, and my family is here. I always thought [in the past] my family and I would move to Vancouver –– it’s one flight back to Japan, a bigger Japanese community –– but I’ve settled here.
I have my jobs, I have lots of friends, and things have started to get comfortable here. Sure, winter is always a concern, but it is just the way we are. We just get used to it, and we have fun even during the winter. That’s why I’m still here.
What’s the Japanese community like here in Winnipeg?
It is growing.
When I first came here in ‘98 it was a smaller community, with more Japanese-Canadians who were second or third generation. People like me at the time, we were called newcomers. But now, after 20-some years, we have more newcomers [who have] directly immigrated from Japan. So young families, more kids coming to language classes. And this community is growing more and more.
And an interesting thing about this Japanese-Canadian community in Winnipeg is that it's more integrated with the older generation of Japanese Canadians –– the third, fourth, fifth generation, and newcomers like me, people born in Japan, the first generation. We are all integrated to the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba –– we call it JCAM.
I think it's a really good model for other cities, because other cities probably have a bigger Japanese community, but maybe not so integrated with the newcomers and the Japanese Canadians. I think we have a really good thing going.
We’re doing this interview at Folklorama’s Japan Pavilion, which is run by the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba. More than 600 people are booked for the first two sold-out seatings, all week long. How cool is it that Winnipeg locals are so interested in Japan and Japanese culture for you?
Every time I meet somebody in Winnipeg and talk about myself: ‘I’m from Japan. I moved to Winnipeg.’ I always get a really positive response. They love Japan. They like to visit Japan. They love Japanese culture, food, anime, cars, technology, lot of great positive stuff. So I'm really proud to be Japanese, and I'm really proud to talk about how great my country is.
I used to teach Japanese language too, and it's always a great opportunity to interact with people who are interested in Japanese culture. And [here at Folklorama] I know it's always sold out. It's one of the most popular pavilions during Folklorama.
I think the Taiko performance always gets the best review, but every year we add a new twist. This year, Yayoi Ban, who has just recently retired as a Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancer, and then choreographed by another dancer, Yosuke Mino, so this is like a special treat for us.
To learn more about what life is like in Winnipeg, explore liveinwinnipeg.com