Koto: The Last Service, a new short documentary showing at DOXA, captures the end of a restaurant's era
The Maeda family’s Japanese eatery in Campbell River was open for 39 years—and was an anchor in the community
Koto Japanese Restaurant gave many people in Campbell River their first taste of sushi.
Koto: The Last Service has its world premiere at DOXA Documentary Film Festival, which runs online from May 6 to 16.
NOT LONG AFTER the Maeda family moved from Okinawa to Campbell River in 1978, they opened Koto Japanese Restaurant. In the early 1980s, sushi with raw fish was new to the small Vancouver Island town, but Takeo (Tony) and his wife, Kazue, soon won people over with their freshly made fare. There was much more to Koto than nigiri, sashimi, and other dishes like udon and terikayi, however. It was where the couple’s sons, Kenji and Taigi, grew up. It was a place where they could share their history and culture. And it was the heart of the community, where everyone felt like family.
After nearly 40 years in business, Koto closed its doors on May 25, 2019. Koto: The Last Service captures that final night, a culmination of so many cherished memories, of so much hard work and heart. Director Joella Cabalu’s new documentary—which she coproduced with Kenji Maeda—has its world premiere at DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Set to an original score by Vancouver composer Matthew Okuda, the contemplative short film touches on immigrant experience, family bonds, the power of food to bring people together, and letting go.
Bring Kleenex.
During a Zoom interview with Stir, Kenji and Cabalu explain that the project came together fairly last-minute. Now living in Vancouver, Kenji and his brother had for years travelled to Campbell River every weekend to help their parents run the restaurant, and continued to do so upon the passing of their father in 2016. (The film is dedicated to his memory.) With it getting harder for their mom to manage as time went on, the family ultimately made the difficult decision to sell (ensuring that future owners wouldn’t use the name Koto, which means harp in Japanese). The last few weeks in business were especially busy, with so many customers wanting to come in one last time; just days before it closed, Kenji asked Cabalu if she’d come over and catch it all on film.
In one especially touching scene, Kazue is holding the newborn child of one of her regulars; the Maeda matriarch had attended all of the baby showers in the community over the decades. In another, she pulls down adorable trinkets from shelves—many of them gifts from customers—and thanks them for their service.
“I’m really grateful to have that footage,” says Kenji, CEO of Vancouver Actor’s Guide and executive director of the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. (The former executive director of DOXA, he had also filmed various aspects of the business and his family for years, material he hopes to use for a separate project.) “I gave Joella very little direction. Storytellers have always existed in arts and culture. It’s really important to tell these kinds of stories in a concise and beautiful way. I wish everybody had the opportunity to tell their own family story this way.”
Kazue Maeda moved to Campbell River from Okinawa in 1978 with her husband, Takeo.
Cabalu, a Filipino Canadian documentary filmmaker who has earned nods for past work at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and CAAMFest, explains that it feels especially important and meaningful to be releasing the film now, at a time when anti-Asian sentiment has been widespread. Koto was a great example of how food can unify people. Sushi led to lasting friendships; dinner service deepened cross-cultural respect and understanding.
“There are positive stories, and being able to share that with a wider audience is a really soothing balm right now,” Cabalu says. “There’s so much hardship in the world, and there is a place for these films as well.
“It’s also about how to say goodbye,” she says. “It’s about the beauty in accepting the temporary nature of things and honouring that.”
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