The Japanese place in Canada's history remains secure. Nothing, in fact, seems to have stirred the disquiet of those Canadians interested in civil liberties more than the wartime treatment of the Japanese. It is the skeleton in the closet that stalks out to haunt discussions on civil liberties.
(Adachi, 1976)
1858
The first Japanese visitors to the land, later to become Canada, were shipwrecked sailors rescued by a British ship and brought to Esquimalt Harbour in B.C.
1880
The first Japanese vessel to dock in what was to become Canada was the Tsukuba 10. A naval training ship, it landed in Esquimalt, B.C. where its crew stayed for three weeks.
1877
A 24-year-old from Kuchinotsu in Nagasaki Prefecture, Manzo Nagano landed in New Westminster, B.C. in 1877 and became the first recorded Japanese immigrant to this country.
An energetic Issei (first generation) of many talents, he was a longshoreman; a fisherman; and an entrepreneur who owned real estate, gift shops, a hotel, a Japanese grocery store, and an export business to Japan of salted salmon in Victoria and a restaurant named Ricksha in Seattle.
In failing health, Nagano returned to his hometown in Nagasaki in 1923 where he passed away in May of the following year.
1880s
With her husband, Washiji, Yo (Shishido) Oya became the first Japanese woman to immigrate to Canada in 1887. Two years later their son Katsuji, the first Nisei (second generation), was born.
The village of Steveston, founded by William Herbert Steves in 1880, became home to the second largest population of Nikkei in Canada prior to World War II. This was largely due to Gihei Kuno, a Japanese from Mio Village in Wakayama Prefecture located south of Osaka. While visiting Canada in 1887, he saw first-hand the bounty offered by the abundance of fish in the Fraser River. Upon returning home, he shared his stories with other fisher folk and encouraged them to join him. In 1885, there was an estimated 55 Japanese in Steveston. The population of Nikkei grew to 465 in 1901, 925 in 1911, and 1520 in 1926, and reached approximately 2151 by 1940.
Vancouver became home to the largest community of Nikkei in Canada until World War II. In 1889, there were fifty Japanese in Vancouver. The following decade saw a dramatic increase in population, largely due to the Hastings Mill, a sawmill that employed 500 Japanese by 1900. The majority of Japanese were concentrated in the Powell Street area. By 1941, more than fifty per cent of the 8500 Nikkei in the Greater Vancouver area resided in this district that was also known as Little Tokyo. The community flourished with educational and religious institutions; boarding houses; a variety of businesses including grocery stores, florists, barber shops, and restaurants; doctors and dentists; and entertainment such as pool halls and social clubs.
Japanese Merchants' Association parade float, Powell St., Vancouver, BC; pre-1942
Photo credit
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre 2010.23.2.4.248
Powell St. Kindergarten Graduates, Jan. 30, 1928
Photo credit Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre 2010.23.2.4.772
Yamake’s Store, Powell Street, Vancouver, 1938
Photo credit UBC Library, Japanese Photograph Collection, Access Identifier: JCPC_25_051
In 1895, the Japanese were denied the franchise even if they were naturalized or born in Canada. Five years later Tomekichi Homma, President of the Fraser River Fishermen’s Union and Kyowakai of the Canadian Japanese Association and political advocate, began a long struggle for the right to vote in B.C. His appeal finally reached the Privy Council in England that ruled in 1902 that the right to vote fell under provincial jurisdiction. It was not until forty-seven years later that Japanese Canadians were given the right to vote in B.C.
Tensions grew in B.C. with the arrival of an increasing number of Asians. During the first ten months of 1907, for instance, 8125 Japanese, 2000 Sikhs, and approximately 1300 Chinese landed in the province. Of these groups, the Japanese were considered to be the greatest threat to the white community.
The fears, hate, and discrimination culminated in the Vancouver Riot on September 7, 1907 in which a mob of anti-Asian protestors rampaged through the Japanese and Chinese districts in Vancouver. While there were no deaths, there was substantial property damage for which some Japanese businesses were compensated up to $2,500. More importantly the riot resulted in the Hayashi-Lemieux Agreement between Canada and Japan in 1908 that limited the annual number of male labourers and domestic servants to 400. This was the first step to further discriminatory measures. This Gentlemen’s Agreement was revised in 1928 restricting the number of Japanese immigrants to 150 including women and children.
Until the early 1900s, the vast majority of the Nikkei population were young men. This demographic changed dramatically with the beginning of Japanese female migration to Canada in 1908. Many of the men, now of marrying age, wished to settle down and to create a more prosperous life and sought to achieve their goals through marriage. While some of them travelled back to their homeland to get married, most of them opted for the picture bride system. The country received 6,240 picture brides by 1924. Modelled upon the traditional Japanese custom of arranged marriages, the couple’s marriage was registered in Japan after an exchange of photographs and the groom’s approval of the woman. Once the passport had been issued, his wife joined him in Canada.
Picture brides played a crucial role in the establishment of the Japanese community. Of the 15,868 Nikkei in Canada in 1921, 5,348 were female and 4,334 were Canadian-born. The latter was a dramatic increase from 1901 when there were only sixty-four births. In response to growing concerns about the increasing numbers of this visible minority, the picture bride practice was discontinued as part of the revised Gentlemen’s Agreement in 1928.
In 1916, 202 Nikkei in B.C. formed the Japanese Volunteer Corps in anticipation that they would be eligible for service. After being rejected by the provincial government, they enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Alberta. Of the 196 Nikkei sent to fight on the battlefields in Belgium and France, including Vimy Ridge and Ypres, 54 died and 93 were wounded. The first to be killed was Sadakichi Shichi in 1916. The surviving soldiers returned to B.C. Despite their efforts after the war, the veterans were not granted the franchise and full commercial fishing rights until 1931 by the B.C. government. They were not, however, exempt from internment during World War II.
1938
The first English language Nikkei newspaper, The New Canadian, began publication in Vancouver where there was the highest concentration of Japanese Canadians. It was the only one permitted to be published during the war. Written in English and Japanese, the publication was an important communication tool for the government and the community although it was heavily censored. The newspaper continued to be a voice for Japanese Canadians until its last issue in September 2001 due to declining subscribers and advertising revenues.
Between March and August, Japanese Canadians aged 17 and over were required to register with the RCMP. On December 16, this was extended to all persons of Japanese ancestry including those born in Canada.
December 7 proved to be the turning point in the lives of the Nikkei with the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan and Canada’s declaration of war on Japan. The federal government implemented the War Measures Act imposing restrictions on the Nikkei labelled as Enemy Aliens. On December 8, the Japanese Fishing Vessel Disposal Committee impounded 1,200 of their fishing boats; 59 Japanese language schools in B.C. and three Japanese language newspapers in Vancouver in B.C. were closed; and insurance policies were cancelled. Japanese nationals were ordered to register with the Registrar of Enemy Aliens and a week later, this was extended to all persons of Japanese ancestry.
January
1942 marked the beginning of the mass forced removal of the Nikkei from
the west coast of B.C. The Order-in-Council, P.C. 365, of January 16
provided the federal government with the power to define a protected
zone from which enemy aliens could be removed. Two weeks later it
designated a 100-mile wide zone from the Pacific Ocean, including the
islands, and the area around Trail-Cranbrook as a protected area.
On January 14, the federal government ordered the relocation of
approximately 1,700 Japanese male nationals aged 18 and 45. On February
26, 1942, by Order-in-Council, P.C. 1486, the Canadian government
ordered all persons of Japanese descent to be removed from the protected
zone as well as from the Trail-Cranbrook area. This was despite the
fact that 75 per cent of them were Canadian citizens by birth or through
naturalization. The movement of the Japanese was extended to all of
them across the country on September 11 through P.C. 8173.
Other measures were also taken against those of Japanese ancestry.
Japanese nationals were prohibited from possessing cameras,
communication equipment such as short-wave radio receiving sets, and
firearms; curfew was imposed; and automobiles were impounded.
On March 4, 1942, by Order-in-Council, P.C. 1665, the Custodian of
Enemy Alien Property began to confiscate the property and belongings of
Japanese Canadians. On January 23, 1943, the federal government approved
of their disposal without the consent of their owners.
By October 1942, almost 22,000 Nikkei had been forcibly relocated to internment sites; road and prisoner-of-war camps; and sugar beet farms. Approximately 8,000 of the internees were detained in exhibition and livestock buildings at Hastings Park in Vancouver before being shipped to their final destination.
On August 4, 1944, the Canadian government ordered Japanese Canadians to either apply for repatriation, also referred to as deportation, to Japan or to move east of the Rockies.
The deportation orders were not rescinded until January 24, 1947. The
majority of the 3,964 Nikkei who left for Japan returned to Canada,
and the citizenship of Canadians deported to Japan was restored as part
of the redress settlement of September 1988.
On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies. That month
the Canadian government ordered the closure of all internment sites and
the destruction of housing except for the one in New Denver.
During World War II, Nikkei were exempt from military service;
however, a few were able to serve in the Canadian military. The only
Nisei known to be killed in action was Trooper Minoru Morgan Tanaka from
Saskatchewan who died in Holland in 1945. In January 1945, the
Canadian Intelligence Corps recruited 150 Nisei or 2nd generation
Japanese Canadians due to pressure from the British for Japanese
linguists. After receiving basic training in Brantford and Simcoe,
Ontario followed by Japanese instruction at the S-20 Pacific Command
Japanese Language School in Vancouver, many of the Nisei served in
southeast Asia. By 1947, they had resumed civilian life in Canada.
On July 18, 1947, the Bird Commission was established to investigate
the losses suffered by Nikkei through sales below “fair” market value
and the removal of property by the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property. As
a result of the Commission’s 1950 report, $1.2 million in compensation
was offered. According to the May 9, 1986 study conducted by the
accounting firm, Price Waterhouse Associates, real property loss was an
estimated $50 million and total economic loss was $443 million (1986
dollars).
In September 1947, the National Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association was established after a conference in Toronto.
On June 15, 1948, all Canadians of Japanese ancestry were granted
the right to vote in federal elections. In April 1949, they were
finally enfranchised in B.C., and the federal government lifted the last
of the War Measures Act measures including the restriction of movement
in certain parts of Canada, thereby permitting Nikkei to return to the
protected zone.
After years of lobbying by Japanese Canadians, a redress settlement was
reached on September 22, 1988 between the federal government and the
National Association of Japanese Canadians. This was largely propelled
by the hearings in the U.S. into the incarceration of the Japanese
Americans in 1980 and the subsequent settlement on September 17, 1987 in
which an apology was issued, $20,000 to survivors, and a $50 million
education fund to raise awareness. In Canada, the settlement included
an apology; compensation of $21,000 for eligible individuals; a $12
million community fund to rebuild community infrastructure such as
community centres; the restoration of Canadian citizenship to those
deported to Japan; pardons for persons with criminal records charged
under the War Measures Act; and the establishment of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation in 1997 with funding of $24 million.
Twenty-four years after the redress settlement, B.C. made a
formal apology to persons of Japanese ancestry for its role in the
injustices committed against them.
On May 7, 2012 , B.C. made a formal
apology to persons of Japanese ancestry for its role in the
injustices committed against them.
The apology was followed ten years later on May 21 with the announcement
of a $100-million initiative by the Province in recognition
of the historical wrongs.
The British Columbia-based society, Japanese Canadian Legacies Society, is overseeing the
implementation of the BC Redress funds under six pillars: community &
culture, seniors health and wellness, heritage preservation, monument,
education, and anti-racism.
Photo by Ronin on Unsplash
The Japanese Canadian Community Today
In
2016, 121,485 Canadians across the country reported that their ancestry
is Japanese, and the majority of them are located in B.C., Alberta, and
Ontario. This number includes descendants of the first Japanese
immigrants and those who arrived after 1967.
In 1941, the intermarriage rate amongst the Japanese Canadians
was one per cent, the lowest of all groups in the country. This number
has changed dramatically with current generations. In 2011, Statistics
Canada reported that 78.7% of Japanese were in mixed unions, likely the
highest rate of all visible minorities. According to another report, the
intermarriage rate was greater than 90 per cent in 1996.
The Japanese Canadian community is represented by the National Association of Japanese Canadians that was established in 1947. Located in Winnipeg, MB, it is the umbrella body for its member organizations
across the country with a focus on human rights and community development.
Today there are Japanese Canadian associations and cultural
centres in cities and towns across Canada, and descendants of the Issei
and Nisei, who paved the way for future generations, can be found in all
walks of life.
In recognition of sites that are of historical significance to Japanese Canadians, Heritage BC launched the Japanese Canadian Historic Places Recognition Project in July 2016. Of the 264 nominations, 56 sites were selected in April of the following year that marked the 75th
anniversary of the beginning of the internment of Nikkei. All of the
historic places, including the nominated ones, are recognized in the Heritage BC interactive map.
The Landscapes of Injustice project, launched in 2014, was dedicated
to recovering and grappling with the forced sale of Japanese-Canadian-owned
property.In 1942 the Canadian government uprooted over
21,000 people of Japanese ancestry from coastal British Columbia and began the
forced sale of Japanese Canadian property. These actions resulted in the
eradication of Japanese Canadian enclaves throughout British Columbia. Whereas
the uprooting, internment, and deportation of Japanese Canadians have been the
focus of a rich scholarly literature, the dispossession has received only
passing attention. This should not be so. Because of the dispossession, Japanese
Canadians had no homes to return to when restrictions were finally lifted in
1949. Because of the dispossession, there is no historic Japanese Canadian
neighbourhood in Vancouver or anywhere in Canada. It transformed individual
lives and the broader landscapes of Canadian life. Former property owners and
their descendants still feel the shock of the forced sales, the destruction of
their neighbourhoods, and the betrayal of the promise that the Canadian
government would “protect and preserve” their land and possessions. Canadians
are heirs of landscapes of injustice.
Photo credit FK Matsubuchi family collection
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