The history of Japanese people in British Columbia began with the arrival of Manzo Nagano in New Westminster in 1877. Prior to 1942, British Columbia was home to 90% of all Japanese in Canada. In 2001, 44% of all Japanese Canadians lived in British Columbia, or about 1% of the province's total population.
History
The first Japanese in Canada was Manzo Nagano, who stowed away on a British ship and arrived in New Westminster in 1877. He would eventually settle in Victoria, British Columbia. During the 1890s, Issei (term for Japanese immigrant in North America) established themselves on Powell Street, building stores, boarding houses, and other businesses, adjacent to Hastings Mill, a major employer of Japanese. The neighbourhood was the largest settlement of Japanese Canadians prior to World War Two.
1902 Royal Proclamation
In 1902 the Canadian government published the Report of the Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration. This proclamation is the result of an investigation and analysis of the perceived issues from increasing Japanese and Chinese immigration, especially in matters relating to commerce. Special attention was given to the fishing and lumber industries where Japanese labourers played a prominent role. The investigation gathered testimonials from locals on their opinion on Japanese labourers. In the Fraser River area, many White and Indigenous fishermen opined that there were more canneries and fisherman licenses than can be environmentally and commercially sustained. They largely blamed this imbalance on increasing Japanese fishermen. Indigenous fisherman stated that they were taking the place of White people by taking the dominant role in the fishing industry. While the Japanese were viewed as somewhat better than Chinese labourers, who were facing similar discrimination, the large numbers of Japanese migrants were giving locals anxiety (between 1896 and 1901, 13193 Japanese migrants landed in Victoria). One mentioned issue was the different way in which Japanese fishermen negotiated sales and price of their fish. While White and Indigenous fishermen negotiated individually with the canneries, Japanese fishermen were often part of organized groups where a boss would negotiate prices for the whole group. This practice had a standardizing effect on fish prices which, along with increased competition, lessened what White and Indigenous fishermen were able to earn. Furthermore, there was particular concern about growing Japanese involvement in boat construction, a particularly sensitive and important industry. In the lumber industry, there were similar sentiments as Japanese laborers were paid less than their White counterparts which made them attractive for mills. In one mill, Japanese workers were paid $1–1.25 while White workers were paid $2–2.25 a day. While many of the respondents to the commission showed anxiety and hostility, most acknowledged that Japanese labour was satisfactory in quantity and quality. In addition, the high number of Japanese workers made them integral to many local industries such as the lumber industry.
Early 20th century
In 1907, an anti-Asian riot broke out in Chinese and Japanese sections of Vancouver due to the increased presence of Japanese who, in 1907, had entered Canada in a record number of 7,000. Labour unions and small business groups banded together to form the Vancouver branch of the Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL), an organization against the increase of Asian immigrants in Canada and the US. The Japanese, due to their numbers and the economic competition they posed were seen as a particular threat. A public demonstration by the AEL on September 7, 1907 turned into a riot. Rioters smashed many windows in parts of Chinatown, and then moved on to Japantown. Four waves of attacks ensued, with the rioters being repulsed by the armed Japanese residents who had received warning of the attacks in Chinatown. In spite of inflicting a number of injuries upon the mob, more than 50 stores and businesses on Powell Street had their windows broken resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.
Similar events happened in other cities on the West Coast in Canada and the US as anti-immigrant sentiment, especially against Asians, became common. Significant pressure was being applied in both countries to restrict immigration. Following the riots, Japanese immigration to Canada was restricted to 400 male immigrants and domestic servants per year in 1908 under a gentlemen's agreement with Japan. Immigration was further restricted to 150 annually in 1923.
In 1916, over 200 Japanese volunteers attempted to enlist as a corps in the Canadian Army. When refused by the British Columbia provincial government, they traveled to Alberta to enlist as individuals. Eventually, 196 Japanese were sent overseas. In 1931, surviving veterans were given the right to vote as they were not allowed to vote prior to that.
Second generation Japanese immigrants In 1934, there were 10,965 Japanese who were born in British Columbia with 135 being third-generation. The majority of the population (6,176) lived in the rural districts while the rest (4,598) lived in urban cities, mainly Victoria and Metro Vancouver. Most second-generation Japanese had integrated well into their new country and embraced their new identity as Japanese-Canadians. Only 14.5 percent of the population had been to Japan and 13.5 and 16 percent of the urban and rural populations respectively expressed interest in moving to Japan. Many Canadian-born Japanese however had their birth registered by their parents in both Japan and Victoria, giving them resident status in both Canada and Japan. This was done because of a few reasons including the possibility of moving to Japan in the future and language and institutional barriers to government services/administration. Upon realizing their dual-national status, many second-generation Japanese immigrants withdrew their records from Japan to further reflect their new nationality. They saw dual nationality as “unnecessary, unethical, and detrimental to the future life of those Canadians of Japanese origin as British subjects residing in BC.”
Occupations 93.2 percent of second-generation Japanese Canadians were employed in unskilled and semi-skilled labour by 1934. This is in part due to legal restrictions. By the 1930s, anti-Asian sentiments were still strong in British Columbia which led to occupational isolation for Japanese Canadians. The Revised Statute of BC of 1924, Chapter 76, section 5A disqualifies “any person of Japanese, naturalized or not” from voting in any election which by extension also prohibits them from entering professions and positions including: being elected to the provincial legislature, being nominated for municipal office, being nominated at as a school trustee, jury service, legal professions, pharmaceutical professions, license for hand-logging and contractor for public works.
In addition to legal restrictions, there was also a general lack of encouragement for many Japanese Canadians with regards to professional development given that fishing and farm work were the traditional line of work for many immigrants in Canada. Furthermore, most highly educated Japanese Canadians moved to Japan for work.
Internment
When the Pacific war erupted, more than 8,500, or ⅓ of Japanese Canadians lived in the Greater Vancouver Area. More than half of these lived in the Powell Street district. Following the War Measures Act, all people of Japanese descent were declared “enemy aliens” of Canada. In February 1942, the Canadian government ordered “all persons of Japanese racial origin” to leave the 100-mile area along the coast. The Custodian of Enemy Property seized all property deemed to be dangerous, including boats, cars, radios, cameras, and was authorized to hold all land and property in trust. During the construction of the internment camps, the Pacific National Exhibition was designated a holding and distribution centre for Japanese Canadians. 22,000 Japanese Canadians—comprising over 90% of the total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia were forcibly relocated and interned in the name of national security. The majority were Canadian citizens by birth. In March 1949, four years after the war was over, the last of the wartime restrictions and the War Measures Act were lifted, and Japanese Canadians were allowed to travel freely and return to the West Coast.
Dispossession After the internment of Japanese Canadians, the federal government made the decision to force the sale of all property of all British Columbians of Japanese ancestry regardless of status. The Vancouver Town Planning Commission played a large role in initiating the sales, bringing attention to the deteriorating “slum” properties surrounding Japantown. The Town Planning Commission hoped to replace the slum with more suitable land use, however, the federal government ultimately took the dispossession into their own hands, choosing not to demolish the area realizing that many of the buildings were owned by non-Japanese Canadians. Glenn McPherson, the founding Director of the Vancouver office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, was a key advocate in the dispossession and liquidation of Japanese-Canadian-owned property. He pushed for forced sales to higher authorities and wrote the first draft of the government order authorizing the ‘‘liquidation’’ of Japanese-Canadian-owned property. He had written to Ephraim Coleman, the undersecretary of state, that the Japanese-Canadian-owned buildings should be sold off as quickly as possible, as deterioration of buildings would lower property values and might soon be ‘‘demolished by neighbours in need of firewood”. Gordon Murchison, the director of the Soldier Settlement Board recommended that all property holdings should be sold because of the deterioration of the value. On January 11, 1943, ministers involved in the drafting of the Orders in Council recommended that the federal government apply ‘‘the principle of liquidation’’ to all urban property; rural properties were to be placed under the control of the Custodian”. This was signed into law by the Privy Council eight days later. Japanese property in British Columbia was effectively sold off thereby eliminating the thriving Japanese community in the province.
Self-supporting projects In 1942 groups of Japanese Canadians who were evicted from their homes rented residential properties in Christina Lake, Bridge River, McGillvray Falls, Lillooet, Taylor Lake and Minto City. They wanted to establish their own isolated camps rather than go to a government-administered internment camp. These camps operated on a communal basis where residents helped each other out. The communities grew crops or worked for neighbouring farmers or lumbermen to generate income. The total number of Japanese Canadians in these camps was around 1200 but was reduced to 1000 after some relocations. The British Columbia government would come to recognize these camps and appointed supervisors to look after the residents’ interests.
UBC students In 1942, 76 students of Japanese descent studying at the University of British Columbia were told that they would not be able to continue their studies. Instead, they would be taken 100 miles inland to internment camps because of "war precautions". Given the trauma and disruption that this forced uprooting caused, 61 of these students would not be able to complete their education and 15 could not attend their graduation. 70 years later in 2012, UBC honoured these Japanese-Canadian students by including them in the university's Spring graduation programs and granting them honorary degrees.
Demographics