Content Warning: This blog post features items that contain some outdated, racist, and derogatory language.
This blog post follows the language guidelines set forth by Japanese Canadian Legacies, which can be found at this link.
In this second part of our series “Japan in Focus”, we will delve into the materials within our open collections to examine the experiences of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Despite their longstanding roots in Canada, Japanese Canadians encountered pervasive racism and discrimination. Join us in learning about their experiences through materials in our Open Collections to remember this important chapter of Canadian history.
Forced Uprooting and Incarceration
After Canada declared war on Japan in 1941, Under the War Measures Act, Order-in-Council P.C. 9591, required that all Japanese nationals register with the Registrar of Enemy Aliens by February 7. Japanese Canadians residing on the west coast faced many stringent measures. For example, they were urged to move to eastern Canada in the face of hostility in most of the country. Families could stay together only if they would contract to work in the sugar beet farms in Alberta and Manitoba. In 1942, Order-in-Council P.C. 365 created a 100-mile restricted area on the coast of British Columbia. Subsequently on February 7, all male Japanese Canadian citizens between the ages of 18-45 were ordered to be removed from the coast. The first forced uprooting of Japanese Canadians began.
Copy of Order-in-Council P.C. 365 issued on February 27, 1942
It must be mentioned that when Japanese Canadians were forcibly uprooted, they were not allowed to pack everything they owned with them. An office of the federal government, known as the Custodian of Enemy Property, seized their fishing vessels, firearms, and radios and was given control of everything they were forced to leave behind. In 1942, Glenn McPherson, the founding Director of the Vancouver office of the Custodian of Enemy Property began to argue that all of Japanese Canadian’s property was declining in value and could be sold, irrespective of the wishes of the owners. The officials listed almost 2,000 homes, farms and businesses for sale.
Living Conditions in Internment Camps
By the year’s end, around 12,029 individuals had been forcibly uprooted and incarcerated in camps across the interior of British Columbia. In addition to Tashme, which we have discussed in one of our blog posts previously, there were several other internment camps in B.C., including Slocan, New Denver, Kaslo, Rosebery, Bay Farm, Popoff, Lemon Creek and Sandon. The living conditions in the camps were harsh – Japanese Canadians were housed in basic wooden shacks without electricity or insulation (Champagne 2020, p. 10).
During this period, tuberculosis (TB) emerged as a significant health issue among Japanese Canadians. The TB spiked due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at Hasting Park in Vancouver (Champagne 2020, p.17). In response, Japanese Canadians in New Denver’s Orchard built a 100-bed sanatorium (also known as “The San”) for TB patients in 1943, and many Japanese Canadians were sent there from across the province (Champagne 2020, p. 17).
Post War Challenges
On August 6 and 9 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
Nelson Daily News, August 9, 1945 issue
Subsequently on August 15, Japan surrendered.
Nelson Daily News, August 15, 1945 issue
Even though the war finally ended in 1945, Japanese Canadians still faced another difficult situation – they were given only two choices: to move east or to go to Japan, a situation many historians refer to as “the second forced uprooting”. Many Japanese Canadians were born in Canada and had no roots in Japan, making this decision very difficult to them.
This policy lasted until 1949, when Japanese Canadians were granted full freedom of movement, but by then, many had already built lives elsewhere.
Seeking Justice
After the war, Japanese Canadian community started to form. The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) which was established in 1947 gathered many Japanese Canadian to call upon the federal government to acknowledge the human rights violations that were committed against their community during the Second World War.
Finally, on September 22, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney delivered an apology, and the Canadian government announced a compensation package. The Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement was also established after Mulroney’s apology along with the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation to issue redress payments for internment victims, as well as a $12 million community fund to NAJC, which funded many educational and cultural programs.
The Ubyssey September 23, 1988, features an editorial about the redress
In 2012, a special ceremony was held during UBC’s 2012 spring congregation to recognize and honour the Japanese Canadian students whose university experience was disrupted due to forced uprooting and incarceration by the Canadian government. Honorary degrees were conferred on the students who were unable to complete their education as planned.
Geri Shiozaki at honorary degree ceremony for Japanese Canadian students of 1942
Today, institutions including the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) in Burnaby, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) in Toronto and NAJC continue to preserve the history and memory of Japanese Canadian. This year marks the 30th year anniversary of the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre (NIMC) in New Denver, the only interpretive site in Canada that contains original internment shacks. The Centre collaborates regularly with the NNMCC on digitization projects, preserving documents and objects to ensure the stories of Japanese Canadian during World War II are not forgotten.
Thank you for reading!
References:
Champagne, A. (2020). Kyowakai: Memory and Healing in New Denver. Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre.
Hastings Park 1942. (n.d.). Japanese Canadians at Hastings Park A Brief Timeline: 1941-1943. http://hastingspark1942.ca/history/timeline/#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20the,and%2014.6%25%20naturalized%20citizens).&text=December%207%20Japan%20attacks%20Pearl,Canada%20declares%20war%20on%20Japan.
Heritage Toronto. (n.d.). Japanese Internment: Growing Community in Postwar Toronto. https://www.heritagetoronto.org/explore/japanese-internment-postwar-community/
Japanese Canadian Legacies. (n.d.). Japanese Canadian Terms and Definitions. https://jclegacies.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Japanese-Canadian-Terms-and-Definitions.pdf.
Landscapes of Injustice. (n.d.). Case 2.1 Offices of Injustice. https://loi.uvic.ca/narrative/cases/case-2.1.html.
Landscapes of Injustice. (n.d.). Case 2.2 Many losses. https://loi.uvic.ca/narrative/cases/case-2.2.html.
Landscapes of Injustice. (n.d.). Case 3.2 Perishable property. https://loi.uvic.ca/narrative/cases/case-3.2.html.
McRae, M. (2017). Japanese Canadian internment and the struggle for redress. Canadian Museum for Human Rights. https://humanrights.ca/story/japanese-canadian-internment-and-struggle-redress
Metcalfe, B. (2024, June 25). New Denver event marks 30th anniversary of internment centre. Nelson Star.https://www.nelsonstar.com/local-news/new-denver-event-marks-30th-anniversary-of-internment-centre-7407769.
National Association of Japanese Canadians. (n.d.). Japanese Canadian history. https://najc.ca/japanese-canadian-history/.
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre. (n.d.). 1941-2018 – A selected timeline. https://nikkeimemorial.ca/nikkei-timeline/#:~:text=1942,evacuation”%20of%20Japanese%20Canadians%20begins.
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre. (n.d.). Nikkei in the Kootenays. https://nikkeimemorial.ca/nikkei-in-the-kootenays/.
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. (n.d.). Japanese Canadian history in a nutshell. https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/JC-history-intro-and-reading_v2.pdf.
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. (n.d.). Japanese Canadian timeline. https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/research/japanese-canadian-timeline/.
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. (n.d.). Japanese Canadian mobile digitization project. https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/research/digikits/.
Sunahara, A. G. (n.d.). The Politics of Racism – Chapter 2: The decision to uproot Japanese Canadians. Japanese Canadian History. https://japanesecanadianhistory.ca/chapter-2-the-decision-to-uproot-japanese-canadians/.
University of British Columbia Ceremonies and Events Office. (2012, May 30). Special UBC Congregation Ceremony for Japanese Canadian Students of 1942 [Video]. http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0368492.
