Articles

  • "British Columbia and the Japanese Evacuation"
    W. Peter Ward, The Canadian Historical Review, September 1976

    This is a scholarly piece that emphasizes the importance of lingering prejudice and war-time fears that turned out to have little or no basis in reality. It is well researched and carefully argued. Ward did not have access, however, to key government documents that became available later. It is still well worth reading.

    The article was reprinted in Readings in Canadian History: Post-Confederation (2nd ed.), R. Douglas Francis and Donald B. Smith, 1986, ISBN 0-03-921877-5 ([v. 2])

Books

  • A Dream of Riches: The Japanese Canadians 1877-1977
    The Japanese Canadian Centennial Project, 1978, ISBN 0-9690708-0-2

    This trilingual (English, French, Japanese) book provides a brief overview of the first one hundred years of the Japanese in Canada. The factual text is interspersed with quotations that add much humanity to the account. There is a fine collection of photographs. Unfortunately, the photos are not labelled as they appear, but at the back of the book, and the descriptions are very limited. Nevertheless, the photos provide a fine visual record of many of the events, and clearly show the Japanese community adapting to Canadian society while retaining their unique identity.

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  • Nikkei Legacy: The Story of Japanese Canadians from Settlement to Today
    Toyo Takata, 1983, ISBN 0-919601-94-4

    This is a fine survey of the Japanese Canadian experience during their first century in this country. In only 170 pages, with many photographs, it covers clearly the story of immigration, settlement, internment and post-war re-establishment. Takata stresses that the Japanese were much like other newcomers seeking at first to make a quick buck before returning home, later seeking to fit into their new homeland while retaining some of their ancestral traditions. Some notable pioneers are given special attention.

    Takata addresses all the key issues such as language and other cultural barriers, the ethnocentrism of all the groups involved, and conflicts within Japanese Canadian society. He is very good at describing the ambiguities of a community that had a very high volunteer and casualty rate as Canadian soldiers in World War I yet persisted in sending Canadian-born children, especially boys, to Japan for education.

    The forced relocation of World War II, life in the detention camps, and work on the prairie farms are well presented. One of the strengths of the book is its successful combination of analysis and description. Befitting from earlier in-depth research by writers such as Adachi and Sunahara, Takata had available all the facts and scholarly information needed to provide a convincing case that the harsh treatment of Japanese Canadians by the government of Canada was unwarranted and unfair. Benefiting also from interviews done by investigators such as Broadfoot, Takata weaves into his chronicle many personal stories that keep the human face of the story front and centre.

    Published in 1983, Nikkei Legacy does not cover the redress struggle and final settlement. The book suffers from the lack of an index but has a good bibliography. For those lacking the time or energy to read the much more detailed The Enemy that Never Was or The Politics of Racism, Nikkei Legacy provides a thorough and comprehensive presentation of the Japanese Canadian experience.

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  • Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame
    Barry Broadfoot, 1977, ISBN 0-385-12550-X

    In the mid-1970's Broadfoot travelled to many parts of Canada and interviewed Japanese Canadians about their experiences before, during, and after World War II. The interviewees included men and women of different ages whose experiences and attitudes varied widely. They constitute a reasonably representative cross-section of a community whose diversity was ignored by those who lumped them all together as "Japs" or "Enemy Aliens". Some individuals were bitter because of the humiliation and material losses they suffered; others argued that the government policies were a blessing because they got them out of their limited lives in B.C. . Throughout the interviews we hear the authentic voices of those who resisted, those who complied reluctantly, and those who resigned themselves to a baffling reality.

    Adding to the usefulness of the study is the inclusion of non-Japanese voices ranging from government officials, police and military guards, and average citizens who initially knew little or nothing of what was happening in B.C.

    The strength of the book is the personal touch of the anonymous interviews that bring out the humanity behind the documents and statistics of other studies. Each of the fourteen chapters begins with a useful introduction that provides background to the reports that follow.

    One weakness of the book is its lack of documentation. But guarding the identities of the interviewees probably encouraged them to speak more freely, and other books provide the necessary references. There are also some inaccuracies, as might be expected from internees who are looking back many years with not always precise recollections. Again, those errors are easily correctable in more scholarly treatments. The lack of an index makes it hard to cross-reference points mentioned more than once. Finally, there are almost no views included of the most racist of the politicians involved. As repugnant as those views were, it would have been useful to read exactly what they said.

    Overall, this collection of interviews is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the story of the Japanese Canadians.

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  • The Enemy That Never Was
    Ken Adachi, 1976, ISBN 0-7710-0723-X

    Years of painstaking research and a journalist's ability to tell a story effectively make Adachi's book a very valuable resource. A Japanese Canadian himself, he is able to understand and explain the many points of view to be found in various segments of the Japanese and non-Japanese communities.

    The first two hundred pages deal with the early history of the Japanese immigrants and their Canadian-born children before the attacks on Hong Kong, Pearl Harbor, and Manila that precipitated the Pacific theatre of World War II. There are many insights into the culture and changing attitudes of the immigrant community that was torn and victimized as a result of the actions of Japan's military forces.

    The second half of the book describes the forced relocation and expulsion of British Columbia's population of Japanese ancestry.

    The discussions are in-depth and include Japanese terms that help explain the attitudes of those who were caught in the upheaval. (Many of the terms are defined in the Sedai "Glossary".) In fact, the discussions may be too detailed for the casual reader. But this is a complicated story and Adachi weaves together its disparate parts very effectively.

    The only serious weakness of the book is that certain key government documents were still under lock and key when Adachi did his research. Therefore, further reading is necessary to obtain a more complete picture despite the depth of his analysis.

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  • The Politics of Racism
    Ann Gomer Sunahara, 1981, ISBN 0-88862-413-1 pa.

    This is the definitive study of the forced relocation and expulsion of Canadians of Japanese ancestry. Writing a little later that Broadfoot and Adachi, professional historian Ann Gomer Sunahara had access to previously withheld government documents including minutes of federal cabinet meetings. She goes beyond Ward's conclusion that the actions taken against the community were overwhelmingly the result of war paranoia. She demonstrates that the panic of war gave victory to a small group of racists. Of course, there was genuine fear of a Japanese attack on British Columbia. And certainly the government was preoccupied with the war in Europe, conscription, and numerous other issues. Nevertheless, it was the race prejudice and opportunity for economic gain that compelled the anti-Oriental politicians to push their agenda on to a country that, with some significant individual and group exceptions, was prepared to ignore the rights of a minority during a severe national crisis.

    This study strongly supported for the case for Redress, which was achieved in 1988.

    This book is now available on the internet. Anyone interested in this topic needs to read at least the preface, introduction, and conclusion of Gomer Sunahara's thoroughly researched and cogently argued investigation.

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  • From Slocan to Hong Kong
    James H. Kinoshita, 2005, ISBN 978-1-4251-2244-7

    Over twenty thousand Japanese Canadians felt the impact of the forced evacuation of 1942. Each individual has a story to tell. This autobiography of JHK (as he refers to himself) is one of those stories. Overcoming his family's difficult experience, James H. Kinoshita would become an influential architect (as would his brother Gene also).

    JHK's grandfather and father came from Shiga-ken, not far from Kyoto. Like many Japanese, the original plan was to make money in Canada and return to the homeland rich. His grandfather did well enough to go back and become the mayor of Hikone. His father chose to stay in Vancouver where he successfully operated several businesses in the Japan town area on Powell Street.

    Born in 1933, JHK was eight years old when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. (It is interesting to note that he makes no reference to the similar attack on Hong Kong.) His family was interned in Slocan, first at Roseberry and then at Popoff. Like many of the children in the prison camps, JHK had mixed feelings. He recalls both the hardships (cold, cramped conditions) and the fun (berry picking and fishing). He did not enjoy his training in Kendo but he accepted the "shikata ga nai" attitude of the adults around him. He did wonder, however, why Japanese were selected for forced relocation and not Germans or Italians.

    After the war he stayed in Slocan for a period, and then completed his high school education in Vancouver. Next came Winnipeg where he began to call himself "James", because his fellow students had trouble with his given name of "Hajime". Helped by family, members of the JC community, and sympathetic Canadians of various backgrounds, he did very well in architectural school at the University of Manitoba. While there he met his future wife, a student from China.

    After completing his studies he travelled to Japan to visit family and to learn first-hand about Japanese design. His trips to Kyoto and Nara left a lasting impression. From Japan he went to China where he proposed to his Chinese sweetheart. He was accepted by her and her family with no prejudice.

    The remainder of the book describes his experiences as a successful architect, world traveller, and family man.

    While this book does not focus on the internment experience, it does show how the situation improved for Canadians of Japanese origin after World War II due to their own efforts and a changing attitude among Canadians in general.

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