Here you will find archival sources, images, media files, and materials. Use this archive to supplement lessons and build new lessons or students can use the library to conduct research.
Manzo Nagano has often been credited as the first known Japanese settler to Canada. His supposed arrival in 1877 was used to mark the Japanese Canadian centennial and a mountain has been named after him. His story, however, has not been corroborated with other sources and contradicted by himself.
Manzo Nagano, seated (centre) with his wife Tayoko on the right and George’s wife Seki on the left. Standing behind on the left is oldest son George and on the right son Frank. 1910. Nagano family photo
Nagano family photo
Vancouver Riot (1907)
Resource Category:
Discrimination, Prewar
Vancouver Riot (1907)
In 1907, the Asiatic Exclusion League led an Anti-Asian riot in Vancouver, in which mobs attacked properties belonging to Chinese and Japanese residents in the Powell Street Area. Though the government provided some financial compensation to the communities for the thousands of dollars in damages and lost revenue, politicians turned their efforts toward restricting immigration from Asia, rather than addressing the racist attitudes.
University of British Columbia Library Rare Vancouver riot of 1907. Books and Special Collections, JCPC_36_017
Maikawa Fish Market
Resource Category:
Businesses, Prewar
Maikawa Fish Market
S Maikawa Fish Market, Vancouver, BC, 1918.
NNM 2010.59.1
Japanese Canadian Forestry Workers
Resource Category:
Resource Industries, Prewar
Japanese Canadian Forestry Workers
Japanese loggers sitting around large old growth tree felled for lumber ca. 1900s.
NNM 2016.14.1.6.026
Japanese Fishermen’s Benevolent Society Hospital in Steveston, BC
Resource Category:
Prewar
Japanese Fishermen’s Benevolent Society Hospital in Steveston, BC
Outdoor Group Portrait of the First Hospital of the Japanese Fishermen’s Association Welcoming the Japanese Navy; Steveston, BC, 1925.
Three rows of men standing in front of a building in Steveston, BC, with two crossed flags diplayed over the entry: the Red Ensign and Japanese flags.
NNM 2010.23.2.4.52
Japanese United Church
Resource Category:
Prewar
Japanese United Church
A large group of men, women and children from the Japanese United Church in Easter, 1941.
Nikkei National Museum 2010-31-37.
Taxis’ lined up at Yama Taxi on Powell Street, Vancouver
Resource Category:
Businesses, Prewar
Taxis’ lined up at Yama Taxi on Powell Street, Vancouver
Taxis parked in front of Yama Taxi on Powell St.
NNM 2011.11.1.4
Asahi Baseball Team at Powell Grounds
Resource Category:
Prewar, Sports
Asahi Baseball Team at Powell Grounds
Asahi player Mike Maruno at bat at the Powell Street Grounds and about to bunt.
NNM 2010.26.20
R.C.N. Officer Questioning Japanese Canadian Fishermen
Resource Category:
Internment, Dispossession
R.C.N. Officer Questioning Japanese Canadian Fishermen
R.C.N. officer questioning Japanese Canadian fishermen while confiscating their boat, December 9, 1941
LAC 3193873
Order-in-Council PC 1486
Resource Category:
Discrimination
Order-in-Council PC 1486
Screenshot
Seized Japanese Canadian fishing vessels on Annieville Dyke (1942)
Resource Category:
Dispossession
Seized Japanese Canadian fishing vessels on Annieville Dyke (1942)
Seized Japanese Canadian fishing boats at Annieville Dyke, 1942
NNM 2010.4.2.1.001
Bunk Beds in The Forum at Hastings Park
Bunk Beds in The Forum at Hastings Park
Hundreds of bunk beds to house men and boys over 18 at Hastings Park in the Forum Building ca. 1942.
Nikkei National Museum 1994.69.3.18
Livestock Building at Hastings Park
Resource Category:
Internment
Livestock Building at Hastings Park
Blankets and barriers set up by women while detained in the Hastings Park Livestock Building ca. 1942.
Nikkei National Museum 1994.69.3.20
Japanese Canadians arrive in Greenwood, BC (1942)
Resource Category:
Internment
Japanese Canadians arrive in Greenwood, BC (1942)
Japanese Canadian families arrive in Greenwood and are assisted by Catholic Nuns. April, 1942.
Courtesy Greenwood Museum
Girls in Greenwood
Resource Category:
Internment
Girls in Greenwood
Group of Japanese Canadian girls participating in Bon Odori (summer festival) at Greenwood, BC, 1942
UBC Library JCPC_ 16_026
Letter of protest to Custodian – T. Takemoto (1946)
Resource Category:
Protest
Letter of protest to Custodian – T. Takemoto (1946)
File #6689, 4009, 10438 Reg #03352. Letter to HF Green from Tsurukichi Takemoto of Greenwood, BC per S Takemoto. September 5, 1946.
Custodian of Property auction poster (1944)
Resource Category:
Dispossession
Custodian of Property auction poster (1944)
Poster advertising the sale of Japanese Canadian property by the Custodian of Enemy Property ca. 1944.
Yamamoto Berry Farm
Resource Category:
Businesses, Prewar
Yamamoto Berry Farm
The Yamamoto berry farm in Mission ca. 1920s.
Angler POW Camp (1943)
Angler POW Camp (1943)
Japanese Canadians imprisoned at Angler POW camp 1943.
UBC JCPC-25-096
Road Camp on the Yellowhead Highway
Resource Category:
Internment
Road Camp on the Yellowhead Highway
Japanese Canadian internees working at the Yellowhead Highway road camp ca. 1942.
Library and Archives Canada
Japanese Canadian Internees in New Denver
Resource Category:
Internment
Japanese Canadian Internees in New Denver
Japanese Canadian family in New Denver ca. 1942.
Nikkie National Museum 1994-69-4-16
Sugar Beet farm in Shaughnessy, Alberta
Resource Category:
Internment
Sugar Beet farm in Shaughnessy, Alberta
Fumi Tamagi and three others picking Sugar Beets; Shaughnessy, Alta. 1943.
Nikkei National Museum 2000.15.3.
Burial at Angler POW Camp
Resource Category:
Internment
Burial at Angler POW Camp
Burial of Masano Shirakawa at Angler POW camp, ca. 1943. Prisoner wear large circle on uniform for easy target identification.
Nikkei National Museum 2010.23.2.4.752
High school students 1945
Resource Category:
Internment
High school students 1945
High school students taught by Japanese Canadian teachers at purpose built site ca. 1945.
Library and Archives Canada R219 RG25 Vol. 29219
Sugar Beet Fields, Alberta
Resource Category:
Internment, Sugar Beets
Sugar Beet Fields, Alberta
Japanese Canadian workes in the sugar beet fields. Tully, Manitob 1944.
Nikkei National Museum 2010-23-2-4-139.
Japanese Canadian Soldiers WWII
Resource Category:
Soldiers
Japanese Canadian Soldiers WWII
Nisei soldiers in the Second World War ca. 1945.
Nikkei National Museum 2005-1-1-6
Man Loading Truck in Slocan
Resource Category:
Internment
Man Loading Truck in Slocan
Japanese Canadian man loading truck with luggage during the forced uprooting, 1942.
LAC e999900379-u
Three Mile Gap Decorative Garden
Resource Category:
Internment
Three Mile Gap Decorative Garden
Decorative garden in Three Valley Gap BC, ca.1943.
Courtesy Nikkei National Museum 2012.20.11
Mountainview Boy’s Club – Popoff (1944)
Resource Category:
Internment
Mountainview Boy’s Club – Popoff (1944)
Mountainview Boy’s club at Popoff internment camp, ca. 1944.