Inspiration for my writing comes from a variety of sources. One of these sources is history, especially about the island I am proud to call home—Mayne Island. Recently I published Mrs. Kenneth James Stevens Wants A Baby on this blog. This story was inspired by...
Japanese Canadians substantially contributed to Mayne Island's economy and vibrancy. Why did they move away? Where did they go?
‘Japanese settlers were a major part of the Mayne community between 1900 and 1942. The very first Japanese to come was Gontaro Kadonaga. By the late 1930s, the Japanese community represented one-third of the population (half of the children enrolled in the school) and ran half of the economy of the Island. They played a key role in growing spring tomatoes in greenhouses and feeding the Vancouver market. They were also active in fishing, fruit growing, and coal producing. They were deeply integrated in the tight-knit Island community.’1
‘Japanese and non-Japanese worked side by side during harvesting, on community “bees” to care for the school and community hall, or on major tasks such as transporting steam boilers from the beach to a Japanese greenhouse. They also spent leisure time together at golf, badminton, dances, and card parties at the community hall.’2
‘This was in stark contrast to what had been happening elsewhere in BC and other parts of Canada where the success of the Japanese had for many years been a point of contention. More and more restrictions were imposed on them; they were not allowed to vote and they were prevented from entering such professions as law. By 1927, 60% of Japanese fishermen were forced out of the industry as a direct result of a federal government regulations. Increasingly racist and fearful rhetoric by municipal, federal politicians contributed to the growing antagonism towards Japanese-Canadians.’3
‘This radical antagonism towards the Japanese finally found a catalyst in Pearl Harbor, December [7], 1941.’4
‘Just before midnight on December 7, 1941, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived at the door of Mayne Island tomato farmer, Zeji Terenoto, and arrested him. He was led away with little time to pack or say good-bye to his terrified family. Three other Mayne Island farmers were arrested later that night. Their crime? Being of Japanese origin.’3
‘Mackenzie King reluctantly gave in to the unified demands of city and district councils, MPs, political groups and prestige groups such as the Citizens’ Defense Committee, in late February 1942.’5
‘On Tuesday, April 21, 1942, the CPR steamship Princess Mary came for the fifty Japanese men, women and children who waited on the Miners Bay wharf.’3
‘During the war there was a broad federal policy of deportation of 21,000 Japanese Canadians who lived near the coast. All remaining Mayne Island residents gathered in Miners Bay to wave them goodbye that day. It is reported that most Islanders felt deep sadness and were opposed to this removal.
Soon enough, the Island economy collapsed and the school had to close. Between 1943 and 1946, breaking promises that were made to the departing Japanese, the BC government confiscated all their properties and personal goods with no or very minimal compensation. At the end of the war in 1945, unlike the US, Japanese Canadians were forbidden to return to the Coast until 1949…
Let us not forget that these injustices were, at their core, caused by racist political and social attitudes, which we must be vigilant to not repeat.’1
1 Yves Tiberghien and Jennifer Iredale, “Commemoration of the Japanese Heritage on Mayne Island
and Homecoming for Descendants of Original Settlers”
MayneLiner, November 2022
2 Marie Elliot, Mayne Island & The Outer Gulf Islands A History
, 1984
3David and Andrea Spalding, Georgina Montgomery and Lawrence
Pitt, "Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia", 1995
4More Tales from the Outer Gulf Islands:
An Anthology of Memories and Ancedotes
The Gulf islands’ Branch of the British Columbia Historical
Federation, 1993
In 1987, the Japanese Memorial Gardens were the brainchild of the newly formed Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission. Work commenced and donations of cherry trees and other plants were given by the Nagata and Otzuki families and other residents. Unfortunately, work stopped when drainage problems were encountered. As all solutions were expensive and money was required elsewhere in the park, the gardens were neglected for twelve years. In 1999, volunteer Commissioner Don Hubert led an army of volunteers who breathed new life into the gardens.
‘[The] Japanese Memorial Gardens… exists thanks to the enormous donations of time and support of Mayne Islanders, as well as the continuous work by the volunteers who manage it. This is a collective acknowledgment of the painful past and a celebration of our Japanese community members. It is a very significant act on our small island. The story of this garden is possibly unique in BC.’
“Commemoration of the Japanese Heritage on Mayne Island
and Homecoming for Descendants of Original Settlers”
Yves Tiberghien and Jennifer Iredale, MayneLiner, November 2022
July on this blog...
