8/20/2019 Nikkei Stories - Richmond News

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nA map of the NikkeiStories Walking Tour. It’srecommended that youstart the walk at Garry PoPark by circling throughKuno Garden at the southentrance to the walking trAlso, catch a glimpse of tAtagi Boat Works at ScotcPond, founded in 1905.

gital walking tour meanders from cannery to shipyard

ion: Japanese Fishermen’s Benevo-ciety Administration Building (behindon Museum). Topic: Tomekichi.biographical video shows how

a came from an upper-class familyn and settled in Steveston in 1883.re educated than most others,a established the Japanese Fisher-Benevolent Society to fight for equalongst white settlers. Homma likely out of the building now situatedSteveston Museum, notes narrator

gata.

ion: Second Avenue and BayviewTopic: First Immigrants.video shows Steveston in the earlyas a small settler’s camp aroundFishing took off at the turn of theentury and the first Japanese im-

ts returned to Japan to recruit moremen.ost exclusively young men lived iny bunkhouses along the waterfront,d most spoke only Japanese,” saysr Lisa Uyeda.

ion: Government fishing dock. Topic:man Rintaro Hayashi.ral intriguing photos show Rintarohi and others winning many rights forse-Canadians, however, everything

ed when Pearl Harbour was attacked.

Canadian government treated themmy seamen and confiscated overboats and sold them without theirt,” says narrator Steve Sakamoto.

video shows how the “industrious,unity minded” Hayashi left a legacyveston.

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Location: Third Avenue and Moncton Street(Gulf of Georgia Cannery). Topic: Women atWork.

Carolyn Nakagawa narrates through aseries of photographs of Japanese women

at work and with their families.Women were first shut out of high-payingcannery jobs because Chinese bosses ex-cluded them. But eventually worker short-ages during the First World War allowedthem to obtain jobs. They used the moneyto build nurseries and schools.

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 Location: No.1 Road and Chatham Street.Topic: Teacher Hide Hyodo Shimizu.

Narrator Naomi Horii talks about HideHyodo Shimizu, the first Japanese-Canadi-an to become a teacher. She taught at LordByng school. She also taught at a languageschool at what is now the corner of Cha-tham Street and No. 1 Road.

The video chronicles Shimizu’s teachingcareer, which took her to Toronto after be-ing interned in New Denver.

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Location: Steveston Buddhist Temple(4360 Garry Street). Topic: Creating Com-munity.

Japanese immigrants contributed to theSteveston community in many ways. Narra-tor Daniel Iwama begins his story outside ofthe Maple Residences on Chatham Streetat a replica façade of the Japanese Fish-erman’s Hospital. Iwama notes how thathospital was a turning point for the Japa-nese as it somewhat proved to white peoplethat they wanted to stay in Canada. Iwama

also speaks to other infrastructure built inSteveston by the Japanese immigrants.

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Location: Steveston Martial ArtsCentre (4251 Moncton Street).Topic: Martial Arts.

When not working and rais-ing families, Japanese immi-grants did find time to havefun. Narrator Carly Yoshidaexplores how martial artswas a social outlet for thecommunity. The kendoclub was founded in1914 and had mem-bership of about 200

people before theSecond World War. Thevideo shows a numberof pre-war action shotstaken by professionalphotographers.

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Location: Britannia Shipyards. Topic: BoatBuilders.

Japanese immigrants, who founded manyboat-building companies, built many of

the boat sheds in Steveston. Narrator ColinChan, who stands in front of the refur-bished Kishi Boatworks shop at BritanniaShipyards, highlights the industrious natureof the Japanese in this video, particularly asit applies to the growth of the B.C. fishingfleet.

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Location: Interurban Tram. Topic: WWIIInternment.

A darker side of the Interurban Tram isrepresented in this, the penultimate video.

“The tram played a major rolein transporting Japa-

nese-Canadians outof Steveston during

internment,” notesnarrator Sam Araki.

Japanese Candianswere declared enemyaliens and 22,000

people were removed from the West CoaAraki notes Steveston became a practic

ghost town when 2,600 people were taketo the Interior.

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Location: 3911 Moncton Street. Topic:Back to Steveston.

The tour concludes with narrator DonnNakamoto in front of the Steveston SeafoHouse, which used to be next to the two-storey building that housed Hiro’s Grocer

“It was a local landmark and gatheringplace for the Japanese,” says Nakamoto.

The video tells the tale of fisherman BuSuzuki, one of the first to join the UnitedFisherman’s Union. The Japanese-Canadans returned to Steveston and continued t

build on the village to what it is today.

nNikkei Stories narrator Colin Chan stands in front of the Kishi Boatworks building, whihas been preserved since the early 1900s (undated photo, right). Photos submitted 

Yoshida was one of 10 narratorsNikkei Stories documentary. Her

was shot at the Martial Arts Centre.

nNumbers correspond tthe location of the NikkeiStories signs. Videos areshown on site via a tabletcell phone by way of a QR

code or the RichmondBCmobile app. See story befor details of each video.