People uprooted from Victoria (286)

Victoria, located on the traditional territories of the of the Songhees Nation, Xʷsepsəm (Esquimalt) Nation, and W̱SÁNEĆ People, was established as a Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post in 1843, incorporated in 1862, and became BC’s capital city in 1868. In the late nineteenth century, early Japanese immigrants landed in Victoria, but through the years, most would move on to Vancouver. During the first half of the twentieth century, the Japanese Canadian population in Victoria was steady, and in 1931, only 297 permanent residents were recorded. Unlike other major cities, Victoria’s Japanese Canadian community was not concentrated in a single area.

Early entrepreneurs in Victoria included Manzo Nagano, Jingoro Honda, the Osawa brothers, and Rinbei Shimizu who owned businesses such as Hondaʼs barbershop, general goods stores, boarding houses, hotels, dry cleaning, and the Shimizu Rice Mill. Community hubs included the Japanese Methodist Church, the Oriental Home and School, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the Osawa Hotel, which had a pool house and Japanese bath. In 1937, the Japanese Community Association (JCA) participated in the 75th anniversary of Victoria parades. The float, decorated with cherry blossoms, won two first prizes, worth $300. The JCA decided to put the money towards purchasing sakura for the city. The community and the city worked together to select types of trees and to order them from the Yokohama nurseries.