n A map of the Nikkei

Stories Walking Tour. Its

recommended that you
start the walk at Garry Point
Park by circling through
Kuno Garden at the south
entrance to the walking trail.
Also, catch a glimpse of the
Atagi Boat Works at Scotch
Pond, founded in 1905.
n Numbers correspond to
the location of the Nikkei
Stories signs. Videos are
shown on site via a tablet or
cell phone by way of a QR
code or the RichmondBC
mobile app. See story below
for details of each video.

Digital walking tour meanders from cannery to shipyard

1
Location: Japanese Fishermens Benevolent Society Administration Building (behind
Steveston Museum). Topic: Tomekichi
Homma.
This biographical video shows how
Homma came from an upper-class family
in Japan and settled in Steveston in 1883.
Far more educated than most others,
Homma established the Japanese Fishermens Benevolent Society to fight for equal
pay amongst white settlers. Homma likely
worked out of the building now situated
behind Steveston Museum, notes narrator
Kai Nagata.

2
Location: Second Avenue and Bayview
Street. Topic: First Immigrants.
This video shows Steveston in the early
years, as a small settlers camp around
1880. Fishing took off at the turn of the
20th century and the first Japanese immigrants returned to Japan to recruit more
fishermen.
Almost exclusively young men lived in
cannery bunkhouses along the waterfront,
. . . and most spoke only Japanese, says
narrator Lisa Uyeda.

4
Location: Third Avenue and Moncton Street
(Gulf of Georgia Cannery). Topic: Women at
Work.
Carolyn Nakagawa narrates through a
series of photographs of Japanese women
at work and with their families.
Women were first shut out of high-paying
cannery jobs because Chinese bosses excluded them. But eventually worker shortages during the First World War allowed
them to obtain jobs. They used the money
to build nurseries and schools.

5
Location: No.1 Road and Chatham Street.
Topic: Teacher Hide Hyodo Shimizu.
Narrator Naomi Horii talks about Hide
Hyodo Shimizu, the first Japanese-Canadian to become a teacher. She taught at Lord
Byng school. She also taught at a language
school at what is now the corner of Chatham Street and No. 1 Road.
The video chronicles Shimizus teaching
career, which took her to Toronto after being interned in New Denver.

6
Location: Steveston Buddhist Temple
(4360 Garry Street). Topic: Creating Community.
Japanese immigrants contributed to the
Steveston community in many ways. Narrator Daniel Iwama begins his story outside of
the Maple Residences on Chatham Street
at a replica faade of the Japanese Fishermans Hospital. Iwama notes how that
hospital was a turning point for the Japanese as it somewhat proved to white people
that they wanted to stay in Canada. Iwama
also speaks to other infrastructure built in
Steveston by the Japanese immigrants.

7
n Carly Yoshida was one of 10 narrators

for the Nikkei Stories documentary. Her

video was shot at the Martial Arts Centre.

3
Location: Government fishing dock. Topic:
Fisherman Rintaro Hayashi.
Several intriguing photos show Rintaro
Hayashi and others winning many rights for
Japanese-Canadians, however, everything
changed when Pearl Harbour was attacked.
The Canadian government treated them
as enemy seamen and confiscated over
1,200 boats and sold them without their
consent, says narrator Steve Sakamoto.
The video shows how the industrious,
community minded Hayashi left a legacy
for Steveston.

Location: Steveston Martial Arts

Centre (4251 Moncton Street).
Topic: Martial Arts.
When not working and raising families, Japanese immigrants did find time to have
fun. Narrator Carly Yoshida
explores how martial arts
was a social outlet for the
community. The kendo
club was founded in
1914 and had membership of about 200
people before the
Second World War. The
video shows a number
of pre-war action shots
taken by professional
photographers.

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

8
Location: Britannia Shipyards. Topic: Boat
Builders.
Japanese immigrants, who founded many
boat-building companies, built many of
the boat sheds in Steveston. Narrator Colin
Chan, who stands in front of the refurbished Kishi Boatworks shop at Britannia
Shipyards, highlights the industrious nature
of the Japanese in this video, particularly as
it applies to the growth of the B.C. fishing
fleet.

9
Location: Interurban Tram. Topic: WWII
Internment.
A darker side of the Interurban Tram is
represented in this, the penultimate video.
The tram played a major role
in transporting Japanese-Canadians out
of Steveston during
internment, notes
narrator Sam Araki.
Japanese Candians
were declared enemy
aliens and 22,000

people were removed from the West Coast.

Araki notes Steveston became a practical
ghost town when 2,600 people were taken
to the Interior.

10
Location: 3911 Moncton Street. Topic:
Back to Steveston.
The tour concludes with narrator Donna
Nakamoto in front of the Steveston Seafood
House, which used to be next to the twostorey building that housed Hiros Grocery.
It was a local landmark and gathering
place for the Japanese, says Nakamoto.
The video tells the tale of fisherman Buck
Suzuki, one of the first to join the United
Fishermans Union. The Japanese-Canadians returned to Steveston and continued to
build on the village to what it is today.