Early Japanese Families of Pender Harbour

Early Japanese Canadian Families of kalpalin Pender Harbour

Although our summer 2026 exhibit of Early Japanese Canadians of Pender Harbour has now closed, we invite you to explore our online exhibit, and to visit our fellow exhibitors: Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives in Gibsons and Egmont Heritage Centre.

Bessie Ikeda (13 years old) and Cotty Ikeda (10 years old) c. 1930. Their parents, Torakichi and Hisano Ikeda, came to Pender Harbour in 1926. The family lived in the harbour until they were forced to leave in 1942.

Ikeda family in Pender Harbour, c. 1929. Click to read the photo details in our digital archives.

Introduction

Learn about the history of these Japanese Canadian families of the Pender Harbour area: Ikeda, Kawasaki, Kayahara, and Nakashima.

Our aim is to enrich understanding of these families: their contributions to society, the trauma of their forced dispossession and relocation during World War 2, and the spirit with which they arose afterwards.

The fragility of democracy will become apparent, emphasizing the importance of civil rights for all Canadians.

Photograph of Torakichi Ikeda on his boat "Ikeda". The Ikeda family moved from Steveston, B.C. to Pender Harbour in 1926, moving their house, originally on floats. Torakichi Ikeda was a fisherman. The family lived in the harbour until they were evacuated in 1942.

By 1939, British Columbia was home to 95% of Canada's Japanese Canadian population. Anti-Asian sentiment had taken hold in BC and activities of Japanese Canadians in the salmon industry were curtailed on the pretext of salmon conservation.

With Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1942, over 22,000 people of Japanese descent were rounded up, regardless of Canadian citizenship or whether they were a British subject. Over 1,200 of their vessels were seized, along with their homes and possessions. Most were sent to internment camps and work camps in central British Columbia, 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the coast. They were not permitted to return to the coast until 1949 (unlike the U.S., which allowed the Japanese citizens to return to the coast after 1946). None of the Japanese Canadians who lived in Pender Harbour before World War II ever returned to live here.

While this exhibit shows a dark past in Canada's history, we all need to be a catalyst for change to ensure Canada remains a just and inclusive society.

Introduction