An Invitation to Japanese Canadians from New Westminster

Community Fund • July 9, 2025
IHP8034-009 Group of children standing in front of houses. Nishiguchi family fonds (2006.2). New Westminster Museum and Archives. 

If you are a Japanese Canadian who lived in New Westminster, including the Queensborough and Sapperton neighbourhoods, or a Japanese Canadian descendant whose family members lived, studied, or did business in the New Westminster area, we would love to hear from you.

We are hoping to learn your stories, and about any information, documents, photographs, or artefacts you have as we work to recover a fuller understanding of the significant and unique Japanese Canadian New Westminster community that existed before the Second World War.

Our project
Preliminary research shows the New Westminster Japanese Canadian community grew steadily from the late 19th century onward until the people were forcibly uprooted in 1942, the community erased, and their history nearly lost. But, beyond listings in local directories, we have little information about this thriving Japanese Canadian community.

With the support of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society (JCLS), the City of New Westminster Museum and Archives seeks to source, collect, and analyze information about New Westminster’s historic Japanese Canadian community. Our aim is to learn more about the formation and development of this community, and to ensure that this history and the legacy of Japanese Canadians in New Westminster is remembered and understood for years to come.

IHP8018-002 Funeral of Mrs. Matzu Nishiguchi at the Buddhist temple on Tenth Street — February 4, 1932. Stride Studio fonds. New Westminster Museum and Archives. 

Particularly focusing on the development of this community prior to the Second World War, through this project, we hope to identify Japanese Canadian residents of the city and Japanese Canadian social or political organisations, as well as key figures within them. We also endeavour to better understand the lived experiences of Japanese Canadian community members, so we can document and present their stories as we work towards restoring this history.

This research will eventually contribute to incorporating educational and commemorative information at significant sites in the community, as well as to possibly creating exhibits and websites that aim to reclaim, honour, and preserve the history of Japanese Canadians in the New Westminster area. Our hope is that the research will also contribute to educating future generations about the community’s contributions, resilience, and legacy.

If you have information – perhaps personal accounts, family stories, stories about community life, documents, photographs, or artefacts – from before or after the internment that might help us shine a light on this underrepresented and nearly forgotten history in New Westminster, please contact Lara Okihiro (contact below). Lara is happy to discuss ways of sharing, which can include opportunities for interviews, to support this important project.

Contact
Lara Okihiro
Email: newwestjcresearch@laraokihiro.ca
Phone: 1.647.948.9735
Please include a brief description of what information you have (personal accounts, documents, photos, artefacts) that you might want to share, and an email address and/or phone number at which you can be reached

Visit hcmc.uvic.ca/project/monument to view the names of Japanese Canadians living in New Westminster in 1942 prior to uprooting.

Japanese Canadian Legacies are initiatives that honour our elders past and present. We are grateful to be doing this work on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples.