BC Heritage Sites – Greenwood
Sitting, left to right: Johnny Ikari (95 years old), Fumio Izuka (90) and Shig Uyeyama (90). Standing, left to right: Chuck Tasaka, George Yamaguchi, Audrey (Higashi) Stewart, Sylvia Oye, Seiji and Sachi Matsuo, Gail Shimizu, Clare (Tanaka) Folvik, Boyd Higashi, Ken and Cec Hamanishi, Irene Terada, AG Niki Sharma and MLA of Boundary-Similkameen Roly Russell. Photo by Ciel Sander.
While the JCLS has yet to name the 30 BC Heritage sites we have identified around the province, Greenwood’s Nikkei Legacy Park will be on the list. On February 2, BC Attorney General Niki Sharma and Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell visited Greenwood to honour the Japanese Canadian survivors who continue to call the area home. Miraculously, while the previous day was cold and damp, the sun shot through the clouds, warming everybody up. The visit began with the dignitaries touring the city hall, then making their way down to Nikkei Legacy Park to learn about Greenwood and its role in the internment of Japanese Canadians during the 1940s, including the fact that the majority of the internees were from Vancouver Island. The visit concluded with high tea at the Greenwood Museum. The visit was enjoyed by all and Minister Sharma said she would like to make a second visit.
Greenwood Mayor John Bolt and the majority of the town council attended the event to honour the JC survivors and learn something of a transformative time that affected not only the Japanese Canadian families that were displaced from the coast, but the town itself. Once a thriving copper mining town, by the 1940s Greenwood was in decline, with only about 200 residents. Greenwood became the first internment camp when then-Mayor W.E. McArthur Sr. offered to accept the Japanese Canadians. On April 26, 1942, a CPR train arrived at Greenwood Station, carrying the first group of internees. Japanese Canadian carpenters and plumbers prepared the old buildings for accommodation and built four large public ofuro (bathhouses). Families were moved into empty hotels and commercial buildings, with communal kitchens and shared plumbing. While the other internment camps closed following the end of WWII, many Japanese Canadians continued to live and work in Greenwood. In 1949, when all restrictions were lifted, a large number remained, establishing businesses and shops. Higashi Plumbing, Imai Shoe Repair and Electrical, Nakagawa Dry Cleaner and Tanizawa Greenwood Bakery are some of the businesses that were established during or following internment. The impact of the internment on Greenwood was significant; the presence of the Japanese Canadians revitalizing what was formerly a ghost town.