Heritage & Legacy Projects in BC
Central to our work is the Japanese concept of tsuioku (追憶) – the act of active recollection and remembrance. Tsuioku is not merely passive nostalgia; it is a duty of care. By documenting 200 ancestral communities and anchoring them to the Monument in Victoria, the JCLS ensures the historical narrative permanently reflects how deeply embedded Japanese Canadians were in the civic, economic, and cultural fabric of BC before their lives were upended.
The history of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia is woven directly into the land and waters of the province. Beginning in the 1800s, over 200 pre-war communities existed in BC, most but not all within 100 miles of the coast. Built by pioneering issei and nisei, these enclaves took root through the hard work of folks working primarily in resource-based industries. Wherever Japanese Canadians settled, they built communities. Schools, temples, churches, community halls, and mutual-aid organizations thrived.
This presence was disrupted in early 1942. The shock of forced uprooting, dispossession, and internment emptied entire communities virtually overnight. Though Japanese Canadians were assured their properties and belongings would be held in safekeeping, that promise was quickly broken. What was meant to be a temporary relocation became a state-sanctioned campaign of exile, asset liquidation, and systematic erasure.
The biggest project is the Japanese Canadian Monument under construction in Victoria, a 300-foot-long wall of granite panels etched with the names of nearly 22,000 uprooted individuals, alongside over 3,000 children born in the years of restrictions. These names are organized by the specific BC cities, towns, and villages where they lived in 1942. For descendant families, the wall will provide a symbolic return to the places their ancestors once called home. Ultimately, mapping these places of memory provides a meaningful path forward for cross-generational healing. It honours the sacrifices of the elders, transforms sites of displacement into places of learning, and ensures that the legacy of a community dispossessed – but never erased – is recognized.
“By funding placed-based heritage and legacy projects throughout the province, the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society (JCLS) is actively working to counter this erasure and create a different narrative. Through mapping these places of significance – from the historic fishing grounds of the north coast to the fertile farmlands of the Fraser Valley – this initiative makes the ‘invisible visible.’ It maps out a geography of belonging, restoring names, physical markers, and stories to the landscapes where these communities once thrived.” – Susanne Tabata, CEO
The following Places of Memory are in progress or completed and open to the public. Click here to view upcoming openings.
KEY: (H) BC Heritage Site | (LCP) Legacy Community Project | (LIP) Legacy Infrastructure Project | (SA) Sub-agreement
North Coast
GINGOLX
Gingolx Village Government (H)
Cemetery refurbishment and access
PRINCE RUPERT
City of Prince Rupert (H)
PORT EDWARD
Port Edward Historical Society, North Pacific Cannery (H)
Triplexes refurbishment and interpretive space
Now open to vistors
Central Coast
OCEAN FALLS
Ocean Falls Improvement District (H)
Cemetery refurbishment and interpretive centre
Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands
CAMPBELL RIVER
Campbell River & District Museum and Archives Society (CL)
Exhibit: Tracing Japanese Canadian Settlement on Northern Vancouver Island
CUMBERLAND
Village of Cumberland (H)
Interpretive structure, signage and cemetery refurbishment: Cumberland Japanese Canadian Legacy Project
UCLUELET
Ucluelet and Area Historical Society (H)
Ucluelet Japanese Canadian History Pavilion
NANAIMO
Beban Park
Central Vancouver Island Japanese Canadian Society – 7 Potatoes (LIP)
Nanaimo Nikkei legacy performing, gathering & commemorating space
McGregor Park
City of Nanaimo (H)
McGregor Park Waterfront Interpretive Walkway
CHEMAINUS
Chemainus Festival of Murals Society (H)
Mural: Remembering and Honouring Japanese Canadians in Chemainus; Chemainus Museum exhibit: None Came Back
GABRIOLA ISLAND
Gabriola Historical & Museum Society (H)
Exhibits: Omoide – Memories, Recollections and Reminiscences
Now open to visitors
GALIANO ISLAND
The Galiano Club (H)
Japanese charcoal pit kiln restoration
Now open to visitors
MAYNE ISLAND
Mayne Island Agricultural Society (H)
Documenting Mayne Island’s Japanese Canadian history
SALT SPRING ISLAND
Japanese Garden Society of Salt Spring Island (H)
Japanese Canadian Memorial Story Project
Now open to visitors
VICTORIA
UVIC Japanese Garden Public Art Project in Esquimalt (LCP)
Permanent public art by local Nikkei and Indigenous community members to create a legacy on the site of Nikkei settlement and dispossession along the Upper Gorge Waterway
Japanese Canadian Legacies Society
Japanese Canadian Monument
Interior & Kootenays
TASHME / SUNSHINE VALLEY
Tashme Historical Society (H)
Archives and Resource Centre Creation & Beautification Project
Now open to visitors
LILLOOET
Miyazaki House, District of Lillooet (H, LCP)
Miyazaki House Restoration; Miyazaki Heritage House Rehabilitation and Storytelling Project; Dr. Miyazaki Life & Story Exhibit and Internment Food Art Exhibit
SANDON
Sandon Historic Society (H)
Exhibit: Windows to the Past
*Project completed and open
KASLO
Langham Cultural Society (H)
Langham restoration & museum modernization
CHRISTINA LAKE
Christina Lake Alpine Resort Association (LCP)
Alpine Inn Heritage interpretive panel
*Project completed and open
GREENWOOD
City of Greenwood (H)
Japanese Garden at Nikkei Legacy Park
Now open to visitors
NEW DENVER
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre (SA)
NIMC updates and sustainability
SLOCAN VALLEY
Slocan Valley Historical Society
Merriwake Interpretive Centre Project
REVELSTOKE
Revelstoke Museum & Archives (LCP)
Japanese Canadian Stories in Revelstoke
Now open
Lower Mainland
BOWEN ISLAND
Bowen Island Museum & Archives (H)
Nexwlelexm (Bowen Island) Japanese Canadian Legacies Project: Making Peace with the Past, Creating Hope for the Future (working title) – Interpretive elements and Park Improvement at Sandy Beach Municipal Park
VANCOUVER
UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden (LCP)
Infrastructure Revitalization and Cultural Enhancement of Nitobe Memorial Garden
Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park – NNMCC (H)
Japanese Canadian War Memorial refurbishment
Vancouver Japanese Language School & Japanese Hall (H | LIP)
Exhibit: Interpretive Centre Project
Repairs & Upgrades: Ensuring a Second Century of Legacy Building Stewardship
Community Space
Momiji Japanese Garden at the PNE (H)
Momiji Garden restoration Including new gazebo
Mountain View Cemetery (H)
Restoration of grave markers, landscape enhancements, and new interpretive signage
NEW WESTMINSTER
New Westminster Museum and Archives (LCP)
Research, website, and signage: Place-Based Research and Dissemination of the History of Japanese Canadian Residents of New Westminster
SURREY / STRAWBERRY HILL
City of Surrey (H)
Commemorating early Japanese Canadian experiences in Surrey
RICHMOND
Steveston Community Society (H | LCP | LIP)
Interpreting the Steveston Japanese Canadian Experience through the Landscape of the Fraser River Estuary; Steveston Park Legacy Walk; Steveston Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Access and Accessibility Improvement Project
City of Richmond (H)
Japanese Canadian Boatbuilding Heritage Project & Restoration of Crystal S
Steveston Buddhist Temple (LI)
Sanmon Gate
*Project completed
PITT MEADOWS
Pitt Meadows Heritage and Museum Society (LCP)
Pitt Meadows Museum Japanese Canadian Hall Exhibit and Exterior Signage Project
MAPLE RIDGE
CEED Centre Society (H)
Interpretive exhibits and podcast
*Project completed and open
City of Maple Ridge (H)
Ichigo Japanese Garden at Jim Hadgkiss Park
Maple Ridge Museum (LCP)
Maple Ridge Museum and Archives Website
MISSION
City of Mission (H)
Japanese tea house-style community gathering space in Centennial Park
ABBOTSFORD
Heritage Abbotsford Society (H)
Westridge Park Reflection Space
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