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Japanese Canadian History

Welcome arch to welcome TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
Welcome arch to welcome TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. in 1901. Photograph by Phillip Timms. (VPL # 6809)

Related Guides

This section will help you find information in the Vancouver Public Library on Japanese Canadian history. It will lead you to resources on the early history of the Japanese in Canada, as well as the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II and the redress issue of the 1980s.

Useful Websites

This website is a companion to resource books developed with a Networks Grant from the B.C. Ministry of Education, on the internment of Japanese Canadians and the attainment of redress. Check out their other resources for further exploration.

Website of the national organization in Canada that represents the Japanese Canadian community. Provides an overview of the Japanese community in Canada from its early beginnings to the present.

Published from 1939 to 2001, first in Vancouver, then in Kaslo, B.C., later in Winnipeg, and finally in Toronto, this newspaper follows the path of Japanese Canadians during their eviction from the West Coast and their detention in a series of facilities in B.C.’s interior and the Prairies. In English and Japanese.

Website of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre which offers information about exhibits, archives, and programs relating to Japanese Canadian culture and history. Check out their collections link for additional resources.

Held in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood, the Powell Street Festival is an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture.

Digital Library Resources
General Reference Subject Icon

CBCA is a Canadian-focused database that offers access to newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and reference sources. *Also suitable for research at the elementary, high school and undergraduate levels.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Full-text access to over 500 BC and major Canadian daily newspapers. Some titles go back as far as the 1970s.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Culture and History Subject Icon

NOTE: this online resource will be discontinued as of December 31, 2024. A print copy is available at the Central library.

Online version of the 1999 resource that describes the nation’s 119 different ethnic groups: their process of migration, arrival and settlement, community life, intergroup relations, language and culture.

Access:
Everywhere for VPL cardholders
Culture and History Subject Icon

A selection of historical images of Vancouver and British Columbia from the 1880s to the 1980s.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone

Contact Us

Northwest History Index

This card index in Special Collection provides access to the Northwest History Collection, a heritage collection covering the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

The collection includes:

  • magazine and newspaper articles
  • pamphlets
  • books
  • chapters in books
  • many other resources

As of August 1998, no new material has been added to the Northwest History Index. It is continued by the British Columbia Index.