Richmond has a long and rich history of Japanese immigration and settlement. Various places around Richmond, Sea Island, Don Island and, in particular, Steveston were areas where Japanese immigrants lived, worked, raised families and contributed to the diverse cultural blend of our city.

Japanese immigrants (Nikkei) arrived in Steveston around the time that the English Cannery opened in 1882 and by the 1900s made up a large portion of the Steveston population. Mostly male and mostly fishermen, they were accommodated in bunkhouses built by the canneries. During the fishing season Japanese “Bosses,” who had control of twenty or thirty boats, would negotiate contracts with the canneries for them and take care of their needs such as food, clothing and other services in return for a percentage of their wages.

Although the original intention of many of the men was to return to Japan after working in Canada, many decided to stay permanently. Some returned to Japan to find wives, others had their families back home arrange marriages with suitable women, the so-called “Picture Brides”. Bunkhouses were unsuitable for married couples, so canneries built small houses to accommodate families.

The Nikkei population grew, the men fishing and their wives working in the canneries and raising families. They diversified, expanding into boatbuilding, buying property, farming and starting businesses. People joined Faith communities, formed sports teams and created a rich community life.

Contending with discrimination and exclusion, The Japanese Fishermen’s Benevolent Society was formed in 1897 to protect the interests of the Nikkei fishermen and the community, A 1906 decision by the Richmond School Board to ban children of non-property owners effectively deprived most of the Nikkei children of an education and resulted in the construction of the Steveston Japanese School. To ensure that the health needs of the community were met, the Japanese Fishermen’s Hospital was built, Richmond’s first.

By the 1930s the Japanese population had grown to account for two-thirds to three quarters of the total population of Steveston, approximately 3500 people. Nikkei owned businesses and stores of every description lined Moncton Street from No.1 Road to Third Avenue. Grocery stores, meat and fish markets, hardware and general stores, a bicycle shop, the River Garage, a billiard hall and clothing stores operated by Nikkei entrepreneurs could be found on both sides of the street. Five confectioneries (candy and chocolate shops) satisfied those with a craving for sweets.

The density of the Japanese Canadian population in Steveston is very obvious when looking at the meticulous research done by Haruji (Harry) Mizuta who, using maps from the 1936 Waterworks Atlas of Richmond, marked the locations of Nikkei homes and businesses from the Scottish Canadian Cannery in what is now Garry Point Park to the Winch Cannery at the foot of No.2 Road. This is especially true with the map he marked as #30-2 1930s – Gulf of Georgia Cannery and Old Steveston Town – Steveston BC.

The growth of “Japan Town” came to a sudden halt with the forced relocation of Japanese Canadians from the Coast of British Columbia. Families were uprooted, stripped of their property and moved to areas where they had to start over and rebuild their lives, often in harsh circumstances. Steveston became a virtual ghost town with so many of its residents suddenly gone. In 1949 when Nikkei families were permitted to come back to the coast, those who decided to return rebuilt their lives and community again. Today the legacy of Japan Town is a cherished and honoured part of Steveston’s and Richmond’s history.