Study and photo exhibit explores lives of Japanese-Canadians

In 1942, when Japanese Canadians on the West Coast were forced into internment sites, each adult was allowed to take only 150 lbs. of belongings. Everything else, including family albums, were entrusted to the care of the government’s Custodian of Enemy Alien Property and subsequently sold at public auction.

Now researchers at UVic and the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Burnaby are using photographs taken by Japanese Canadian studio photographers from the turn-of-the century to 1942 to gain insight into this era. They’re examining issues such as assimilation and exclusion, the role of Japanese Canadian photographers in Canadian society, and the value of photographs in reconstituting community stories.

The project has resulted in a travelling exhibit of photographs, entitled “Shashin: Japanese Canadian Studio Photography to 1942,” currently on display at the Royal BC Museum until April 17, and then at the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery from April 21 to June 22.

Dr. Phyllis Senese (history), who has taught courses on racism in Canada for many years, contributed research to the exhibit. “In places like Cumberland, the interaction between the Japanese photographers and the larger community provides an interesting insight into broader Canadian society,” she says. “For example, one of the very few photographs of miners below the surface was taken by a Cumberland photographer.”

Material for a museum education resource kit will be used in B.C. schools’ social studies and arts curricula. The project is funded by an SSHRC Community-University Research Alliance program in the department of history in art.

For more information go to www.cura.uvic.ca/projects/ japanese_canadian/home.html.