In 2024, the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) is looking at geographic locations where Japanese Canadians lived after migrating to Canada, since the 1800s, and where they were interned/incarcerated starting in 1942. We respectfully acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples who are the traditional keepers of the lands and waters.
The Story of Japanese Canadians in Tashme
By Lorene Oikawa, Past President NAJC
Tashme is about 23 kilometres southeast of Hope and about a three-hour drive from Vancouver. It was the largest of the internment/incarceration camps and the last to be opened. At its peak, it had about 2,690 (including administration and RCMP) in the camps and closed in 1946. Japanese Canadians were moved to other camps or exiled to Japan.
Construction of the internment/incarceration camp started on May 11, 1942. The existing sawmill in Tashme was reconfigured to produce the lumber for the 347 shacks on A.B. Trites Farm.
Japanese Canadians started arriving in July and moving into the shacks. Some families had to live together in a shack. Seichi Bill Tahara says, “The four of us shared that14 x 28 tarpaper shack with a nisei mother and two young boys from Prince Rupert.”
The site was known as 14 Mile Ranch. In August, the name was formally changed to Tashme. The name is made up of the first two letters of the last names of Taylor, Shirras, and Mead who were the Security Commissioners in 1942.
On September 5, the first large group of Japanese Canadians arrive at Tashme from Hastings Park.
On December 3, 1942, The New Canadian newspaper reported that the construction of the 347 shacks was nearly completed. Bath houses were still under construction. There would be 1 bath house for every 50 shacks. Water was available by tap for every 3-4 houses. There wasn’t any electricity for the shacks. They would use kerosene lamps. Construction of a new 50 bed hospital was almost complete. The population was reported as 2,636.
The shacks were hastily constructed and there was only tar paper covering the wood and gaps. Former NAJC President Terumi Kuwada said, “I recall my father saying that in the winter, he often woke up in the morning with the hair on his head stuck to the wall of the shack. The only source of heat was a wood stove which likely burned out throughout the night, leaving the living quarters very cold.”
The shacks no longer exist. One of the two barns remains. Ryan Ellan, the founder/curator of the Sunshine Valley Tashme Museum, took participants of the Internment Camp Bus Tour in 2024 on a private tour of the remaining barn. He described how the barn was renovated to become 38 “apartment” living spaces each apartment housing 8 Japanese Canadians.
Terumi Kuwada visited the museum as part of the bus tour. She said, “I found my sister Atsumi in a kindergarten picture in the camps. The children appeared happy and well looked after, which again speaks to the testament of the adults who tried to keep life as normal as possible, for the sake of the children. I found my aunt in a group picture of the camp cooks. I think of my mother as a wonderful cook, who learned many innovative skills in the internment camps, with very few resources.”
Peter Wakayama’s father was in Kelowna so wasn’t with his family when they were moved to Tashme. He says they were “one of the lucky ones” because they stayed on the second floor of one of the renovated barns. Unlike the shacks, the “apartments” had electricity and toilets. His mom used the communal kitchen in a side building and a communal bath.
Tashme was unique from the other camps. It had a shoyu (soy sauce) and miso factory on site, a hospital, sawmill, stores, post office, RCMP detachment, fire service and functioned like a small town.
In 1945, when Japanese Canadians were being uprooted again (and forced to choose to move to Japan or east of the Rockies), those from other camps who chose Japan were sent to Tashme. From Tashme they would board trains to Vancouver. In 1946, ships in Vancouver would take the mostly Canadian born JCs to Japan.
On August 26, 1946, Tashme closed. It was the first internment/incarceration camp to be closed. All equipment and goods were given to War Assets for sale.
Terumi Kuwada’s sister Atsumi Odaguchi (nee Kuwada) shares her personal story of growing up in Tashme.
My name is Atsumi Odaguchi (nee Kuwada). I was born in 1940 in Vancouver and my first memories of the world was of Tashme where I thought this was the world. My family consisted of my mom and dad, my brother Shige who was born in Tashme in 1942 and my sister, Naomi born in 1944.
I have vivid memories of the years in Tashme. For a child like me it was a positive environment where I was treated well by my relatives, other kids and adult friends. I was an outgoing curious child eagerly seeking new horizons which opened up treasured experiences.
We lived on the 1st house on 4th Avenue and from there I could see the mountains which encircled Tashme. My father was a carpenter and went to work every day and my mother was the family caretaker and spent her time looking after us and becoming the best cook with minimal resources. I was on my own and looked forward to the happenings of the day.
I knew where the store was so l went shopping for my mother with our coupons. Being a child with no fear I always managed to get to the front of the line where I got the best groceries. I would go across the river to the hospital where my Aunt Tokuko worked. While I was there, I made many new friends. I would often walk home with friendly adults who had finished their shifts.
I played many fun games with my friends. Although toys were scarce, we found ways to have fun. The best toy l had was my tricycle which my dad brought me back from Vancouver when he had to go for a medical appointment. Now I could venture to new and further destinations as well as speed up to the old destinations.
There was absolutely no fear from people or places for me. I was warned to stay away from the rivers. Because I was fairly compliant, I was allowed to venture out each day. “Remember to come home before dark” was the message that my parents always told me. The farthest trip got me into trouble. One fine day I followed a group of older kids and tagged along with them to 12 mile camp. It was their outing, and they took good care of me even piggy backing me on the way home. It was late and getting dark when we got home, and the community was planning a search party. My parents were so glad that I was safe! They just had a serious reminder to tell them if I was going on a trip and to get home before dark.
My grandparents lived on 9th or 10th avenue, and I went to visit them regularly. In the evenings my father would carry me on his shoulders, and we would often go to a quiet stream where my father told me many Japanese fairy tales and also taught me Japanese songs which I remember some of them even now.
My father was an enthusiastic actor, so he was in quite a few Shibai’s. [Japanese word for a play/drama.] Another wonderful memory involved going to the big bath house with the families. It was a pleasant way to socialize with friends.
My friends and I were very much aware of sad happenings of people dying from old age, illness and accidents. Whenever we saw fire and smoke coming from the mountain, we knew that someone had passed. [Note: fire and smoke referring to cremation.]
After the war we were dispersed to different locations. Our family came to Winnipeg, Manitoba and made a new home. I missed my friends from the camp. I will always remember Tashme with fond memories. I was lucky to be a child at that time, unlike the adults in the camps, who experienced despair, uncertainty and racial discrimination.
Howard Shimokura led a committee of volunteers to work on the Tashme Historical Project. He shares his personal story.
I lived in Tashme from age 4 to 8 and during that time I attended kindergarten and grades 1 and 2. I did not know at the time why I was there. As a child, I was oblivious of the hardships. My days were filled with attending school, playing with friends and taking part in community activities. Besides school I have memories of going shopping for groceries, going to movies at the community centre (in one of two large barns), to baseball games, and the annual May Day celebrations with my parents, and even fishing in the local streams with my friends. My parents never displayed any anger or disappointment that their lives were unjustly interrupted. I think they felt “shigataganai”. [Japanese expression meaning “it can’t be helped.” Letting go.] My recollections are of having fun.
It was much later in life that I learned of the injustice perpetrated on the 22,000 Japanese Canadians whose lives were upended, their possessions expropriated, and their civil rights suspended.
As in all the camps, every able-bodied person was employed. They were paid for their work. Those who could not work or were disabled were supported by welfare. Because the BC Provincial government absolved themselves of the responsibility for education, the residents organized schools using high school graduates as teachers for primary grades while missionaries provided for high school education and kindergarten.
As an internment camp Tashme was unique in several ways.
It was totally isolated from the world. It’s location in a narrow valley surrounded by high mountains greatly limited movement and personal travel. Travel over a primitive road to Hope, the nearest village, required a travel permit because Hope was located within the 100-mile exclusion zone.
Constructed on a rented private dairy farm, Tashme was small village built from the ground up. Housing, schools, stores for essentials such as food, clothing and household goods, a 50 bed hospital, a community centre, RCMP detachment, fire station, churches, and other small commercial services were built for the community by the residents. The economy, education, municipal services such as delivery of firewood and kerosene for lanterns, garbage collection, street maintenance were created from scratch, organized and operated by the residents.
All purchases at the general store, bakery, and meat market were based on a system of coupons, not cash. Food and goods were delivered regularly by truck from the outside world.
The largest Boy Scout troop in the British Empire was established in Tashme. Scouting was one of many recreational activities that occupied the young. A vibrant Tashme Youth Organization (TYO) consisting of a group of high school students took responsibility for most of Tashme’s recreational activities. Included were Shibai, youth concerts, hobby groups such as book and music appreciation groups, sports programs, movie nights, and more.
Tashme was the only camp with its own Post Office and postal address. Catalog ordering was a vital source of goods for which postal service was essential.
Kai-ran-ban was an effective news distribution system. Every week a kai-ran-ban with news of the day was distributed to one house on each street, which then passed the kai-ran-ban from house to house to other houses on the street. By the end of the day, every resident was fully informed.
All vital services were overseen and supervised by Caucasian managers who lived in separate housing from the Japanese. No Caucasian children lived in Tashme. As a result, the Japanese children in Tashme had little exposure to seeing white people except as persons of authority. No doubt this had a lasting effect on the children’s lives.
Resources:
Honouring Our People: Breaking the Silence, Ed. Randy Enomoto
The Enemy That Never Was, by Ken Adachi
Tashme 1942-1946 Historical Project http://tashme.ca
N.B. Hollywood actor Robert Ito was in Tashme and performed in concerts and plays showcasing his dancing, singing and acting. He is well known for tv series, Quincy, M.E. The Karate Kid, the movie The War Between Us and many other credits.
