Pre Second World War Victoria Research

This file has an indeterminable GMD—digital object is not available at this time.

File consists of five pages of documents on the Japanese living mostly in Victoria before the Second World War. The materials include information on who died in the years 1916 to 1929, correspondence with the Victoria City Archives that includes copies of letters regarding the gift of over a thousand Japanese cherry trees to the city of Victoria, and newspaper and publication articles on Japanese setters.

Yoshio (Yon) Shimizu was born in Victoria, BC, on February 21, 1924, in between the years of prosperity for the Shimizu Rice Mill on 1625 Store Street in Victoria, B.C.. The store sold a variety of items that include but are not limited to imported Japanese items, utensils and consumables. Between 1915 and 1927, business was booming; however, this prosperous time wouldn't last. Due to a lack foresight in the importance of ships coming into Vancouver, the years between 1927 and 1940 were full of hardship. Despite the hardship, the Shimizu Rice Mill did not officially cease operatoins till the evacuation of Japanese Canadians in 1942.

He lived in Victoria until late 1942, when he was relocated to Hastings Park as part of the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Shimizu remained in Hastings Park until May 11, 1942, at which time he went to a work camp in Schreiber, Ont. He worked in Glencoe, Ont., in the Ontario Farm Service Force from May-November 1942; did bush work in Kapuskasing, Ont., from November 1942 to April 1943; lived in Toronto from May 1943 until July 1948; and moved to Wallaceburg, Ont., in August 1948. Shimizu attended high school to Grade 12 at Victoria High School, and completed Grade 13 at Jarvis Collegiate once he moved to Toronto. He worked briefly at Deluxe Platers from 1943-1944, but then enrolled at the University of Toronto and studied Chemical Engineering from 1944-1948. In the early 1960s he completed an MBA at the University of Windsor. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto, Shimizu moved to Wallaceburg, Ont., where he worked for several different companies over the next decade. In 1960 he began work at the Wallaceburg Brass Company (now Delta Faucets of Canada), remaining until his retirement in 1985, at which point he was Vice-President and General Manager of the Waltec Industries Division. He married Norma Bishop, of Wallaceburg, on May 1, 1953, and they have a daughter and two grandchildren. Shimizu has received several awards for his volunteer work and his involvement in municipal and regional government. Detailed biographical information about Shimizu can be found in his book, The Exiles, ôChapter 7: Epilogue,ö and also in an autobiographical supplement written by Shimizu in 1997.

No digital copies of the records were acquired by the Landscapes of Injustice Research Collective between 2014 and 2018.