Zennosuke Inouye's land: A Canadian veterans affairs dilemma

Canadian Historical Review

Volumn 85, Issue 3, 2004, Pages 423-450

  Neary, Peter ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 60949978352     PISSN: 00083755     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3138/CHR.85.3.423     Document Type: Review

References (105)

1. For the history of veterans and veterans policy in Canada see Robert England, Discharged: A Commentary on Civil Re-establishment of Veterans in Canada (Toronto: Macmillan, 1943)
2. Walter S. Woods, Rehabilitation (A Combined Operation) (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1953)
3. Desmond Morton and Glenn Wright, Winning the Second Battle: Canadian Veterans and the Return to Civilian Life 1915-1930 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987)
4. and Peter Neary and J.L. Granatstein, eds., The Veterans Charter and Post-World War II Canada (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1998)
5. For the history of Japanese Canadians see Ken Adachi, The Enemy that Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1976)
6. W. Peter Ward, White Canada Forever: Popular Attitudes and Public Policy towards Orientals in British Columbia (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1978)
7. Ann Gomer Sunahara, The Politics of Racism: The Uprooting of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War (Toronto: James Lorimer, 1981)
8. J.L. Granatstein, A Man of Influence: Norman Robertson and Canadian Statecraft, 1929-68 (Ottawa: Deneau, 1981)
9. Roy Ito, We Went to War: The Story of the Japanese Canadians Who Served during the First and Second World Wars (Etobicoke: S-20 and Nisei Veterans Association, 1984)
10. Patricia E. Roy, A White Man's Province: British Columbia Politicians and Chinese and Japanese Immigrants, 1858-1914 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1989)
11. and Patricia E. Roy, J.L. Granatstein, Masako Iino, and Hiroko Takamura, Mutual Hostages: Canadians and Japanese during the Second World War (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990)
12. Box 4703-5, accession 1992-93/166, RG 150, Records of the Ministry of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada, National Archives of Canada (hereafter cited as NA). See also marriage certificate, 1920-09-21071, microfilm B12904, British Columbia (BC) Archives, Victoria
13. Michael S. Hoshiko, Who Was Who: Pioneer Japanese Families in Delta and Surrey (Edwardsville, IL: Michael S. Hoshiko, 1998), 111-12
14. Ito, We Went to War, 13-31
15. For Canadian visible minorities and the Great War see James W. St G. Walker, 'Race and Recruitment in World War I: Enlistment of Visible Minorities in the Canadian Expeditionary Force,' Canadian Historical Review 70 (1989): 1-26
16. Information from Roy Kawamoto, Kelowna, BC. Mr. Kawamoto has collected extensively on the history of Japanese Canadians
17. 'Medical History of an Invalid,' 29 July 1919, box 4703-5, RG 150, NA
18. Ken Hawkes, Veterans Affairs Canada, to author, 7 Dec. 2001
19. Marriage certificate, 1920-09-219671, microfilm B12904, BC Archives; file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, Records of the Custodian of Enemy Property, NA
20. New Westminster British Columbian, 10 July 1920
21. File 10396, microfilm C-9399, RG 117, NA
22. Kent Fedorowich, Unfit for Heroes: Reconstruction and Soldier Settlement in the Empire between the Wars (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995), 81
23. As of 1 October 1942, his outstanding obligation to the Soldier Settlement Board was $1,701.48 and his annual payment was $117.47 (district superintendent to G.W. McPherson, 4 Nov. 1942, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA)
24. See Patricia E. Roy, 'Educating the "East": British Columbia and the Oriental Question in the Interwar Years,' BC Studies 18 (Summer 1973): 50-69
25. For Mackenzie's career, see box 6972-27, accession 1992-93/166, RG 150, NA
26. Patricia E. Roy, "'One of the most successful feats of political blackmail in our history?": The Delayed Return of the Japanese to the British Columbia Coast' (unpublished paper, 2000). British Columbia had disfranchised all Japanese in 1895
27. For the history of Japanese-Canadian evacuees in Kaslo see Patricia E. Roy, 'A Tale of Two Cities: The Reception of Japanese Evacuees in Kelowna and Kaslo, B.C,' BC Studies 87 (Autumn 1990): 23-47
28. 27 August 1942, Hastings Park Custodian Office to Custodian Office, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA; Richardson to Crux and McMaster, 22 Mar. 1944
29. According to Roy Kawamoto, sixteen Japanese-Canadian veterans were not affected by the relocation order. They were living outside the protected area, were married to Occidentals (or, in one case, to a Chinese), or were confined to institutions
30. There is a copy of the agreement in file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
31. There is a copy of the lease in file 8788
32. See Canada Gazette, 16 Sept. 1939, PC 2512
33. 'Report by Mr. Justice H.I. Bird on disposal of property of citizens of Japanese origin by Custodian of Enemy Property,' Sessional Papers, 13 June 1950, no. 185A, p. 5
34. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, no. 8, 20 May 1947 (hereafter Standing Committee on Public Accounts), evidence of Gordon Murchison, 182-3
35. Canadian War Orders and Regulations, 1943 (Ottawa: King's Printer 1943), vol. 1, no. 1-13: 224-6
36. Dominion of Canada, Public General Acts (Ottawa: Law Printer, 1943), part I, 6 George VI, chap. 33, 161-77
37. 'Report by Mr. Justice H.I. Bird,' Sessional Papers, p. 37, refers to 769 properties rather than 768
38. Standing Committee on Public Accounts, 185
39. According to Roy Kawamoto, the four other Japanese-Canadian soldier settlers were Seichi Kinoschita, George Yasuzo Shoji, Otoji Kamachi, and Kanezo Nagao, whose property was in his wife's name
40. 'Farm Appraisal Report' and 'Real Property Summary,' 17 Dec. 1946, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
41. 'Real Property Summary,' file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
42. 'Chattels Remaining at 324 Sandell Road, New Westminster,' file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
43. Lease to Donald Bain, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
44. Inouye to Custodian's Office, Vancouver, 27 May 1944, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
45. Statement by Accounting Department, 2 Feb. 1948, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
46. For information on Murchison see box 6497-20, accession 1992-93/166, RG 150, NA, and Records of the Public Service Commission, vols. 203 and 257, RG 32, Records of the Public Service Commission, NA
47. Civil Service of Canada, 'Application Form for Special Positions,' vol. 257, RG 32, NA
48. Standing Committee on Public Accounts, 186-7
49. Barnes to Division E, Vancouver, 13 Apr. 1943, file 213, vol. 4, RG 36, Records of the British Columbia Security Commission, NA. Shimotakahara had helped establish the Nihon Hospital, Vancouver
50. Inouye to Custodian's Office, 30 July 1943, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
51. Shears to Inouye, 5 Aug. 1943, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
52. There is a copy of his letter in file 8788
53. Murchison to Inouye, 7 Oct. 1944, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, Records of Veterans Affairs, NA
54. Shears to Inouye, 18 Oct. 1944, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
55. Anderson to Shears, 16 Aug. 1945, file 10396, microfilm C-9399, RG 117, NA. Anderson to Inouye, 9 Jan. 1946
56. 'Report on Evacuated Japanese Property,' 13 July 1942, file 10396, microfilm C-9399, RG 117, NA; Iverson to Inouye, 1 Oct. 1945, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
57. Iverson to Inouye, 1 Oct. 1945, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
58. Iverson to Robinson, 1 Oct. 1945, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
59. Robinson to Iverson, 5 Oct. 1945, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA (punctuation added)
60. Inouye to Iverson, 15 Oct, 1945, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
61. Inouye to Pickersgill, 28 Nov. 1945, Zennosuke Inouye Papers (hereafter cited as ZIP), Japanese Canadian National Museum, 6688 Southoaks Cres., Burnaby, BC
62. Unsigned letter by Inouye, ZIP
63. Inouye to Foster, 5 June 1947, ZIP
64. Foster to Inouye, 19 June 1947, ZIP
65. Backhus to Lafleche, 26 Oct. and 17 Dec. 1926, file 50, vol. 63, MG 28 I 298, Records of the Royal Canadian Legion, NA
66. McKee to Thomas, 19 Mar. 1942, file 50, vol. 63, MG 28 I 298, Records of the Royal Canadian Legion, NA. According to Roy Kamamoto the branch received a telephone call announcing that its charter was revoked. Branch 9 did not return its Legion banner
67. Inouye to Provincial Command, 21 Sept. 1944 and Macnicol to Inouye, 25 Sept. 1944, ZIP
68. Aitken to Mackenzie, 8 Mar. 1946, file 48, box 211, records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), Veterans Affairs Canada
69. Aitken to Sutton, 21 Mar. 1946, file 48, box 211, records of the DVA, Veterans Affairs Canada
70. In April 1946, however, the East Vancouver unit of the Army and Navy Veterans of Canada, following the lead of that organization's British Columbia command, called for the repatriation of all Japanese Canadians, irrespective of place of birth, to Japan. This action was needed to eliminate 'a threat to our Canadian way of life.' In the preamble to its resolution, the unit claimed that 'paid propagandists, subversive political groups and ill-advised religious idealists' were 'raising the false issue of racial prejudice' to both prevent the deportation of Japanese Canadians and restore their former privileges. The return of the Japanese Canadians to coastal British Columbia, it was claimed, would 'complicate an already difficult situation and render almost impossible re-establishment of our ex-servicemen in small business, fishing, farming and fruit-growing' (see clipping 'Army and Navy Vets Urge Repatriation of All Japs,' file 67-25 [6], vol. 24, MG 27 III B5, Ian Mackenzie Papers, NA)
71. McIntosh to Inouye, 8 July 1947, ZIP
72. Murchison to Anderson, 29 July 1947, enclosed in Anderson to McIntosh, 6 Aug. 1947, ZIP. The copy of Murchison's letter is incomplete
73. Quoted in Murchison to Anderson, 29 July 1947, ZIP
74. Inouye to Reid, 4 Dec. 1947, ZIP
75. Reid to Inouye, 10 Dec. 1947, ZIP
76. Reid to Morrow, 9 Dec. 1947, ZIP
77. 'Says Japs Being Aided in Scheme,' New Westminster British Columbian, 26 Nov. 1947
78. See Patricia E. Roy, 'Lessons in Citizenship, 1945-1949: The Delayed Return of the Japanese to Canada's Pacific Coast,' Pacific Northwest Quarterly 93, no. 2 (Spring 2002): 69-80
79. Memorandum, 20 May 1948, file 48, box 211, DVA
80. Memorandum to the minister, 23 May 1946, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
81. Murchison to MacNamara, 6 June 1946, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
82. MacNamara to Murchison, 14 June 1946, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
83. Memorandum from Private Secretary, 25 June 1946, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
84. Murchison to MacNamara, 30 July 1946, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
85. For his military career see box 745-38, accession 1992-93/166, RG 150, NA
86. There is a copy in ZIP
87. Inouye to Watson, 28 Jan. 1948, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
88. 'Inouye, Zennosuke (Vernon),' file 142, vol. 8, 69, RG 33, Records of Federal Royal Commissions, NA
89. Bird to Gregg, 23 July 1948, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
90. Bird to Gregg, 23 Oct. 1948, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
91. Woods memorandum, 10 Nov. 1948, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
92. By this time, it was known that the restrictions on the return of Japanese Canadians to the coast would expire on 31 Mar. 1949
93. Advocacy on behalf of Shoji in the Japanese-Canadian weekly New Canadian, and in Saturday Night, both published in Toronto, was disputed by R.A. McLellan in 'Simply a Matter of Debt: Shoji Suffered No Injustice for Reasons of Nationality,' New Westminster British Columbian, 1 Nov. 1946
94. Superintendent, Secretarial Section, to district superintendent - Vancouver, 22 Jan. 1949, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA
95. Ken Hawkes to author, 7 Dec. 2001
96. For a 1950 update see memorandum by T.J. Rutherford, 16 Feb. 1950, file 12, vol. 404, RG 38, NA. According to Roy Kawamoto, Inouye was one of only two Japanese Canadians caught up in the wartime forced resettlement to recover property from the Government of Canada. The actions of the Dominion Government and the custodian in relation to the sale of Japanese-Canadian properties were upheld in R. v. Nakashima, Wakabayashi and Tanaka, [1947] D.R.S., Consolidation, para. P26-073 (Ex. Ct) and Iwasaki v. The Queen, [1969] D.R.S., para. P26-159 (Ex. Ct), aff'd [1971], D.R.S., para. P26-314 (S.C.C.)
97. Miller to Hunter, 11 Mar. 1949, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
98. McMaster to Bird, 11 Mar. 1950, file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA, and Shears to Inouye, 6 Mar, 1951. Inouye had earlier been given a claims award of $217.84 (Shears to Inouye, 20 Feb. 1951)
99. 'Special Report,' 'Claim No. 142 - Zennosuke Inouye,' file 8788, microfilm C-9386, RG 117, NA
100. Six sales by him in 1949 and 1950, including one to his son Arthur, are registered in the Land Title Office, Ministry of the Attorney General, New Westminster, BC
101. Information from Beverley Inouye, Burnaby, BC
102. Registration of Death, 57-09-006580, microfilm B13232, BC Archives
103. See, for example, note on Mitchell to Mackenzie, 18 July 1946, file 67-25 (6), vol. 24, MG 27 III B5, NA. Roy Kawamoto reports that under PC 7355 of 15 Dec. 1945, 3,964 persons (including four veterans) were sent to Japan on five ships between 24 May 1946 and 7 Jan. 1947
104. File 67-25 (7), MG 27 III B5, NA. The petitioners did not condemn outright the wartime actions of the government in relation either to themselves or Japanese Canadians generally, but made their case on the grounds that the time had now come for action on their behalf
105. Ito, We Went to War, 279, 294, 296