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Back before me, my mom and brother had come to Canada, my dad and uncle went. Canada had insisted to Japan to reduce the number of males immigrating to Canada to 400 per year. After this happened mostly women and children came to Canada. My mother took that opportunity and immigrated to Canada.

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I had a younger brother that came with us when we had to move. We had to work on farms after we moved because there was no other work we could find and he would complain a lot of the time. He, later on, became sick and we didn't have the money to buy the medicine he needed. He died a couple weeks later and my mom was devastated.

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My family and others moving to British Columbia 

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When I heard that we were moving to British Columbia I thought it was going to be nice to learn new things like any other 13-year-old would think. I realized after that the people that lived there would outcast us. I learned that the Japanese had bombed a harbor in the country we were living in and the Government was suspicious of us Japanese Canadians thinking that we could be spies.

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The comrades my dad and uncle fought with

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During the war, both my dad and uncle enlisted in the war even though my mom begged them not to for fear of losing them. They said they weren't allowed to enlist into the war and my mother was relieved. Later on, they were able to go to war with other Japanese Canadians that weren't able to.

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About twelve weeks after Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, an act called the War Measures Act allowed them to move us if we were 100 miles off the Pacific coast. My mother didn't want to abandon our families fishing boat but we weren't allowed to make the choice.

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The fishing dock where my family's boat resided in

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Back in the 1920s, my family wasn't able to fish because of the laws restricting us Japanese Canadians. Furthermore, they limited the number of fishing licenses. We were only paid a fraction of what white Canadians were paid. My family was barely getting by with the amount of money we were getting so I was having to help around a lot of the time.

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A photo of my dad and uncle and of the friends they made during their fighting in the war 

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In one of the battles that my dad and uncle fought in, they were sent to Europe for it. My dad told me it was a devastating battle.

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Not until April 1, 1931, the B.C Legislature granted World War 1 veterans of Asian origins able to vote. Because of this, my dad and uncle were a bit furious over the fact that they wouldn't be able to voice their opinions to Canada. But even though my dad was furious over this, he was still proud of the fact that he was able to fight in the war and help other. This was his way of showing loyalty.

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The battle of Vimy Ridge that my dad and uncle fought in 

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My dad said that they and the Japanese-Canadians were kept together in platoons before being transferred to the 10th, 50th, and 52nd Battalions. However, the men of the 191st Battalion arrived in the United Kingdom in April 1917, and thus arrived too late to take part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

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“Japanese Canadians | the Canadian Encyclopedia.” 2019. Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-canadians.

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“Japanese Canadian Participation in World War I and World War II.” 2019. Discover Nikkei. 2019. http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2019/3/19/japanese-canadian-vets/.

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“WATARI DORI: Immigration History.” 2023. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 2023. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/seeds/seeds/series1/episode-0304/history2.html.

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I hope you and Uncle are doing well with the fighting that is happening where you are at. Even though Ichika told me the importance of you fighting and the risk of you not coming back, I ignore her and keep my hopes up saying that you'll come home like any other day before we moved. Ichika helps a lot around the house while mom goes to the fishing docks to go fishing and sell the fish she gets. Although, mom hasn't gotten much luck with catching much fish. I try not to lay around all day, but it's kind of hard to when there isn't much to do. Ichika always yells at me to help, which I do, but I end up sidetracking and end up doing something else. Anyways, moms calling for dinner so I have to end this. Please bring something back and come home safely.

From your #1 son, Akihiko Yamamoto

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I hope this letter finds you well. How are you and uncle doing? Are you guys injured. A part of me doesn't want to think tp much about what might happen to you. Other than mother worrying about you constantly, I have been holding up well. Mother tasked me with looking over the house whenever she goes out to the docks to check on the boat. Though, Akihiko keeps laying around in the house doing nothing even though I keep telling him the house won't clean up itself. At one point I told him I wouldn't give him any dinner. The one nice thing that does happen is when mother comes home with newspaper and we would make paper cranes out of them. Akihiko kept getting frustrated because he couldn't make one, at one point starting to cry. Even with all that's happening I still try looking at the brighter side of things. I have sent you a paper crane along with this letter. Please do hold on to it for good luck.

Sincerely, Ichika Yamamoto

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I am sending you this letter with the bad news of our son, Akihiko Yamamoto, passing away from illness. With the money I was making to keep our family from starving wasn't enough to buy medicine when he had gotten sick. I wasn't able to sell the fish I had caught either. He was such a cheerful boy back even when the fighting started and we had to move. Even if he didn't say it, he was worried about you and my brother when you went to fight for the country we are residing in now. Our daughter hasn't taken his death well either. She doesn't eat much now and overworks herself with cleaning the house. I'm worried the same thing might happen to her. She is starting to change a lot. Her hair is starting to grow out and she refuses to cut it. You could even say she's starting to look like me from my younger years. Even with all that's happening I was able to adapt and get comfortable with how we're living. I will be praying for you and brother every night until you come home. Please make back home safely.

Love, Aimi Yamamoto