Digital Collections of Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian Communities

Japanese Canadians and the United Church

Links to digital images on our catalogue are given below.

Similar to the Chinese United Church, the Japanese United Church ties its history closely to the history of Japanese Canadians, as seen in this 1960 statement: “It has been 70 years since the pioneer Japanese people immigrated to Canada. It has been 67 years since the pioneer Japanese evangelism began” (Kawano).

Part of the history of the Japanese United Church is available on the website Enduring Faith and its photographs accessible through the United Church Archives online catalogue.

Records documenting Japanese Canadian activities with the Church are also found in the Pacific Mountain Regional Council (PMRC) Archives Reference collection, mixed in with photographs of Chinese and one Korean congregation photograph; and in the Yoshinosuke Yoshioka fonds. Photographs in the fonds relate to Reverend Yoshioka’s service as minister in Steveston (1922-1924) and Powell Street (1924-1926). He later served as minister in Kelowna and Lethbridge.

In the PMRC collection, photographs from the Fraser Valley United Church Mission emphasize the importance of kindergarten education among Japanese Canadians.