East Vancouver in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)

Manzo Nagano (1853 - 1924)

Manzo Nagano Garden

Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 14, 2023

1. Manzo Nagano Garden Marker

Inscription. From Kuchinotsu, Japan, Manzo was the first known Japanese immigrant to Canada. In March 1877, at age 24, he left Japan for North America aboard a British steamer, arriving in May in British Columbia. He fished near Rivers Inlet and eventually settled in Victoria, where he ran a number of businesses, a hotel for Japanese migrants, a Japanese curio shop as well as one that sold supplies to prospectors headed to the Klondike. In 1977, to commemorate 100 years of Japanese in Canada, a mountain, Mt. Manzo Nagano in British Columbia, was named in his honor.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1877.

Location. 49° 15.688′ N, 123° 6.829′ W. Marker is in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Metro Vancouver. It is in East Vancouver. Marker is on Yukon Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2675 Yukon Street, Vancouver BC V5Y 3P9, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Captain George Vancouver R.N. (within shouting distance of this marker); Helena Gutteridge (within shouting distance of this marker); Vancouver City Hall (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Grauer Residence (about 120 meters away);

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Normal School (about 180 meters away); Model School (about 210 meters away); 150 West 10th Avenue (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); 148 West 10th Avenue (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vancouver.

Also see . . . Manzano Nagano (The Canadian Encyclopedia).

Significance and Commemoration: In 1977, 100 years after his first arrival, Canada named a peak for Manzo Nagano in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains, near Rivers Inlet where many Japanese pioneered the coastal commercial fishery.

Nagano was the first of many Japanese immigrants to Canada. By 1914, about 10,000 people of Japanese descent had settled in Canada, most of them young men. However, Japanese immigrants faced overt racial discrimination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; by law, they could not vote in provincial or federal elections, and they were denied employment in several occupations, including mining and the civil service. In Vancouver in 1907, a rally of the Asiatic Exclusion League turned ugly when the mob converged on Chinatown and “Japtown,” smashing windows and throwing rocks — there was even gunfire. After a Japanese force attacked Pearl Harbor during the Second
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 14, 2023

2. Manzo Nagano Garden Marker
World War, over 20,000 Japanese Canadians were removed from their homes and detained in camps. They regained their freedom and received full civic rights after the war’s end.

There are now over 100,000 people of Japanese descent in Canada, most of whom live in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Japanese Canadians have contributed to Canadian society in many fields, including the arts, science, politics and sports.

(Submitted on November 23, 2023.)

Additional keywords. 永野万蔵

Credits. This page was last revised on November 23, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 23, 2023, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. This page has been viewed 46 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 23, 2023, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.