Kamloops Japanese Canadian Association

The Kamloops Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre is a modest, one-storey building housing important religious, cultural and social institutions located at 160 Vernon Avenue, in the south-central British Columbia city of Kamloops.

The Kamloops Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre has historic and cultural value as the home of two important Japanese Canadian institutions, the Kamloops & Area Chapter of the National Association of Japanese Canadians and the Kamloops Japanese Canadian Association. It is notable that, while each has a different purpose and mandate, they work as parallel organizations and are jointly responsible for the operation of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, which is committed to introducing Japanese Canadian culture to the people of Kamloops.

Originally the Kamloops Redress Committee, the Kamloops & Area Chapter of the National Association of Japanese Canadians is significant for its formation in 1979 explicitly to represent the Japanese Canadians of Kamloops and the surrounding area in the fight for redress from the federal government for the 1942 removal and internment of Japanese Canadians from B.C.'s coast, an event of discrimination and pain that impacted every Japanese Canadian in B.C.

Conversely, the Kamloops Japanese Canadian Association was formed in 1976 as a social and cultural organization with a purpose to foster fellowship amongst its members, assist in community activities for the benefit and welfare of the community and to participate in the furtherance of Japanese Canadian heritage.

Constructed in 1994, the cultural centre building is significant for its construction being supported in part by funding from the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation, money made available through the redress settlement. The centre has cultural values for serving as an outpost of the Japanese Consulate and for housing a museum and archives of materials representing the Japanese Canadian community. Collectively, these three organizations have social value for effectively represent and support the Japanese Canadian community and its culture in Kamloops.

Source: Province of British Columbia, Heritage Branch

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