Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre

The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre is a contemporary building located in the Nikkei Place Complex in Burnaby B.C., which is also home to the Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society. The Museum & Cultural Centre consists of 1,000 square feet of gallery space, an archives, educational resource center, gift shop, meeting room and office spaces.

Along with the museum and cultural centre, the historic place includes a community centre serving the neighbourhood, a Japanese Canadian garden, and a newly built dojo that is used for martial arts, seniors' health programs, dance and yoga.

Opened in September 2000, the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre has historic, social and cultural value because it is recognized as the leading authority on Japanese Canadian history, for its service as a centre for the local community, and for its dedication to promoting an understanding of Japanese Canadian heritage.

With its beginnings in 1981 as the Japanese Canadian History Preservation Committee, established to acquire important historical material from within the Japanese Canadian community, the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre is important for its dedication to its core purpose and mandate, of being the centre of excellence for Japanese Canadian history for British Columbians, Canadians, and international scholars. The museum is significant as the only provincial and national institution with collections and archives devoted exclusively to Japanese Canadian culture and history, committed to preserving and presenting Japanese Canadian history for future generations, assuring that the history of Japanese Canadians is accessible to the general public.

The not-for-profit institution is valued as a significant and positive outcome of the Redress Settlement, with the original purchase of the property completed through the Redress Foundation. This foundation administered the federal government funds awarded at the Ottawa signing of the Redress Settlement on September 22, 1988 between Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Art Miki, President of the National Association of Japanese Canadians.

Developing partnerships and programs is one of the important ways the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre has expanded its reach and service across the province and country, increasing its own profile while assisting smaller museums and historic sites and allowing them to use the organization's database to present their holdings and material. This includes such collections as that of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Kamloops, and the Nikkei Internment Memorial Center in New Denver. Other important partnership projects include the Hastings Park Commemoration, the Tashme Museum in Sunshine Valley and Tashme.ca website, the Landscapes of Injustice project and a small but important study of Asian Canadians on Vancouver Island.

The museum and cultural centre has historic and cultural value for disseminating Japanese Canadian knowledge and culture through its prolific and engaging on-site exhibits, touring and virtual exhibits, research centre, educational programs, artifact loans, museum programming outreach, gift shop and publications, made possibly by dedicated staff, volunteers and generous donors.

Source: Province of British Columbia, Heritage Branch

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