Sgt. Masumi Mitsui led the fight to secure the vote for Japanese Canadians in 1931.
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Japanese Canadians were denied the right to vote in B.C. in 1895. But after more than 200 Japanese Canadians signed up to fight for Canada during the First World War, they started pushing for the right to vote. In 1931, it was granted.
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Still, it was limited to military veterans from the First World War. All Japanese Canadians wouldn’t receive the right to vote until 1948.
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Sgt. Masumi Mitsui led the fight to secure the vote in 1931. On Friday, his grandson David helped unveil a plaque designating it as a National Historic Event.
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The plaque is located beside the Japanese War Memorial in Stanley Park, a handsome cenotaph erected in 1920 that includes the names of the 54 Japanese Canadian soldiers killed in the First World War, plus the names of soldiers who fought but returned home.
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It’s a striking memorial, with a 10-metre tall pillar surrounded by 12 sections resembling chrysanthemum petals. Cut into the 12 petals are the names of battles Japanese Canadian soldiers fought in, such as Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Mons.
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In 2009, several members of the Japanese Canadian community asked the federal government to designate the 1931 vote as a National Historic Event. It did so in 2011, and a plaque was made in 2016.
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But the decision to place it in Stanley Park resulted in more delays — it had to be approved by local First Nations. Finally, it was put into place in a small ceremony.
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Before the ceremony, David Iwaasa of the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Committee noted the high casualty rate of the Japanese Canadian soldiers — about 27 per cent lost their lives in battle.
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The Japanese were known for their bravery in action, with 13 receiving a military medal. As soldiers, they had been allowed to vote in the 1917 election, but when they returned to Canada, they couldn’t cast a ballot.
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“That was something that they felt was unfair, unjust,” said Iwaasa. “Something that they fought against to right. That was part of their journey and their sacrifice, their compatriots had paid for that right (with their lives), and they wanted to make sure that that was honoured.”
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David Matsui was given a photo of his grandfather at the event. Masumi Matsui received a medal for his actions during the battle for Hill 70 near Vimy Ridge, when he destroyed an enemy machine-gun nest.
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After the war, he owned a 17-acre poultry farm and vegetable farm in Port Coquitlam. But it was seized and sold after Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and Hong Kong on Dec. 7-8, 1941 and Canada went to war with Japan.
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Following the removal of Japanese Canadians from the west coast, Masumi’s family were interned in Greenwood in the B.C. Interior, and he was sent to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway in Strathmore, Alta. He eventually moved to Hamilton, Ont., and never returned to B.C. to live.
