Description of Historic Place

The Japanese Canadian World War I Cenotaph is a 34-foot high fluted limestone commemorative column surmounted with a Shinto pagoda lantern and with a dedication plaque installed at its base. It is located on the south side of the Lumberman's Arch picnic area of Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C.

Heritage Value

The Japanese Canadian World War I Cenotaph has historic, spiritual and aesthetic value because it commemorates the service to country by Japanese Canadians during World War I.

Commissioned by the Canadian Japanese Association and unveiled in 1920 to honor the Japanese Canadians who fought for Canada in World War I, the cenotaph is provincially significant as an iconic monument that memorializes the sacrifice of Japanese Canadians for freedom and justice. The cenotaph is a reminder of the perseverance that eventually allowed 197 Japanese Canadian volunteers to serve in the war.

The cenotaph also serves as a symbol of the fight of Japanese Canadians against discriminatory legislation and racism for equal status among Canadians. It is significant that this service and 54 casualties were not enough to extend the rights of full citizenship to Japanese Canadian veterans, or to avoid being identified as enemy aliens at the outbreak of World War II. After considerable efforts, Japanese Canadians were granted the franchise by the B.C. legislature 15 years later, in 1931.

The cenotaph has aesthetic value through its artistic design and use of materials, with a column of Haddington Island limestone and a base of carved granite petals embedded with names of battles. The Japanese pagoda-style lantern at the top remained lit until Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese army in 1941. The cenotaph has ceremonial value through the re-lighting of the lantern by one of the last surviving World War I veterans, Sergeant Masumi Mitsui. There is also value in the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Committee's ongoing dedication to organizing the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies held at the cenotaph and through such activities as the restoration of the monument and dedication plaque, the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of World War I in 2014, and the reproduction of the Japanese Canadian Legion flag.

Source: Province of British Columbia, Heritage Branch

Character-Defining Elements

Not applicable