Vimy Week Stories - Sgt Masumi Mitsui MM: A Lifetime of Service

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                            Sgt Masumi Mitsui MM:  A Lifetime of Service

                                                    By David R. Mitsui

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Immigrants from Japan started arriving in British Columbia in the mid to late 1880’s with the first documented Japanese person, Manzo Nagano, in 1887.  To advance their community, these issei (first generation Japanese Canadians) became social activists, whose goal was economic and social equality, access to restricted professional and vocational opportunities, and lobbying against BC’s Provincial Elections Act of 1900 denying them the right to vote and holding public office.  During these early years of immigration, all persons of Asian ancestry (including Japanese, Chinese, and other SE Asian nationalities) faced an environment of political and economic discrimination, social racism, prejudicial laws and government policies and overall racial exclusion.  Even when the issei succeeded in the fishing, timber, and farming industries, they were confronted with a series of government restrictions due to the lobbying efforts of their anti-Asian Euro-Canadian competitors.

The issei saw the outbreak of WWI as an opportunity for their community to attain the rights of full Canadian citizenship, especially the right to vote.  

In spite of being rejected by the BC military recruitment authorities, Yasushi Yamazake, editor of the Japanese-language newspaper, Tairiku Nippo, and President of the Canadian Japanese Association (CJA), sought potential issei volunteers through an advertisement placed in August, 1914.  In early 1916, military training commenced for 171 Japanese Canadian volunteers.  However, the offer of an all-Japanese Canadian battalion was rejected by then-Prime Minister Borden and the Canadian federal Cabinet, forcing the Japanese Canadian battalion to be disbanded on May 11, 1916.  Undeterred, about 200 issei were then forced to leave British Columbia and travel to Alberta, where they, as individuals, were permitted to voluntarily enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF).  These issei volunteers were the pride of the Japanese Canadian community because of their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for Canada and further their hope for full citizenship.

The underlying motivation for the issei to become social advocates and volunteer for the Canadian military during WWI is perhaps better understood knowing that as young students in Japan, under the Imperial Rescript of Education in 1890, they pledged an “oath of allegiance to advance public good and promote common interests and during any emergency, courageously volunteer to serve their country”.  Subsequently, the issei saw their social activism and enlistment with the CEF as an obligation of this oath to serve both Canada and Japan, which was a British ally at the time.  

Masumi Mitsui, my grandfather, immigrated to Canada in 1908.  The son of a naval officer and with the ancestry of a samurai warrior, he left Japan at 21 years of age and started his new life in Victoria, BC.  He learned English as a chauffeur and dishwasher and soon became the head waiter at Victoria’s Union Club, before moving to the Vancouver area where he worked as a farmer.  

Masumi Mitsui voluntarily enlisted with the CEF on September 1, 1916 with the 192^nd Overseas Battalion in Calgary.  He was posted with the 9^th Reserve Battalion.  When asked years later why he enlisted, he stated that he “believed that it would be for the benefit of Canada and for the benefit of Japan”.  The Japanese Canadian recruits were sent to Europe commencing December 1916 and were distributed to the 9^th, 10^th, 50^th, and 52^nd battalions.  He arrived in France on January 29, 1917 and was assigned to the 10^th Battalion Calgary Highlanders for active duty, 2^nd Infantry Brigade, 1^st Canadian Division. 

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Upon arrival to the front lines, the Japanese Canadian soldiers faced racism and discrimination from both fellow soldiers and officers.  It is documented that in April 1917, Colonel Dan Ormond refused to accept 11 new Japanese Canadian recruits and requested that they be returned to England.  His request was denied.  However, once the battles in the trenches began, the Japanese Canadian soldiers were soon accepted as fierce and brave fighters and became known for their fearlessness.  The Japanese Canadian soldiers were involved in all of the major battles and played key roles especially during the battle for Vimy Ridge and Hill 70.  Masumi Mitsui was awarded the Military Medal for Bravery during the battle for Hill 70 for his “marked ability and efficiency in leading 35 Japanese Canadians in the battle; he salvaged their Lewis gun when his gun crew became casualties and caused the enemy many casualties; afterwards, he did excellent work in mopping up and assisting the wounded.”  Years later, he is quoted as saying:  “The French army tried but they couldn’t do it;  Next the English…they could not get over.  Then the Canadians went in.  We took Vimy Ridge.”  Lest we forget.

Sgt Mitsui was discharged on April 3, 1919 and returned to Vancouver.  To honour and remember the Japanese Canadian veterans’ courage and their ultimate sacrifice (54 killed and 94 wounded), the Canadian Japanese Association and the Japanese Canadian community in BC raised funds to build the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Cenotaph in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC.  It was officially inaugurated on April 9, 1920, the 3^rd anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  This cenotaph was seen to symbolize the struggle for Japanese Canadians to receive full citizenship.  Lest we forget.

After WWI, Sgt. Masumi Mitsui was keen to continue to serve his community to gain the franchise.  As part of this effort the veterans formed the all-Japanese Canadian member Canadian Legion British Empire Service League Local Branch # 9 (now known as the Canadian Legion) in 1925.  Sgt Mitsui was elected its first President.  Their first goal was to gain the franchise for all Japanese Canadians in BC.  They lobbied the other Canadian Legion branches and veteran groups for their support.

In 1931, despite the prevailing racist and discriminatory attitudes of many politicians and community leaders, the members of Branch #9 were successful in their lobbying efforts as the BC Legislature gave the WWI Japanese Canadian veterans the right to vote…by a single vote.

Upon their return to Vancouver from lobbying the legislators in Victoria, Mitsui, Shinobu, and Kobuta were given a hero’s welcome by the Japanese Canadian community but the leaders insisted on first returning to the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Cenotaph in Stanley Park.  There, Sgt Mitsui formally announced their attainment of the provincial franchise.  He then read the names of the 54 war dead, whose names are inscribed on the memorial, linking the attainment of the franchise to the sacrifice of their fallen comrades.  Lest we forget.

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However, the mood was tinged with sadness, as they realized that most Japanese Canadians were still disenfranchised (or without the right to vote).  It would not be until April 1, 1949 that the rest of the Japanese Canadians were given the right to vote in BC and Canada.

In 1936, the Japanese Canadians continued to lobby and advocate for their community by the creation of the Japanese Canadian Citizen’s League and sent its first delegation of its citizens to Ottawa to plead, unsuccessfully, for the right to vote. 

As a result of the Japanese military attacking Pearl Harbour on Dec 7, 1941, a number of events occurred impacting the Japanese Canadians in BC.  On Dec 8^th, Canada declared war on Japan resulting in the enactment of the War Measure Act, Order-in-Council P.C. 9591 that required all Japanese nationals and those naturalized after 1922 to register by Feb 7, 1942 with the Registrar of Enemy Aliens.  At this time, for unknown reasons, the light in the lantern atop the Japanese War Memorial Cenotaph in Stanley Park was extinguished.  BESL Local Branch #9’s charter was suspended in March 1942.  

Between March 1942 and March 1949, approximately 22,000 persons of Japanese ancestry (both issei and nisei (2^nd ) generations), living within the 100 mile exclusionary zone on the BC west coast, were forcibly uprooted, dispossessed of property, and confined to internment camps, road work camps, or sugar beet farms in central BC, Alberta and Manitoba or moved further east across Canada.  And in 1946, the Canadian government deported several thousand Japanese Canadians to Japan, in spite of many of them being born in Canada.

Masumi and Sugi Mitsui and their 4 children owned a 17-acre poultry and vegetable farm in Port Coquitlam as of the mid 1920’s.  He had recently rebuilt his house in early 1930’s after being destroyed by fire.  Sgt Mitsui felt that being a veteran of WWI he would be exempt from being uprooted and dispossessed of his property.  Sadly, that was not the case.

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Being told to report to Hasting Park for eventual removal from his home, he threw his WWI medals onto the table of the receiving officer and exclaimed, “What good are these?”.  The Mitsui family was forcibly uprooted in 1942 and spent the duration of the war in the “ghost town” Greenwood.

After the war ended, George, the eldest son (my dad), had relocated to Ontario and the family joined him first in St. Catharines and then in Hamilton.  Japanese Canadians were not permitted to move back to the west coast until after April 1, 1949.

As a result of the internment, Masumi Mitsui never forgave the government for what it did to his family, but he was a proud veteran and continued to honour the military.  After WWII, he never attended a public Remembrance Day Service, however on those special days, in the privacy of his home, he would dress in his military uniform and Canadian Legion beret and proudly wear his hard fought and well-deserved military medals.   In 1983 he was contacted by a Hamilton Spectator reporter who published a story about his experiences.  After it was printed, he was contacted by the local Hamilton Mountain Canadian Legion and he attended his first public Remembrance Day service since the beginning of WWII.

On August 2, 1985, he accepted an invitation from the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Committee in Vancouver to be their honoured guest to re-dedicate the cenotaph.  He was the last surviving Japanese Canadian soldier of WWI in Canada.  At the age of 97 he re-lit the light in the lantern atop the cenotaph, proudly stood at attention, saluted, and remarked, “I’ve done my last duty to my comrades. They are gone but not forgotten”.  Lest we forget.

The internment of the Japanese Canadians during WWII and the participation of Canadians of Japanese ancestry during WWI and WWII, as well as the Korean War, and the Afghanistan conflict continues to be an unfamiliar part of Canadian history.  It took the relentless effort of the leaders within the Japanese Canadian community over many decades to advocate for social justice and equality for what they and their community experienced and endured, especially during the years of uprooting and internment, to lobby municipal, provincial and federal governments for the right to vote and for redress.  

In the early 1980’s, the Japanese Canadian community organized its effort under the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC), led by then-President Art Miki, and specifically the formation of the National Coalition for Japanese Canadian Redress.  The Japanese Canadian community wanted the Canadian government to acknowledge the wrongs committed against them during and after WWII with an official apology and demanded financial compensation.  In November 1984, the NAJC submitted to the federal government the brief entitled “Democracy Betrayed:  The Case for Redress”, based upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

After extensive advocacy and lobbying efforts by the NAJC, on Sept 22, 1988, then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney formally apologized in the House of Commons to all Japanese Canadians and signed a redress agreement between the NAJC and the federal government.  As part of the agreement, each surviving person directly impacted by the internment would receive $21,000.  The agreement included a community legacy fund, a pardon to persons who were wrongfully imprisoned during the war, and citizenship was extended to Japanese Canadians and their descendants who had been wrongfully deported to Japan at the end of the war.  Of significance in the agreement was the creation of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, whose goal is to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in Canada.  

Masumi Mitsui died on April 22, 1987, 6 months before his 100^th Birthday and a year before the Federal government announced the formal apology and signing of the redress agreement on September 22, 1988.  Lest we forget.

While growing up my grandfather never spoke of the war or his experience as a soldier or being awarded the Military Medal for Bravery.   Like many veterans of war, the memories were too painful.  My interest in his war time experiences started when I became aware of the redress movement in the mid-1980’s and my grandfather travelled to Vancouver to re-dedicate the cenotaph and re-light the lantern.  After receiving his WWI medals upon his death, remembering his legacy has been my call to duty and it is an honour to speak and write about his life in the military and his role as a social activist for positive change that impacted the lives of the Japanese Canadian community.

I started being my grandfather’s advocate in 1990 when I received a letter from the then-Regimental Secretary of the Calgary Highlanders who had just read Ken Adachi’s book, “We Went to War”, which includes highlights of individual issei who fought for Canada in WWI.  The Regimental Secretary was initiating a project to feature my grandfather and his medals and the vital role the Japanese Canadians played fighting with the 10^th Battalion Calgary Highlanders during WWI.  This battalion became known as the “Fighting 10^th” for its fierce reputation on the battlefield. In 1993, as the honoured guest to unveil the new display, I was asked to speak about my grandfather’s experience.  

After reading “We Went to War”, as well as Barry Broadfoot’s book, “Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame:  The Story of Japanese Canadians in WWII”, Roy Ito’s book, “Stories of My People:  A Japanese Canadian Journal” and “Justice in Our Time:  The Japanese Canadian Redress Settlement” by Roy Miki and Cassandra Kobayashi, I became more fascinated with WWI and the impact of WWII on the Japanese Canadian community in BC.  This was the start of my journey into learning about Sgt Masumi Mitsui MM and becoming his advocate and the family caretaker of his fascinating legacy.  I was also learning about my parent’s WWII wartime experience from books as they never spoke of their uprooting and internment experiences.

In September 2003, I was invited by an amateur historian from Ontario to join his commemoration tour of WWI and WWII battle sites, including the 85^th anniversary of the liberation of the village of Cagnicourt, France on September 2, 1918.  The Calgary Highlanders 10^th Battalion had taken part in its liberation. The tour guide was Norm Christie, renowned author and host of History TV.  As part of the tour I walked up Hill 70 and found remnants of WWI:  bullet casings; barbed wire fragments; and two 20 pound intact British shell casings. It was surreal to walk on the same dirt as my grandfather where he fought and earned his Military Medal.  The Hill 70 Memorial Park was dedicated to the Canadian Corps’ victory for the Battle of Hill 70 and was inaugurated on October 2, 2019.  Prior to the memorial park being created, it was often referred to as the forgotten battle.

In 2005, I was consulted on the planning of a permanent display of the internment of the Japanese Canadians during WWII to be included in the newly built Canadian War Museum (including a photo of Sgt Masumi Mitsui) in Ottawa.  The inclusion of the internment of Japanese Canadians during WWII in the Canadian War Museum goes a long way in recognizing this piece of Canadian history and the education of future generations.

In September, 2010, the Canadian Historical Review (Vol 91; Issue3) published the article:  “Sergeant Masumi Mitsui and the Japanese Canadian War Memorial: Intersections of National, Cultural, and Personal Memory”, by Lyle Dyck (Parks Canada Historian).  As part of his research for the article the author met with myself and my family for personal stories and to confirm facts about my grandfather.

As a legacy to the Japanese Canadian veterans of WWI, the then-Honorable Peter Kent sent to me a letter, dated July 21, 2011, that he approved my proposal to “declare the Japanese Canadian Soldiers of WWI Winning the Right to Vote as an event of national historic significance, as the first persons of Asian ancestry to gain the right to vote in BC and Canada”.  Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognized this event with the unveiling of a plaque in 2016 at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Cenotaph.  I was one of the honoured guests to unveil the plaque.

The phenomenal 7-year research study (2013 to 2020) “Landscapes of Injustice” (LOI), led by Dr. Jordan Stanger-Ross (University of Victoria), was “a research and public history project exploring the dispossession of Japanese Canadians as part of their forced displacement and internment in the 1940s.  It explained that “dispossession lasts forever. The lands, possessions, and opportunities lost can never be fully restored. The communities and neighbourhoods destroyed can never be fully rebuilt. Japanese Canadians and others live with legacies of shame, silence, regret, complicity, and loss. Even legacies of resilience and activism in the face of wrongdoing come with their own costs. We are heirs to landscapes of injustice.”  I was fortunate to be able to represent the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) as President for 2 years on the advisory committee.

I was President and Board member of the NAJC (2013-2018), which is committed to diversity and human rights.  As President, I met with then-Premier John Horgan of BC to lobby for the creation of the Japanese Canadian Legacy Society (JCLS) to support Japanese Canadians impacted by the internment.  This meeting was a follow-up to the BC government’s public apology to Japanese Canadians, made during the 2013 provincial election, for its role in their uprooting, dispossession of property and internment during WWII.  On March 30, 2022, a $100 Million fund was announced to include a six-fold framework of initiatives: Monument; Education; Seniors Health & Wellness; Community & Culture; Heritage; and Anti-racism.

I have been a member of the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Committee in Vancouver, BC (2012 to present), which plans the annual Remembrance Day Service at the cenotaph in Stanley Park.  We recognize and honour Japanese Canadian veterans of WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Afghanistan conflict.  It is my honour to lay the wreath on behalf of the Canadian Legion British Empire Service League Local Branch #9.

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In May 2012, I was honoured to be the keynote speaker to open Asian Heritage Month in Ottawa with my address about my grandfather’s story.

In 2016, I was contacted by Shaun Crawford, a Calgary screenwriter, who wanted to submit a proposal for an Historical Canada Heritage Minute film about my grandfather.  Although his proposal was not successful, his interest continued and he wrote a pitch deck entitled, “Once the Sun Rises”, as the basis for a feature-length movie about my grandfather’s experiences.  I am one of the producers identified on the credits.  It is currently being “pitched” to a variety of persons in the film industry.

In April 2017, I was invited to be a participant in the celebration of Vimy 100 in Ottawa and attended the opening ceremony of the Vimy 100 exhibit at the Canadian War Museum, which featured a display of my grandfather, his role in social activism, and his WWI medals.    

In March, 2018, “Connecting Us All: Embracing Multicultural Community Development – 150 Stories of Reconciliation”, featuring individual stories of Albertans, was published.  Included was the story I wrote: “Sgt Masumi Mitsui MM 1887-1987”.

In 2018, the City of Vancouver renamed the North Arm Trail Greenway to Masumi Mitsui Greenway to honour his legacy.  I was consulted on the inscription on the plaque.

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In February 2020, Russ Crawford wrote and published: “Canadian Samurai:  One Man’s Battle for Acceptance”.  It is based upon my grandfather’s life.  I was consulted throughout the writing process.

I am currently a member of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society’s Monument Advisory Committee (2023-24).  The goal is to identify all 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were living on the west coast of BC, and were forcibly uprooted, dispossessed of property and re-located across Canada during WWII.   As a legacy to this historical event, their names will be inscribed on the monument to be built in Victoria, BC.  Both the Mitsui family names and Kawamura (my mother’s family) family names will be included on the monument.

It can be argued that sharing one’s skill and passion for a greater good is the ultimate form of service.  As an ethnocultural minority, Japanese Canadians were forced to fight for their political, social and economic rights in an environment of overwhelming racism and discrimination.   The call to action to gain equality for their community compelled many issei, nisei (2^nd generation), and sansei (3^rd generation) towards social activism.  My grandfather’s legacy is his lifelong commitment to the veterans of WWI and specifically to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the franchise and equality for future generations of Japanese Canadians.  

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As my legacy to my grandfather, Sgt Masumi Mitsui MM, I cherish the opportunities to keep his memory and the indominable spirit of the Japanese Canadian veterans of WWI, alive, and carry his torch of remembrance…to never forget.  My Japanese Canadian ancestors have taught us lifelong lessons:  resilience and fortitude; dedication and duty; and social justice and equality.  They showed us how to commit oneself to advancing public good in the service to others for their community and for their country.  With service comes responsibility and a personal commitment that I will continue my grandfather’s legacy for my family, for the Japanese Canadian community, and for future generations of all Canadians.  

Lest we forget.

The End.

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