Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

that preserves and interprets one of ten Canadian

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

where more than 27,000

Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

were incarcerated by the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1942 to 1949). The centre was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 2007.

Description

The museum is open seasonally from 1 May to 30 September. The site consists of five buildings, of which three are original shacks built to house the interned. Many artifacts such as stoves and furnishings are preserved, as are some personal effects of the people displaced. It also features a

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desi ...

Nitobe Memorial Garden The Nitobe Memorial Garden is a -acre (one hectare) traditional Japanese garden located at the University of British Columbia, just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the UBC Botanical Garden. Backgrou ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with the CMA, CHIN, and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

References

External links

2007 establishments in British Columbia Regional District of Central Kootenay Slocan Valley Museums in British Columbia Military and war museums in Canada National Historic Sites in British Columbia World War II museums in Canada Internment of Japanese Canadians Japanese gardens in Canada World War II internment camps in Canada {{Canada-museum-stub