May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada

Sataro Kuwahara was born in 1886 in Hikone City, Japan, coming to Canada in 1907. In his childhood, he studied a bit of English and became very interested in the financial possiblities available in Canada. He left home when he was 18 years of age and found work as a bellhop in the prestigious Hotel Vancouver. He quickly became the head bellman, and for twelve years he worked for the CPR at hotels in Banff, Lake Louise, Winnipeg, and Calgary, and studied English in his spare time. In 1912 he married Setsuko Matsoubayashi, and in 1914 his first child was born.

During this time, Sataro became convinced of a great future in trade between Japan and Canada, and decided to open a store of his own. In partnership with two of his friends, Genzo Kitagawa and Shigejiro Inouye, he opened Nippon Bazaar at 820-1 Street SW, Calgary in 1922.

Nippon Bazaar imported and sold silks, fabrics, chinaware, and a variety of Japanese merchandise. Among the items advertised that year in The Calgary Herald were quality silk, Tokoname vases, fern bowls, Sakai rugs, bamboo lampshades, incense burners, and popular “Blue Bird” tea cloths.  They had 28 part-time and full-time employees working for them and were considered the leader in the sale of silk hosiery and yard goods in Calgary.

On September 5, 1923, The Calgary Herald spoke to Sataro’s partners, Genzo Kitagawa and Shigejiro Inouye, about the impact of the Tokyo-Yokohama earthquake on the business. Kitagawa stated that locations in Japan where practically all of the firm’s imports came from had been destroyed, including their silk supply from the province of Shizouka. In the meantime, they sourced from Italian, French, and Swiss exporters until the Japanese companies could recover.

In 1928, the name was changed to Nippon Silk and Products Company. The store was moved to 119 8th Avenue SW, The Calgary Milling Company building, in 1931 and this began the building’s longtime association with the Japanese business community.

The Calgary Milling Company building at 119 8th Avenue SW was constructed in 1901-03 as the retail store for Calgary’s oldest flour milling company. The store was a well-known fixture in Calgary, being known as John Irwin and Company after 1911 and then Nippon Silk/Silk-O-Lina after 1931. The Calgary Milling Company building's sandstone construction and its turn-of-the-century origins make it an integral component of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century structures which make up the Stephen Avenue National Historic District. It is listed on the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources and is both provincially and municipally designated.  

In 1936, Nippon Silks Ltd. was incorporated to take over the operations of Nippon Silk and Products. The incorporation represented the partnership between Sataro Kuwahara, Genzo Kitagawa, and Shigejiro Inouye, who ran stores in Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina respectively. A store was also opened in Vancouver in 1939, creating a chain of shops spanning three provinces.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Japanese community in Alberta numbered 540 people, largely comprised of farm families in southern Alberta. Twelve weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the federal government used the War Measures Act to order the removal of all Japanese Canadians residing within 160 km of the Pacific coast. Over 20,000 Japanese Canadians were detained and lost their homes and businesses. As a result, 2,700 Japanese people were sent to Alberta where labourers were needed in the southern sugar beet fields.

Notably, newspaper editorials in Calgary and Lethbridge cautioned readers against precipitous action, reminding readers of the contributions of Japanese Albertans to their communities (Heritage Community Foundation). As well, Japanese Albertans were serving with Canadian forces in the theatres of war in Europe. Most of the 32 Japanese Canadians who enlisted prior to Pearl Harbor were Japanese Albertans. 

Japanese Canadians in Alberta did not have to leave their properties, but in September 1942, restrictions were applied to Japanese-Albertans: their mail and telephone calls were censored, and they were forced to carry identity cards.

Sataro was worried that he would lose everything he had worked to build. He had great dreams of building a large trading company, doing business between Canada and Japan. Japan also wanted this trade to increase and had awarded Sataro with a Medal of Merit from the Nippon Industrial Association in 1936.

“Nippon” is the Japanese name for Japan. In 1941 the company had to eliminate all references to “Nippon”, and the company name was changed to Silk-O-Lina Ltd.  Unfortunately, these circumstances also led to the shutdown and loss of the Vancouver store. They continued to operate throughout the war in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Until this time, they only leased the stores as Japanese Canadians were not allowed to buy property. When this restriction was lifted, they purchased the Calgary store on October 29, 1947. In 1956, Silk-O-Lina expanded next door into what was the Pioneer Meat Market.

Sataro became President of the Japanese Social Club which helped many Japanese who were being relocated due to the war. He was known to meet Japanese coming to Calgary at the train station and entertain them, even though they were strangers to him.  

Sataro Kuwahara passed away in Calgary in 1953. He was survived by his wife Setsu; four sons Hiroshi (Hugh), Tom, Ken, and Dick, and a daughter Grace. For many years, the company that he began and nurtured continued to grow as a family business operated by his sons Hiroshi (Hugh) Kuwahara, Tom Kuwahara, and Robert Hori.

At the peak of the company’s growth, it had 18 stores located in six cities in Western Canada. The company owned five buildings in prime retail locations, employed about 200 full time and part time workers, and reached an annual sales plateau of almost $5,000,000. It was the oldest uninterrupted Japanese Canadian enterprise, as it continued to operate throughout the war in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Sources:

Alberta Register of Historic Places: https://hermis.alberta.ca/ARHP/Details.aspx?DeptID=1&ObjectID=4664-0009

“The Biography of Sataro Luwahara, Retail Merchant” by Tom Kuwahara. Nikkei Images, Japanese Canadian National Museum Newsletter , Autumn 2001, Vol. 6, No. 3.   https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2001-Volume-6-No.-3.pdf

Canada’s Historic Places: https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3193

“Calgary Japanese Merchant Dies”, The Calgary Albertan, July 15, 1953.

“Calgary businessman celebrates 105th birthday with ‘nothing to worry about’” CBC News, Feb 29, 2019: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/105-year-old-calgarian-businessman-birthday-marriage-1.5034548

The Calgary Milling Company, Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, Heritage Calgary. https://www.calgary.ca/arts-culture/heritage-sites/scripts/historic-sites.html?dhcResourceId=488

“Early Days of the Japanese Immigrants in the Prairies”, Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary: https://www.calgary.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/11_000001_00766.html

“Japanese Canadians”, Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-canadians

“Japanese Canadians in Alberta” by Carley Okamura: https://ejca.org/resources/30_WEBSITE_CONTENT/2020/HistoryProject/Japanese%20Canadians%20in%20Alberta.pdf

“Japanese Immigration to Alberta” Understanding Canadian Diversity in Alberta, Heritage Community Foundation: http://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208162020/http://www.edukits.ca/multiculturalism/student/immigration_japanese_e.html

“Calgarian Gets Word Brother is Killed in Japan”, The Calgary Herald, September 5, 1923.

“New Things for Milady: The Observations of Olive”, The Calgary Herald, November 3, 1923.

“Nippon Bazaar“ advertisement. The Calgary Herald, December 17, 1924.

Nikkei Tapestry: Japanese Canadians in Southern Alberta. Galt Museum & Archives, 2014. https://www.nikkei-tapestry.ca/home

“People of Alberta”, Alberta Online Encyclopedia. Heritage Community Foundation: http://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208165227/http://www.abheritage.ca/albertans/people/japanese.html

Regina Japanese Canadian Club Inc. Nikkei Legacy: The Story of Japanese Canadians from Settlement to Today (1983). pp. 102-104:https://redress.causevox.com/blog/japanese-on-the-prairies