What a day. Yesterday we gathered to open the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park. It was hard to know beforehand exactly what the day would feel like, but standing there with descendants, community members, friends, neighbours and the many people who helped make this project happen was moving. We were led in song, chants, blessing and ceremony. Stories were shared. The heron led the procession to the park. People listened, remembered, laughed and visited. The land was blessed, stories were shared, and people came together in remembrance and hope. And afterwards, people stayed. They came back to the Bowen Island Lodge, ate together, shared stories and spent time with one another. For me, one of the most meaningful things was seeing so many people come together to remember a history that for a long time was not well known on Bowen Island. Now there is a place where it can be remembered. A place to learn, to reflect, and hopefully to keep the conversation going. Thank you to everyone who came, everyone who took part in the ceremony, everyone who shared family stories, and everyone who helped bring the Peace Park into being. It was a very special day. Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future. ... See MoreSee Less
And how would one have known about this event? I’ve checked the Bowen Island museum and archives page and there’s nothing listed so how was one supposed to know about this?
Ellen, this is so beautiful.
Such an amazing tribute to the land. Thank you Ellen Hayakawa for your heart in making this happen.
After several years of work, the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will officially open on Bowen Island.
We will gather at the Bowen Island Lodge (380 Cardena Dr.) at 1 PM and walk together to the Peace Park for the opening ceremony.
Our procession will be led by puppeteers carrying a heron created in honour of Blair Hayashi’s father, the first Japanese Canadian born in the Sandon incarceration camp. For Blair, the heron has become a way of remembering his father and carrying his story forward.
This project is dedicated to the Japanese ancestors whose stories are etched into the soil of this island, people who lived here, worked here, raised families here, and left a lasting presence.
Their voices are still speaking today, through their descendants, through photographs and memories, and through the stories that are being brought back into the light. Syeta’xtn (Chris Lewis) of the Squamish Nation will offer a Welcome Song and Land Acknowledgement. Rev. Roderick Hashimoto and Roy Akune will bring Konko and Buddhist traditions into the ceremony through blessings.
We will also hear from Ellen Hayakawa, the visionary behind the Kyosei Peace Park; Linda Kawamoto Reid of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society; and Ken Tani, a descendant of the Yamada family, who will share his family’s connection to Bowen Island and their forced removal in 1942.
Councillor Alex Jurgensen will join us on behalf of Bowen Island Municipality, and Adam Taylor, our Project Manager and a member of the Bowen Island Museum & Archives Board, will help bring the ceremony to a close.
The Peace Park was created to remember the Canadians of Japanese descent who were part of this island before 1942, to acknowledge the injustice of their forced removal, and to make sure their stories remain part of Bowen Island’s history.
After the ceremony, we hope everyone will return to the Bowen Island Lodge for something to eat, a cup of tea, and time to visit and share stories.
Everyone is welcome.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM to 3 PM �Gather at the Bowen Island Lodge, 380 Cardena Dr.�Walk together to Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park�Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future ... See MoreSee Less
Over the past several weeks, we have shared stories of the Japanese Canadians who lived, worked, raised families, went to school and spent time on Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island.
As we approach the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park, we return to the reason for telling these stories in the first place.
WE WERE HERE.
Before 1942, Canadians of Japanese descent lived, worked, raised families, went to school, visited, played and spent summers on Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island.
They were children and parents. Classmates and friends. Workers, neighbours and members of the community.
They were part of this place.
After the forced removal of Japanese Canadians from the coast in 1942, much of that presence gradually faded from public memory. Photographs, documents, family stories and traces in the landscape remained, but many of the people and stories connected to them were no longer widely remembered.
This is why we remember.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park has been created to bring some of that history back into view, to remember the people who were here before 1942, to acknowledge the injustice of their forced removal, and to ensure that this history is not lost again.
The Peace Park is one of a series of Japanese Canadian Legacies Society community projects across British Columbia reconnecting Japanese Canadian history with the places where people once lived and built communities.
These photographs are small glimpses of that life on Bowen Island: friendship, childhood, family, school and recreation.
They were here. Their stories belong here.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM. Join us at the Bowen Island Lodge where we will walk together to the new Peace Park at Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
As we count down to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park this Saturday, our final posts look at what happened to the Japanese Canadian communities we have been sharing — and why this history continues to matter.
FORCED REMOVAL AND INCARCERATION
In February 1942, the Canadian government ordered all people of Japanese descent to leave the B.C. coast. Citizenship made no difference. People were sent to incarceration sites, road camps, farms and other locations across Canada.
More than 22,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes and communities. Families were separated, livelihoods were lost, and communities built over decades were torn apart.
For the Japanese Canadians who had lived, worked and spent their summers on Bowen Island and throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound, the communities we have been sharing in these posts largely disappeared from the coast.
Their forced removal was followed by the loss and sale of homes, businesses and property. Restrictions prevented Japanese Canadians from returning freely to the B.C. coast until 1949.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park remembers not only what was lost, but the people and communities that were here before.
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026. Meet at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1 PM and we will walk together to the site. �Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future ... See MoreSee Less
As we count down the days to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei Peace Park, we’re sharing more glimpses into the lives and experiences of Canadians of Japanese descent on Bowen Island.
PICNICS, BEACHES & DANCING
Long before the ferries we know today, thousands of people travelled by steamship from Vancouver to spend summer days on Bowen Island.
Canadians of Japanese descent were among them, coming to Bowen for picnics, swimming, games and dancing. The photographs capture glimpses of those days: large group picnics, friends gathered on the beach, and young people dancing and jitterbugging.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park remembers not only the Canadians of Japanese descent who lived and worked on Bowen Island, but also the many who came here to spend time with family and friends.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Join us for the opening on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Meet us at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1:00 p.m., and we will walk together to the Peace Park. ... See MoreSee Less
In the weeks leading up to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park, we’re sharing some of the people, places and histories that connect Bowen Island to the wider Japanese Canadian history of Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound.
Union Steamships were a familiar sight along the coast, carrying workers, families, goods and supplies between Vancouver, Bowen Island and industrial communities throughout Howe Sound.
WORKING THE INDUSTRIAL COAST Japanese immigrants and Canadians of Japanese descent lived and worked on Bowen Island and Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound in the industries that shaped the region. On Bowen, Japanese workers logged the forests, staked mining claims and worked at the explosives plant at Tunstall Bay. Eikichi Kagetsu established a logging operation near Seymour Bay, where Japanese workers and their families lived at the camp. Across Howe Sound, Japanese workers were part of industrial communities at Woodfibre and Britannia Beach, working in mills, mines and other industries. Fishing also connected Bowen and Howe Sound to a much larger Japanese Canadian community along the B.C. coast. They did this work while facing discrimination and laws that restricted where Japanese people could work and the jobs they could hold. In 1942, the forced removal of people of Japanese descent from the B.C. coast brought these communities and working lives to an abrupt end. The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will help make this history better known. Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 - Gather at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1:00 Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
As we count down to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park on September 26, we’re sharing some of the people and histories the park will remember.
DAIKICHI KOGA
WHO HELPED BUILD BOWEN'S FIRST RESORT? If you know old Bowen, you may recognize the photographs: landscaped paths, ponds, gardens and the Japanese-style bridge above Bridal Veil Falls.
But do you know who helped create them?
Daikichi Koga came to Canada from Japan in 1906. He became works foreman for Captain John Cates's Terminal Steam Navigation Company and, with his brother Shiro, supervised a crew of as many as 25 Japanese workers on Bowen Island. Their work helped turn Cates's vision for Bowen as a summer resort into reality. They built and maintained gardens, pathways and ponds, as well as infrastructure that supplied water and power to the growing resort. Around 1914, Koga and his crew constructed the distinctive Japanese-style wooden bridge above Bridal Veil Falls.
Much of what they built has disappeared, but photographs preserve a remarkable record of their work. Daikichi Koga’s work helped shape Bowen Island. The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will help make that history better known.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
As we prepare for the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park on September 26, we are sharing some of the people and histories the park will remember.
THE YAMADA FAMILY OF KING EDWARD BAY For nearly twenty years, the Yamada family made their home at King Edward Bay on Bowen Island. Kanichi and Masano Yamada raised their ten children here. Kanichi worked on the Malkin property, while the family farmed and kept dairy cows. Their children attended Bowen Island School. In 1942, the life the Yamadas had built on Bowen Island was abruptly ended when they were forcibly removed from the B.C. coast, along with thousands of other Canadians of Japanese descent. More than eighty years later, traces of their life on Bowen remain. Apple trees planted by the Yamada family at King Edward Bay still stand today, and grafts from those trees will soon be planted at the new Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park. The trees are a living connection to the Yamada family and the life they built on Bowen Island.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM�Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
As far as I remember, the Malkin family who owned King Edward Bay helped to relocate the Yamada to the Okanagan , after their internment. I remember this because Joe Malkin would share a box of fruit and vegetables from their farm with us at our summer house at KEB which they sent in thanks every year . Such a sad story.
This is going to be incredible - the location, structures, signage - very special. This was an ugly part of our recent history but if we can sit quietly in beauty & think of all we lost, the hope is it will never happen again. Thank-you to the project organizers, volunteers, artists & workers.
THE HISTORY HAPPENED HERE.� IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED HERE.
Something important is taking shape at Sandy Beach.
On September 26, the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will officially open.
The Peace Park honours the Japanese Canadians who lived, worked, raised families and helped shape Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island and communities throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound before their forced removal from the B.C. coast in 1942.
Through photographs, stories and interpretive signs, the park will present this history and create a permanent place for learning, remembrance and reflection.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM. �Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
What a day.
Yesterday we gathered to open the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park.
It was hard to know beforehand exactly what the day would feel like, but standing there with descendants, community members, friends, neighbours and the many people who helped make this project happen was moving.
We were led in song, chants, blessing and ceremony. Stories were shared. The heron led the procession to the park. People listened, remembered, laughed and visited.
The land was blessed, stories were shared, and people came together in remembrance and hope.
And afterwards, people stayed. They came back to the Bowen Island Lodge, ate together, shared stories and spent time with one another.
For me, one of the most meaningful things was seeing so many people come together to remember a history that for a long time was not well known on Bowen Island.
Now there is a place where it can be remembered.
A place to learn, to reflect, and hopefully to keep the conversation going.
Thank you to everyone who came, everyone who took part in the ceremony, everyone who shared family stories, and everyone who helped bring the Peace Park into being.
It was a very special day.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future. ... See MoreSee Less
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
And how would one have known about this event? I’ve checked the Bowen Island museum and archives page and there’s nothing listed so how was one supposed to know about this?
Ellen, this is so beautiful.
Such an amazing tribute to the land. Thank you Ellen Hayakawa for your heart in making this happen.
After several years of work, the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will officially open on Bowen Island.
We will gather at the Bowen Island Lodge (380 Cardena Dr.) at 1 PM and walk together to the Peace Park for the opening ceremony.
Our procession will be led by puppeteers carrying a heron created in honour of Blair Hayashi’s father, the first Japanese Canadian born in the Sandon incarceration camp. For Blair, the heron has become a way of remembering his father and carrying his story forward.
This project is dedicated to the Japanese ancestors whose stories are etched into the soil of this island, people who lived here, worked here, raised families here, and left a lasting presence.
Their voices are still speaking today, through their descendants, through photographs and memories, and through the stories that are being brought back into the light.
Syeta’xtn (Chris Lewis) of the Squamish Nation will offer a Welcome Song and Land Acknowledgement. Rev. Roderick Hashimoto and Roy Akune will bring Konko and Buddhist traditions into the ceremony through blessings.
We will also hear from Ellen Hayakawa, the visionary behind the Kyosei Peace Park; Linda Kawamoto Reid of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society; and Ken Tani, a descendant of the Yamada family, who will share his family’s connection to Bowen Island and their forced removal in 1942.
Councillor Alex Jurgensen will join us on behalf of Bowen Island Municipality, and Adam Taylor, our Project Manager and a member of the Bowen Island Museum & Archives Board, will help bring the ceremony to a close.
The Peace Park was created to remember the Canadians of Japanese descent who were part of this island before 1942, to acknowledge the injustice of their forced removal, and to make sure their stories remain part of Bowen Island’s history.
After the ceremony, we hope everyone will return to the Bowen Island Lodge for something to eat, a cup of tea, and time to visit and share stories.
Everyone is welcome.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM to 3 PM �Gather at the Bowen Island Lodge, 380 Cardena Dr.�Walk together to Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park�Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
WE WERE HERE.
Over the past several weeks, we have shared stories of the Japanese Canadians who lived, worked, raised families, went to school and spent time on Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island.
As we approach the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park, we return to the reason for telling these stories in the first place.
WE WERE HERE.
Before 1942, Canadians of Japanese descent lived, worked, raised families, went to school, visited, played and spent summers on Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island.
They were children and parents. Classmates and friends. Workers, neighbours and members of the community.
They were part of this place.
After the forced removal of Japanese Canadians from the coast in 1942, much of that presence gradually faded from public memory. Photographs, documents, family stories and traces in the landscape remained, but many of the people and stories connected to them were no longer widely remembered.
This is why we remember.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park has been created to bring some of that history back into view, to remember the people who were here before 1942, to acknowledge the injustice of their forced removal, and to ensure that this history is not lost again.
The Peace Park is one of a series of Japanese Canadian Legacies Society community projects across British Columbia reconnecting Japanese Canadian history with the places where people once lived and built communities.
These photographs are small glimpses of that life on Bowen Island: friendship, childhood, family, school and recreation.
They were here. Their stories belong here.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM. Join us at the Bowen Island Lodge where we will walk together to the new Peace Park at Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
As we count down to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park this Saturday, our final posts look at what happened to the Japanese Canadian communities we have been sharing — and why this history continues to matter.
FORCED REMOVAL AND INCARCERATION
In February 1942, the Canadian government ordered all people of Japanese descent to leave the B.C. coast. Citizenship made no difference. People were sent to incarceration sites, road camps, farms and other locations across Canada.
More than 22,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes and communities. Families were separated, livelihoods were lost, and communities built over decades were torn apart.
For the Japanese Canadians who had lived, worked and spent their summers on Bowen Island and throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound, the communities we have been sharing in these posts largely disappeared from the coast.
Their forced removal was followed by the loss and sale of homes, businesses and property. Restrictions prevented Japanese Canadians from returning freely to the B.C. coast until 1949.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park remembers not only what was lost, but the people and communities that were here before.
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026. Meet at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1 PM and we will walk together to the site. �Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
As we count down the days to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei Peace Park, we’re sharing more glimpses into the lives and experiences of Canadians of Japanese descent on Bowen Island.
PICNICS, BEACHES & DANCING
Long before the ferries we know today, thousands of people travelled by steamship from Vancouver to spend summer days on Bowen Island.
Canadians of Japanese descent were among them, coming to Bowen for picnics, swimming, games and dancing.
The photographs capture glimpses of those days: large group picnics, friends gathered on the beach, and young people dancing and jitterbugging.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park remembers not only the Canadians of Japanese descent who lived and worked on Bowen Island, but also the many who came here to spend time with family and friends.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Join us for the opening on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Meet us at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1:00 p.m., and we will walk together to the Peace Park. ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Please send me picture of the signage and text especially about veteran Kingo Matsumoto who shrimped at Bowen Island
In the weeks leading up to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park, we’re sharing some of the people, places and histories that connect Bowen Island to the wider Japanese Canadian history of Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound.
Union Steamships were a familiar sight along the coast, carrying workers, families, goods and supplies between Vancouver, Bowen Island and industrial communities throughout Howe Sound.
WORKING THE INDUSTRIAL COAST
Japanese immigrants and Canadians of Japanese descent lived and worked on Bowen Island and Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound in the industries that shaped the region.
On Bowen, Japanese workers logged the forests, staked mining claims and worked at the explosives plant at Tunstall Bay. Eikichi Kagetsu established a logging operation near Seymour Bay, where Japanese workers and their families lived at the camp.
Across Howe Sound, Japanese workers were part of industrial communities at Woodfibre and Britannia Beach, working in mills, mines and other industries. Fishing also connected Bowen and Howe Sound to a much larger Japanese Canadian community along the B.C. coast.
They did this work while facing discrimination and laws that restricted where Japanese people could work and the jobs they could hold.
In 1942, the forced removal of people of Japanese descent from the B.C. coast brought these communities and working lives to an abrupt end.
The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will help make this history better known.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 - Gather at the Bowen Island Lodge at 1:00
Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
As we count down to the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park on September 26, we’re sharing some of the people and histories the park will remember.
DAIKICHI KOGA
WHO HELPED BUILD BOWEN'S FIRST RESORT?
If you know old Bowen, you may recognize the photographs: landscaped paths, ponds, gardens and the Japanese-style bridge above Bridal Veil Falls.
But do you know who helped create them?
Daikichi Koga came to Canada from Japan in 1906. He became works foreman for Captain John Cates's Terminal Steam Navigation Company and, with his brother Shiro, supervised a crew of as many as 25 Japanese workers on Bowen Island.
Their work helped turn Cates's vision for Bowen as a summer resort into reality. They built and maintained gardens, pathways and ponds, as well as infrastructure that supplied water and power to the growing resort. Around 1914, Koga and his crew constructed the distinctive Japanese-style wooden bridge above Bridal Veil Falls.
Much of what they built has disappeared, but photographs preserve a remarkable record of their work.
Daikichi Koga’s work helped shape Bowen Island. The Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will help make that history better known.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM
Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
As we prepare for the opening of the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park on September 26, we are sharing some of the people and histories the park will remember.
THE YAMADA FAMILY OF KING EDWARD BAY
For nearly twenty years, the Yamada family made their home at King Edward Bay on Bowen Island.
Kanichi and Masano Yamada raised their ten children here. Kanichi worked on the Malkin property, while the family farmed and kept dairy cows. Their children attended Bowen Island School.
In 1942, the life the Yamadas had built on Bowen Island was abruptly ended when they were forcibly removed from the B.C. coast, along with thousands of other Canadians of Japanese descent.
More than eighty years later, traces of their life on Bowen remain. Apple trees planted by the Yamada family at King Edward Bay still stand today, and grafts from those trees will soon be planted at the new Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park.
The trees are a living connection to the Yamada family and the life they built on Bowen Island.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM�Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
As far as I remember, the Malkin family who owned King Edward Bay helped to relocate the Yamada to the Okanagan , after their internment. I remember this because Joe Malkin would share a box of fruit and vegetables from their farm with us at our summer house at KEB which they sent in thanks every year . Such a sad story.
This is going to be incredible - the location, structures, signage - very special. This was an ugly part of our recent history but if we can sit quietly in beauty & think of all we lost, the hope is it will never happen again. Thank-you to the project organizers, volunteers, artists & workers.
THE HISTORY HAPPENED HERE.�
IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED HERE.
Something important is taking shape at Sandy Beach.
On September 26, the Nex̱wlélex̱wm Kyosei (共生) Peace Park will officially open.
The Peace Park honours the Japanese Canadians who lived, worked, raised families and helped shape Nex̱wlélex̱wm / Bowen Island and communities throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound before their forced removal from the B.C. coast in 1942.
Through photographs, stories and interpretive signs, the park will present this history and create a permanent place for learning, remembrance and reflection.
Making Peace with the Past – Creating Hope for the Future
Opening Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1 PM. �Sandy Beach Municipal Park, Bowen Island ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook