Mio-mura

In a small village called Mio-mura in southern Japan, a man sets off on a journey to Canada - not knowing that he would have a huge role in what would become "Amerika-mura."

Gihei Kuno, known as the "father of Canadian emigrants", visited Steveston, B.C. in 1888. He was in awe of the prosperity of the Steveston fisheries and sent the news of opportunity to his fellow villagers back home in Mio-mura. A large number of young men emigrated and became fishermen in Steveston, sending money back to their families in Japan. By 1911, there were 649 people (473 men, 176 women) from Mio-mura in the Steveston area. Mio-mura was forever changed. It became a prosperous town and western influences could be seen in the village houses, built by some of the fishermen who returned.

Today, Mio-mura has around 900 villagers, while more than 4,000 Mio-mura immigrants and their descendants are in Canada - making about 10% of Japanese Canadians.

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