
Japanese Settlement Found in Forests of British Columbia - curtis
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hidden-japanese-settlement-found-forests-british-columbia-180973028/
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Vizarddesky
I live on this mountain. These are not settlements. These are logging camps or
seasonal work camps. My grandfather worked up there and he was jealous of the
Japanese for their beautiful shacks when the Norwegians were in canvas tents.
Of course, he admitted that the Japanese just worked harder to make their own
quarters.

There were orchards, livestock, farms of potatoes, onions and legumes, but
most of the activity was in hauling out doug fir to tidewater with oxen or
steam donkeys or building miles-long flumes to shoot WRC shinglebolts down to
the river or Burrard Inlet.

~~~
metaphor
The article noted the following:

> _But it is the third site, which seems to have transitioned from a logging
> camp to a thriving village, that fascinates [the archaeology professor] the
> most._

Must be a real privilege for your grandfather to share that bit of vivid
history with you. My grandfather would have been a young adult during WW2, and
the small island that both he and I grew up on has a deep history with the
Japanese which had a direct impact on its indigenous population; he supposedly
spoke fluent Japanese as a consequence, along with Korean (by birth), the
indigenous language (married a local), and eventually English (after American
occupation). Unfortunately, he was unable to speak coherently by the time I
was in my late teens and old enough to be interested, so the only history
lessons I've gotten of the time were second hand, passed down from the stories
he told my father.

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kwindla
If you don't mind sharing, would you say which island? A few months ago I read
Lisa See's novel set on Jeju Island, and it's an amazing (and very moving)
look at a history I didn't know anything at all about:
[http://www.lisasee.com/books-new/the-island-of-sea-
women/](http://www.lisasee.com/books-new/the-island-of-sea-women/)

~~~
saimiam
I didn’t expect to see a reference to Jeju island in the wild so soon after
reading White Chrysanthemum about a comfort woman from Jeju Island.

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35691353](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35691353)

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staz
*settlement from the 20th century

~~~
yitchelle
That is a good context to have. When I saw the title, I thought they
discovered signs of Japanese settlement, similar to the Vikings settlements on
the opposite side of the continent.

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agumonkey
Same. Time saved I guess

~~~
jacobush
Still interesting story!

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petercooper
I'm a bit naive as to how large countries like Canada monitor their space, but
is it _possible_ there are unknown long-term (multi generational)
"settlements" separate and unknown to the rest of the world still out in the
middle of nowhere in Canada? Feels like a good subject for a novel :-)

~~~
jacquesm
I've driven and hiked around the Canadian bush quite a bit. It is hard to
explain how incredibly large the area is in terms that makes sense if you
haven't been there. It isn't uncommon to spend days without seeing another
person. It's so quiet the only sounds you hear are the wind (if there is
wind), animals and your own heartbeat.

It's also beautiful and brutal at the same time, a single mistake and you're
done for so make sure that you know everything there is to know about first
aid and keep your gear in very good order. If you bring a vehicle also bring
plenty of fuel and tools (and it helps if you know how to use them).

In the words of an 18th century map maker, the North of Canada (Quebec,
Ontario) is 'immense forests', in the West you have the Canadian portion of
the Rocky Mountains and then there are the territories. You can spend a
lifetime there and never see the same thing twice.

~~~
arethuza
I remember having a flight from LHR to Calgary and was lucky enough to be in a
window seat and for it to be daylight and clear - only time I've seen
Greenland! What I was prepared for was how big, flat and pretty much
featureless that part of Canada is just his awesome patchwork of lakes,
streams and the occasional esker.

Only thing that has been similar was flying north from Kenya to Egypt and
being similarly amazed at how vast the Sahara is.

~~~
breakbread
Oh man. I was flying ATL to LHR a couple years ago and went went over the
southern tip of Greenland. My initial reaction was that of wonder and
amazement, followed by a hint of unsettling terror at the vast emptiness of
the landscape.

~~~
exhilaration
My wife and I watched this movie [https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Mads-
Mikkelsen/dp/B07N42LPH9/r...](https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Mads-
Mikkelsen/dp/B07N42LPH9/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video) on Amazon Prime and it's
full of the "unsettling terror at the vast emptiness of the landscape" you
mention.

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bobloblaw45
They have these all over the western US as well. Mostly Chinese though I
think. Back from mining, logging, and rail building times. Many are for the
most part undocumented or barely documented with short footnotes in texts from
the time. I was thinking how cool it would be to bring a metal detector to one
of the spots since they've been for the most part untouched.

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dwighttk
Early 20th century settlement found 14 years ago and excavated for the past 14
yrs.

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yellowapple
I had no idea that Canada had a Japanese relocation/internment program during
WWII. I only knew of the one here in the US.

~~~
drderidder
It became much more common knowledge after the Canadian government issued an
official apology [1]. I recall seeing a documentary about it[2].

1\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Canadia...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Canadians#Redress)

2\.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8TQTuMqM9g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8TQTuMqM9g)

