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Education persisted in Tashme, despite challenges such as limited school supplies. Image information: “Tashme School Desk.” Collection: Colin A Ming Collection. Repository: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. Accession Number: 2004.12.a-b. Year: circa 1940.

By Megan Koyanagi

BURNABY — Though life in Tashme, B.C., was not ideal, education for the younger generations was still a priority. The BC Security Commission provided elementary education for younger students, and the United Church Women’s Missionary Society facilitated high school education.

High school hours went from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. with an hour break for dinner and then resumed from 6:30 to 8:50 p.m. The older students worked during the day, so to fit the necessary education into their schedules, they attended school from late afternoon until evening. Because of the staggered school day between elementary and high school students, classes were held in the same buildings, ‘A’ and ‘D’ in Tashme. The high school opened in September of 1944, and 90 students attended, split between the two buildings.

This double-seated desk is a small, long, narrow wooden desk with two cubby holes to accommodate two children. It was used in both elementary school and high school. The desks were acquired by the various Japanese language schools in Vancouver as the custodian sold off the items in 1943. The desk measures about 12 inches by 36 inches with a bench.

Because the desk is for children, it would have been very cramped for the high school students who were also required to share the desks. The fact that the Nikkei National Museum has the desk today is important in showing people the conditions Japanese Canadians endured to conduct education.

The school was restricted with limited supplies, so much so that the older students did not have access to desks that fit their growing size. Today, the desks have travelled across B.C., eventually finding a home at the Nikkei National Museum.

To explore more about the Tashme internment camp, please visit www.nikkeimuseum.org.

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THIS ARTICLE WAS REPRINTED FROM NIKKEI VOICE’S JUNE 2023 ISSUE. 

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