Japanese “Entrepreneur” on the Fraser River: Oikawa Jinsaburo and the Illegal Immigrants of the Suian Maru
Date
2023-03-16
Authors
Sulz, David Kenneth Allan
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Abstract
Oikawa Jinsaburo, Japanese entrepreneur, re-located to Canada from 1896 to 1917
and engaged in business enterprises, utopian communities on the Fraser River (Sunbury,
Lion Island, Don Island), and immigration ventures. This thesis introduces Oikawa
through an English summary of Nitta Jiro’s historical novel, Mikkôsen Suian Maru, and
presents historical evidence to verify, extend, and complicate this version. Substantial
detail is added to the 1906 Suian Maru incident and the simplistic explanation of a deal to
grant these illegal immigrants entry in exchange for a year of railway labour is
problematised in the historical context of anti-Asian sentiment in British Columbia. A
favourable (and unusual) confluence of several factors - the absence of pertinent
immigration legislation, international obligations, official Japan’s attitudes towards
emigration, the lack of public outrage, and influential personal connections - enabled
Yoshie Saburo to negotiate entry on behalf of Oikawa and the Suian Maru passengers.