Manzo Nagano

Who was Manzo Nagano?

Manzo Nagano was the first Japanese person to officially immigrate to Canada.

He did so in 1877, arriving in New Westminster, British Columbia. He became a salmon fisherman working in the Fraser River and later moved to Vancouver to load timber on to ships. He returned to Japan in 1884 briefly then moved to the American city of Seattle, Washington to open a tobacco and restaurant business. He returned to Canada in 1892 to open a hotel and store, amongst other businesses. He lost all his belongings in a fire in 1922 and moved back to Japan. He died there a year later.

The Canadian Mount Manzo Nagano, near Owikeno Lake, BC was named in his honour.