‘Kind-hearted’ Jim Suenaga survived internment camp
Master watchmaker Hiromu “Jim” Suenaga was a victim of one of Canada’s most shameful episodes — the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War.
But after he came to Hamilton, Suenaga built a successful business, winning devoted customers — such as Lincoln Alexander — and being designated the official watch inspector for three railways.
Suenaga — who died Nov. 23, 2020 at the age of 92 — was one of 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were interned by the Canadian government after war broke out with Japan in December 1941. The policy involved the removal of all Japanese Canadians within 100 miles of the west coast of British Columbia.
Suenaga and his family were kicked out of their home in Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island — his father worked in mining and lumber — to Minto Mine in the isolated interior of British Columbia, near the town of Lillooet.
It was a “self-supporting project” meaning families paid for their upkeep with their pre-war savings, but could work in jobs like trucking and logging.
Minto Mine was built in 1934 as a town for a gold mine but was abandoned in 1942 when the mine closed. The Lillooet historical website says at its height 350 people lived in Minto.
Suenaga’s family was there from 1942 to about 1947 when they moved to Hamilton where a relative lived. His parents, Fukuichiro and Toshiko Suenaga, were originally from Hiroshima. The Canadian government lifted the 100 mile restriction on Japanese Canadians on April 1, 1949.
Suenaga’s daughter Tracey Cseresnyes said her father didn’t say much about his time in Minto probably because it brought back painful memories.
“They were told they had to leave (Fanty Bay),” said Cseresnyes. “They lost their house and their farm. They couldn’t go back. They lost everything.”
In 1988, the government of prime minister Brian Mulroney formally apologized to interned Japanese Canadians and offered compensation for their wrongful incarceration, seizure of property and their disenfranchisement during the war.
Suenaga and family members received compensation.
“It was maybe a couple of thousand dollars,” said Cseresnyes. “It wasn’t a lot. His parents had passed. They just wanted to move on from there. They didn’t want to stay bitter.”
Suenaga trained as a watchmaker and jeweler on the advice of his father.
He started working as a watchmaker at Harris Jewellers on James Street North in 1949. He bought the business in 1962 and renamed it James Jewellers. The business operated at 16 John St. N. from 1968-94.
After that, Suenaga continued with periodic house calls and repaired watches and clocks in the workshop of his Dundas home.
He was certified as a master watchmaker by the Ontario Watchmakers Association in April 1964 and served as official watch inspector for the CNR, CPR, TH&B and the OPP. He was also a certified member of the Canadian Jewellers Association.
“He was quiet but very kind hearted and patient,” said Cseresnyes, a kinesiologist. “He was a very doting husband, but he was hard working. If he wasn’t at the store, he was doing something.”
Customers had fond memories of Suenaga on social media. His daughter recalled Lincoln Alexander was a regular customer and her father said he would usually come in the day before Christmas looking for a gift for his wife.
Karen Crispin May recalled Suenaga made her and her husband’s wedding bands in 1985 and also did her nursing class grad rings in 1980.
“He was an amazing man,” she said. “I remember him as gentle, skilled and kind.”
Suenaga had been active with the Canadian Japanese Culture Centre in Hamilton, including serving as president, since it was founded in 1978 at a former Hamilton Mountain elementary school. He was also active with the Masonic Wardrope Lodge, Probus Club and the Kids for Kaga student exchange program in Dundas.
He was a black belt in judo and a member of two clubs. Cseresnyes said that came in handy when a couple of men robbed his store in 1973.
“My dad was able to catch one of the guys and hold him down on the sidewalk,” she said.
Suenaga is survived by his wife Tsuneko (Terry), children Laura, Shawn, Tracey, six grandchildren and sister Mitzi. He was predeceased by brother Sam and sister Ruth.