Yutaka (Tucker) Tanabe

Biography

Yutaka (Tucker) Tanabe was born in 1922 in Steveson, British Columbia. Like other members of his community, Tucker would be subjected to the discriminatory laws of the Canadian government during the Second World War that allowed for the confiscation of the homes, property, and businesses of Japanese Canadians. Families were relocated from the west coast, and given the opportunity, Tucker's family chose to resettle on a farm in Manitoba rather than an internment camp in either the B.C. interior or Alberta. The family settled in 1942, and Tucker moved into Winnipeg after 1949, when Japanese Canadians were finally allowed to move.

Tucker helped to found the construction firm Fuji Builders, which worked closely with notable Winnipeg architectural firm Smith Carter, as well as successful local businesses such as the Richardsons.

Tucker died in an unexplained boating accident in Kenora, Ontario, July 28th, 1964.