Hashimoto Family
Young Kunitaro Hasimoto. P-13668.
Kunitaro Hashimoto [1883 – 1970]
Hisa Hashimoto [1898 – 1993]
Kunio Hashimoto [1928 – Current]
Kyn Hashimoto
Mary Kyoko Meehan
Yoshiharu Hashimoto
Kunitaro Hashimoto was born on December 23, 1883, in Fukuoka, Japan. He had two brothers, Toukichi and Sakutaro, and a sister, Katsu. Kunitaro came to Tacoma, Washington, in the early 1900s and worked at the Great Northern Railway, then he came to Vancouver, BC, ca. 1906. He first worked in labour development for the Shaughnessy area in Vancouver, then got a job as a labourer for the Canaidan Pacific Railway. He was later promotoed to bookman (also known as a crew boss.) Kunitaro was educated, and could read and write Japanese and English. His son Yoshi recalled that his most treasured possession was a huge English dictionary.
CPR Gang, 1940. First row, second from right: Kunitaro Hashimoto. First row, third from right: Tasao Hashimoto. P-14172.
Kunitaro and Fude married on May 27, 1911, and had two daughters, Haruko, Michiko, and son, Tasao. A child named “Taeko” was born but died at birth or a very young age. Kunitaro had lived in Revelstoke since 1911, and his occupation was a Canadian Pacific Railway bookman. Fude died on August 18, 1923, in Vancouver, at the age of 32. At some point, three children went to Japan, and two of their daughters were left there with relatives afterward. Only Tasao returned to Canada and worked at Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1940, Tasao went to Japan to marry and try to return to Canada, but he couldn’t do it due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
Kunitaro married Hisa Nishino on September 6, 1926, in Japan. Within a short time, Kunitaro and Hisa came back to Canada. They had six children: Kunio, Hisae (twins), Chizuko, Mary, Kyn, and Yoshiharu.
The family was originally living in CPR boarding cars along the railway right-of-way, but they eventually built a home on Humbert Street in Revelstoke. They had a large yard and garden, which helped to sustain them during the war years. When Canada declared war against Japan, Kunitaro lost his job with the railway, but was able to find work in local dairies and on highway construction projects.
Hisa Hashimoto with her evaporating machine. P-13673.
Hisa Hashimoto travelled to Japan in the 1960s to study techniques of massage. Upon her return, she opened a massage studio. One of her clients was Sophie Atkinson, an internationally recognized artist who settled in Revelstoke. Sophie gave several of her paintings to Hisa.
Kunio Hashimoto, 1950. P-14173.
Kunio and Hisae (twins) were born on April 25, 1928, in Revelstoke. When they were 11 months old, the family went to Japan. After Chizuko was born in Japan, Kunitaro and Hisa returned to Canada. They left the children with their relatives. Kunitaro’s brother, Sakutaro, and wife Tsuma raised Kunio, and he stayed in Japan until he returned to Canada in 1950. Hisae and Chizuko were raised by Hisa’s relative, and they remained in Japan.
Kunio is a kika nisei, (born in Canada, educated in Japan, and then returned to Canada). He worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway as a roadmaster until he retired in the 1980s. His wife Reiko died in 2023. Kunio is still living in Revelstoke as of 2025.
The three youngest children of Kunitaro and Hisa, Mary, Kyn, and Yoshi, all went into the teaching profession.