The first Japanese teahouse in Canada was founded in 1907 in Gorge Park, Esquimalt, by Yoshitaro Kishida and Hayato Takata. At their peak in the 1920s, tens of thousands of visitors strolled through their winding paths each year and dined in an open-air teahouse that served traditional English fare. This all came to an abrupt end when the Takata family — along with nearly 22,000 other Japanese Canadians — was forcibly uprooted, interned and dispossessed in the 1940s. Join Jordan Stanger-Ross as he relates the forgotten history of the teahouse and today’s opportunities for its commemoration.

UVic Café Historique 2019-20 Season
Great Stories
The 2019-20 season of Café Historique continues to explore history through a new lens: the telling of great stories. Whether the biography of a famous individual, the recounting of a dramatic event or the discovery of a long-forgotten or undeservedly neglected tale, these stories will amaze, thrill and inspire you. This year, join UVic History professors as they invite you to relive stories of conspiracy in Stuart England, the adventures of an early indigenous rights activist in British Columbia, and the misdeeds of Jack the Ripper in Victorian London, to name just a few.

We're thrilled that Hermann's is alive and well and welcoming us back for another season. As in previous years, doors open at 5pm and talks begin at the slightly earlier time this year of 6pm. Donations of $2 per person are gratefully accepted at the event - bring your toonie!