| biography | Kiyoko (Kiyo) Tanaka-Goto was born in 1896 in Shinbashi, Tokyo then grew up in Kyushu. At the age of four, Kiyo's father left Japan for San Francisco. When Kiyo's mother chose to move remain in Japan, Kiyo's father refused to send money back home. At the age of seven she began working on the family farm. To make ends meet, Kiyo and her mother sold bean curd and flour in town, which was a five mile walk away.
In 1916 Kiyo arrived in Canada as a picture bride to a man from Kyushu. It was an arranged marriage. She chose to do this instead of marrying a physician in Japan in an attempt to convince her father to return to Japan. Kiyo and her husband lived in Vancouver Island, milking cows, then moved to Salt Spring Island one year later. In Salt Spring Island Kiyo's husband farmed and Kiyo cleaned chicken coops.
In 1920, Kiyo used her savings to move to Vancouver and buy a brothel. It was turned into a restaurant. After contracting an infection, she agreed to move with a man to Kamloops in exchange for payment for her treatment. For five years she worked for the man and his construction crew, cleaning and cooking.
In 1927 Kiyo returned to Vancouver and leased the upper floor of 35 West Hastings which she then turned into a brothel. She continued this until 1941.
During the internment she was sent to Oakalla for a couple of months, then to Greenwood. She remained in Greenwood for four years, then returned to Vancouver with the help of a friend. She worked in a Chinese restaurant, then opened up a gambling club on Powell Street. |