Shigeto Shimoji was born in Hiroshima, Japan, December 15, 1901. He would immigrate to Canada in 1927. The Shimojis were likely farmers, Shigeto being a member of the Haney Nokai Farmer’s Association in Haney, British Columbia, in 1938. The Shimojis had their property misappropriated under Canada’s discriminatory anti-Japanese laws during the Second World War. From there, and were likely moved to an internment camp in the B.C. or Alberta interior. It’s possible the family may have also worked as farm labour in Manitoba during the war, although limited records suggest the only arrived in 1946.
Shigeto was one of the founding partners of Fuji Builders and Contractors, a prestigious Japanese-Canadian construction firm in Winnipeg, Canada (See Fuji Builders & Contractors Ltd.) He was also the father of Tom Shimoji, another notable Winnipeg builder.