Support for the Legacy Project extends far beyond financial contributions—it’s about fostering meaningful community involvement in both the development and ongoing operation of the new center.

CJCA Membership

• Exclusive Access to Events: Members enjoy priority registration and discounted rates for key cultural festivals, educational workshops, heritage exhibits, and exclusive member-only gatherings hosted at the Legacy Project Hub.
• Networking & Intergenerational Connections: Engage with a vibrant, multi-generational network of local residents, entrepreneurs, and community leaders—building lasting relationships that strengthen resilience, collaboration, and civic pride.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Legacy Project Fundraising: Contribute to the creation of a new cultural center that celebrates Japanese heritage and serves as a welcoming space for community growth. Donations specifically support this important initiative.
• Fundraising Events: Participate in special events organized by the CJCA to raise funds and awareness for the Legacy Project.

General Volunteer Roles: The CJCA also offers ongoing volunteer opportunities in various community activities. Members are encouraged to subscribe to the CJCA newsletter to receive updates on upcoming roles and initiatives.

The Legacy Project is the living culmination of our shared history—a vital bridge from the past to a prosperous tomorrow.

Expanded Donor Recognition Levels

Donor Recognition Levels

The CJCA Legacy Project is built on the belief that our community’s story is only as strong as the people who help shape it. When you give, your name and your family become part of the place we are building together—a home for culture, connection, and community for decades to come. As long as the building stands, we want you with us.

Grassroots Donor — $50–$499

Your contribution helps strengthen the foundation of the Legacy Project. Whether you’re honouring your family, giving back to the community, or supporting Japanese culture in Calgary, your gift moves this project forward.

Recognition: A formal thank-you acknowledging your support.

Legacy Donor — $500

If you want your name—your family name, a loved one’s name, or an honoured ancestor’s—to become part of the new Community Centre, this level is for you.

Recognition: Your name engraved on a cedar shingle that will be installed on the exterior of the new facility.

A meaningful way to leave your mark on the building itself.

Community Builder — $1,250

Your gift helps us expand language programs, cultural workshops, seniors’ activities, and youth engagement. You help build a place where people connect across generations.

Recognition: Your name on a Small Plaque on the Donor Recognition Wall.

Friend of the CJCA — $5,000

Your support strengthens the heart of our cultural and educational programming. This level is ideal if you wish to honour your family legacy or support the future of Japanese Canadian history in Calgary.
Recognition: Your name on a Medium Plaque on the Donor Recognition Wall.

Supporter Circle — $10,000

Your generosity enhances major functional spaces within the building and helps us deliver high-quality community events, workshops, and celebrations.
Recognition: Your name on a Large Plaque on the Donor Recognition Wall.

Keystone Donor — $50,000

At this level, your support shapes a signature element of the Japanese Garden—one of the most meaningful and symbolic spaces on the grounds.
Naming Opportunities: Choose from a garden bench, stone pagoda, stone lantern, torii gate, or a unique art feature.

You may dedicate this to your family, ancestors, business, or someone special.

Foundation Donor — $100,000

Your leadership gift helps build the cultural and community-defining rooms that will serve thousands of people in the years to come.

Naming Opportunities: Garden, tatami room, museum, meeting room, fountain, or library.

A powerful way to honour your family name or commemorate someone’s legacy.

Cornerstone Donor — $250,000Your contribution supports one of the building’s most important public-facing spaces, shaping how the community gathers and grows.
Naming Opportunities: Residential area or event space.

This is an ideal level for families, organizations, or those wishing to create an enduring community impact.

Pillar Donor — $500,000+

As a Pillar Donor, you join a select group of major supporters whose leadership makes this historic project possible.

Naming Opportunity: The Main Hall, the centrepiece of the new facility and home to festivals, ceremonies, performances, and major community gatherings.
A once-in-a-generation opportunity to place your name at the heart of the new CJCA.

When you donate, you are not simply giving money; you are investing in the foundation of our community’s future. You are empowering the CJCA to expand its mandate, ensuring The Legacy Project becomes a dynamic, sustainable hub for all. Your support makes history happen.

We are passing the legacy to the next generation by creating a modern, sustainable, and culturally immersive community hub designed specifically for this purpose. This hub will function as a vital bridge by:

• Sharing the community’s multi-generational story with new audiences.
• Providing an expanded Japanese language and cultural activities to ensure our heritage skills and traditions are actively taught and sustained by the future generations.
• Creating an intergenerational gathering space where elders can share their experiences directly with younger members and the public, transforming historical roots into a vibrant, living future.

This project is transforming our foundation into a dynamic space for cultural continuation, ensuring our story is never lost.

Join us as we write the next chapter of Japanese Canadian culture in Calgary.

Our journey –  Click to start Bitter Sweet Trail

Let’s create our future! – click to start Omatsuri 2025

The Japanese community in Calgary is centered around the Calgary Japanese Community Association (CJCA), which serves as the heart of Nikkei activities in the city and embodies the broader Japanese Canadian experience.

Founding:
The roots of the CJCA trace back to the late 1940s, when Japanese Canadian families, newly permitted to move to Calgary after the hardships of the war years, began meeting in a living room. The founding members were forward-thinking individuals who envisioned a growing community and recognized the future need for a larger, dedicated space.

Cultural Identity:
Today, the CJCA continues to provide a place to celebrate, preserve, and share the rich culture, history, and traditions of Japanese Canadians in Calgary. The community includes both early settlers—many of whom endured internment and post-war resettlement—and more recent newcomers who arrived in the 1990s and 2000s.Alberta Nikkei Distinctiveness:
The Japanese community in Alberta holds a distinctive identity shaped by its rural origins and strong cultural infrastructure. Alberta’s Nikkei community reflects a unique blend, where Japanese Canadian traditions are interwoven with broader elements of Canadian society.

The New Facility: A Hub for Culture, Community, and Connection

​​The new Calgary Japanese Community Association (CJCA) facility is envisioned as a vibrant, multi-purpose center that will host a wide range of cultural, educational, residential, and community activities. Designed to welcome people of all backgrounds, the building will serve as a gathering place where individuals can learn, collaborate, and celebrate Japanese culture.

Gatherings, Events, and Performances

Main Hall:
At the heart of the community center is the Main Hall—a spacious venue for events, ceremonies, and celebrations with capacity for up to 200 people.

Event Spaces:
Flexible multi-use rooms are designed to accommodate workshops, classes, and community gatherings of varying sizes.

Indoor/Outdoor Events:
The building’s layout allows activities from the Main Hall to extend into the central Courtyard and Japanese Garden. This design enables the hosting of large-scale events—potentially accommodating up to 500 attendees—and immersive cultural experiences such as takoyaki parties.

Dojo / Martial Arts:
Dedicated areas will support martial arts practice, continuing the legacy of Karate and other disciplines previously held at the current CJCA facility.Community Celebrations:
The new center will continue to host major cultural festivals and events such as OMATSURI – Calgary Japanese Festival, Taste of Japan, and An Evening in Harmony, fostering intercultural connection and community pride.

Cultural Preservation and Education

Cultural PreserThe facility’s design integrates dedicated spaces to preserve, teach, and celebrate Japanese Canadian culture and history.

Tatami Room:
An authentic tatami room will provide a traditional setting for tea ceremonies, martial arts, and other cultural practices.

Reading Room / Library & Archives:
A resource center will house books, documents, and archival materials to preserve the history and stories of Japanese Canadians in Alberta.

Cultural Museum:
Plans include a museum or exhibition space showcasing Japanese Canadian history, particularly experiences in Alberta and during WWII.

Classrooms and Practice Rooms:
Designated learning spaces will support language instruction and cultural programs such as Japanglish and Abacus. These rooms can also be used for evening or weekend classes.Other Cultural Activities:
The building will serve as a hub for language learning, intergenerational programs, and cultural education—promoting connection across ages and backgrounds through shared cultural experiences.vation and Education

Residential and Community Functions

The project combines community-oriented and residential components to create a sustainable, inclusive space.

Residential Units (Downstairs and Upstairs):
Housing units will accommodate visiting artists, scholars, and community members. Barrier-free ground-level units are designed to support seniors and aging-in-place living, while additional units may serve international students or short-term visitors.

Administrative and Support Spaces:
The facility includes offices, administrative areas, storage, a lobby with display areas, and accessible washrooms to support daily operations.

Meeting Room:
A designated meeting space will continue the tradition of hosting community and organizational meetings.Food Service:
A kitchen and café are included in the plan, supporting both community use and public engagement.

Operational and Economic Activities

The new facility is designed to strengthen the CJCA’s financial sustainability and operational capacity.

Rental Opportunities:
Flexible rental spaces will generate revenue through community events, residential unit rentals, and cultural festivals—helping sustain the organization’s long-term operations.

Business Networking:
The center will also serve as a venue for professional and cultural networking opportunities.

Programming Efficiency:
With expanded space and modern infrastructure, the CJCA will be able to deliver more programs and operate with greater efficiency, ensuring its continued role as a cornerstone of Calgary’s multicultural community.

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​The architectural significance is rooted in several guiding Japanese values and aesthetic principles that informed the design:

• Shibusa: This principle emphasizes simplicity, modesty, naturalness, and drawing inspiration from nature, reflected in the use of organic forms.
• Wabi-Sabi: The acceptance of imperfection, finding beauty in rustic deterioration, and embracing timelessness are key.
• Wa: Represents harmony and is expressed in the building’s overall concept.
• Kizuna (Bond): The design encourages a closely knit community, acting as a hub where different generations can congregate.
• Kakehashi (Bridging): The center is intended to bridge Japanese Canadian, Japanese, and Canadian cultures, as well as spanning different age groups and generations.
• Ma: This principle, relating to the harmony of mass and voids, layering, and framing, is seen in the building’s composition. Japanese spaces often hide and reveal views, particularly toward nature.

Form, Materiality, and Layout

The building’s physical features reflect both cultural influence and environmental performance:

• Massing and Form: The design is inspired by the enso (the unfinished circle), resulting in a curvilinear structure that organizes the facility around a central Japanese Garden/courtyard. This placement ensures that views toward the garden are central, particularly from internal circulation spaces.
• Roofline: The evolving geometry of the roof serves as an architectural feature that is also highly performative, designed to follow Calgary’s sun path to maximize natural light and facilitate passive solar heating and cooling. The peaked roof is reminiscent of the gasshō housing found in Shirakawa, Japan.
• Materials: The design utilizes a quiet, minimal material palette. Structurally, the plan incorporates Mass Timber and Heavy Timber structural framing to preserve the warmth of the wood and lower the carbon footprint. Interior materials listed include Concrete, White Gypsum, Birch Plywood Veneer, Cross-Laminated-Timber, and Tatami (in the Tatami Room).
• Shou-Sugi-Ban (Burnt Cedar): The exterior proposes using burnt cedar tiles treated with the traditional Japanese technique called shou-sugi-ban, which is an economic way to treat a natural material to make it weather-resistant, rot-resistant, insect-resistant, and semi-fire resistant.

Functionality and Modern Standards

The new facility is significant for its commitment to modern functional requirements:

• Accessibility: The project will follow Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) Accessibility Certification™ guidelines to ensure a universally inclusive and barrier-free environment. The design addresses the inaccessibility issues of the previous building by ensuring the courtyard and most public programs are accessed at grade, without steps or ramps.
• Sustainability: The building is intended to be a net zero carbon ready building, minimizing its environmental impact. Sustainability strategies include passive solar design, natural ventilation, xeriscaping, and rainwater harvesting for use as grey water. The design team is aiming for a LEED Gold certification.
• Community Integration: The design inverts the layout of the old facility by bringing the Main Hall to the front facing 29th Street, allowing the community to view and engage with activities inside (“a fishbowl”). Key public areas are designed to open directly onto the central courtyard, allowing events to spill outdoors.

Recognition: The architectural design has received professional acclaim even prior to construction, including the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2020 and the Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design award. The project is viewed as setting an example for the future role of ethnic community centers, promoting diversity and inclusion.

Feasibility study and design presentation (Recorded on April 20, 2021)

PTJC 2023-2024 Webinar: The Impact and Roles of Japanese Community Centres in Canada

Built Environment: An Alternative Guide to Japan

Your support to build a centre reflecting Japanese heritage and contributions to Canadian diversity. Create a vital gathering space to understand our past and establish a path forward.

Become a member of the community!

​​CJCA welcomes people of all backgrounds. By becoming a member, you are not only supporting the Japanese community but also receive the following benefit:

• Receive CJCA Magazine
• Get latest news of CJCA and Legacy project update
• Receive discounts on facility rental
• Receive discounts on variety of events sponsored by CJCA

Our membership covers the 1 year from the registration date or from the expiry date.  You can renew your membership in one of the following ways:

1. Online membership application
2. Email
   • Download a copy of the 2026 Membership form and complete the membership application
   • email the application to: cjca@calgaryjca.com
   • Pay for your fees via an e-transfer to: CJCAaccount@shaw.ca (A security question will not be required)
3. Mail
   • Download a copy of the 2026 Membership form and complete the membership application
   • Mail your application form and cheque to:
     CJCA – 2236-29th Street SW Calgary, AB T3E 2K2
4. Walk-in
   • Download a copy of the 2026 Membership form and complete the membership application
   • Visit our office with your application form and check at
     CJCA – 2236-29th Street SW Calgary, AB T3E 2K2

*Contact information collected on the membership form will only be used by the CJCA Office.

The organization traces its roots back to social gatherings of Japanese families in Calgary before WWII. It was formally established as the Calgary Japanese Canadian Association in 1963 and officially incorporated in 1975, later amending its name to the current Calgary Japanese Community Association.Through its long-standing commitment to cultural preservation and community engagement, the CJCA plays a vital role in maintaining the Japanese cultural legacy in Calgary and beyond.

The building’s design will embody the Zen ensō circle—a symbol of harmony, balance, and enlightenment—serving as both a guiding Japanese value and an architectural principle that honors and showcases Japanese culture and heritage in Alberta. Grounded in sustainability, the project aspires to achieve net-zero carbon readiness, creating a vibrant community hub that fosters connection, growth, and resilience while bridging past, present, and future generations.

Inspired by the aesthetics of Shibusa and Wabi-sabi, the design will celebrate simplicity, naturalness, and modesty, finding beauty in imperfection and the subtle elegance of the natural world.

The Calgary Japanese Community Association (CJCA) has been a cornerstone of cultural preservation and community engagement since the 1970s. Now, through the Legacy Project, the CJCA is undertaking the development of a new purpose-built facility that will become the heart of Calgary’s Japanese community. This modern, multipurpose center will celebrate the organization’s rich heritage while ensuring its vitality for future generations. Designed to support a wide range of programs and events, the facility will also offer rental spaces for the broader Calgary community and include accessible on-site apartments.