text: Unaware Japanese Canadians received receipts for a small fraction of the value that they saw in their property. The final auctions in 1947 left fragments of Japanese Canadian's materials including only photograph albums, kotos, family shrines, and any items that would not sell in auction. These belongings could rarely be reunited with their owners.
  Protest
  Japanese Canadians lobbied the government to reconsider the forced sale of their property. They wrote letters to government officials or the Custodian of Enemy Property to protest. In British Columbia, officials identified 292 letters that they felt "gave a fair representation" of Japanese Canadians' concerns. A majority of the letters protested on the grounds of their property being sold for unreasonably low prices, without consideration of deeper property value or consent. In addition, the forced sale of property was seen as a violation of their rights as Canadian citizens.
  Several risks were involved in writing to the Custodian. In a time when they were viewed as 'enemy aliens', many Japanese Canadians wrote to threaten legal action, or attempted to invoke their rights as citizens. Others, such as Tomio and Akira Yokoyama, immediately returned their cheques to the Custodian, and risked the loss of all sale revenue to convey their message.