HIRAHARA Tomita
Born: 25 January 1907 – Died: 29 September 1943
Particulars:
Tomita was born in Oita Prefecture in Japan. He was working as a merchant in Kudus, Central Java in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, although he had a wife and a son still living in Oita. When the Pacific War broke out, he was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He was admitted to the camp hospital and died of tuberculosis. He was 36. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Belinda Pratten
Artist/s Statement:
Tomita Hirahara san was a Buddhist. With the little information available about him, I have been ruminating on his spiritual beliefs and hope that in the 20 months he was interned, his Buddhism gave him some solace. On my travels in Japan, I learned about the symbolism of the crow in Shinto and Buddhism and wonder if, while captive, Hirahara san had been able to look up and watch crows fly overhead.
Although most of my travels in Japan have been in the Oita Prefecture – Hirahara san’s birthplace – because my son Max had been living there and attending Ritsumeikan University, this photograph was made in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. During World War II, Kanazawa was lucky in that it was Japan’s second largest city to escape destruction by air raids. Meanwhile, in many other parts of the world, innocent Japanese people were classed as ‘enemy aliens’ and interned due to wartime fear and government policies. I invite you to look up at the Kanazawa crow and pay respects to Tomita Hirahara san.
Artist Bio:
Belinda Pratten has a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney, Australia. After studying photography at Sydney Technical College between 1993 and 1994, Belinda joined the Australian Financial Review as a photojournalist and deputy picture editor. In 1998, she moved to Canberra to work in the press gallery. Since 2001, she has been working as a freelance photographer, filmmaker, and teacher. Belinda currently resides on the unceded Lands of the Wurundjeri people in Melbourne.
Belinda’s photographic work has been collected by The National Portrait Gallery, Canberra Museum and Gallery, The Australian War Memorial, ACT Legislative Assembly Art Collection, as well as private collectors. Belinda has been exhibiting since 1996, with solo shows at The Sydney Opera House (1996), Brewarrina Council Chambers (1998), Corelli’s Cafe Newtown (1999), Belconnen Arts Centre (2008), Tap Gallery Sydney (2011), Bleeding Heart Gallery Brisbane (2011), Kindness House Melbourne (2011), PhotoAccess Canberra (2010 and 2012), and The Photography Room (2016).
Her feature drama script ‘Broken Glass’ was longlisted for the 2023 Monte Miller Awards, and she is writing her first novel.