HIRANO Tosaku
Born: 25 September 1868 – Died: 28 December 1944
Particulars:
Tosaku was born in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. He was a mining labourer working in Kanaky / New Caledonia, even though he was married with two sons and one daughter living in Hiroshima Prefecture. When the Pacific War broke out, Tosaku was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He was admitted to the 121 Australian General Hospital with dysphagia and transferred to the camp hospital. He died at the end of that year. He was 78. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Taka Takiguchi
Artist/s Statement:
Welcome back to Hiroshima.
You left your wife and three children behind and went to New Caledonia to work as a coal miner. With Mr Wakabayashi and Mr Tanimatsu also there, I imagine you spoke of your children with pride — perhaps imagining them playing in the mountains of the Mitsugi district or along the Misasa River.
The sacred mountain
every ridge this year
sprouting bamboo
–Chizuko Shigeta
When you were detained in New Caledonia and entered Australia two months later, you wrote, ‘I’m Japanese’ in the signature field of your official entry report. This simple declaration — ‘I am Japanese’— carries a profound clarity, unwavering conviction, and quiet pride. From the handwriting itself, I can sense the careful yet graceful stroke of the pen — firm, composed, and intentional. Even as you were sent to an enemy nation’s internment camp, it seems your spirit remained vibrant, your heart unclouded, facing the unknown with dignity and life.
Though you were not able to return to Japan then, I believe the way you lived — your integrity — was surely passed down to your three children.
Welcome back, indeed.
Sincerely, Taka Takiguchi
Artist Bio:
Taka Takiguchi (滝口貴) is an independent artist and producer of Japanese (Hiroshima) heritage related stories based in Naarm / Melbourne, Australia. His practice delves into personal stories, places, their historical contexts, and our presence within them today. He explores relational phenomena – between memory, time, and language – bringing them to life through poetry, scriptwriting, and movement based techniques, including the Suzuki Method, Butoh, and shamanic/trance dance. His late grandmother’s thousands of haiku and handwritten journals remain a constant source of inspiration for his passion for writing poetry.