MAKIBARA Ishigoro
槙原石五郎
Born: 10 October 1886 – Died: 1 May 1945
Particulars:
Ishigoro was born in Harada Mura, Mitsuke Gun, now Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He first arrived in Rubibi / Broome, Western Australia in 1914. He returned to Japan once in 1920. He was a single man working as an engineer in the pearling industry in Garramilla / Darwin when the Pacific War broke out. He was taken to Adelaide River in the Northern Territory, then shipped to be interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia.
In 1943, when the Australian authorities re-classified civilians who worked at sea as prisoners of war, many protested, as did Ishigoro, who refused to sign the official papers. He was transferred to Hay Internment Camp with other re-classified men. He died of tuberculosis at the age 59. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery, Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Sue Pedley
More info:
Taka Takiguchi
Artist/s Statement:
Dear Mr Ishigorō Makibara,
Welcome back to Hiroshima. When you returned to Harada Village in 1920 after six years away, you must have felt such excitement as all migrants would feel. Perhaps you visited Senkōji as well on the way. When you went back to Darwin to serve as an engine operator on a pearl diving vessel, you never imagined that war would break out between Australia and Japan.
Born of water,
and return to it
withered lotus
–Chizuko Shigeta
When the war began, you were detained in Darwin on 10 December 1941. Later, by some official decision, you were treated not merely as an ‘enemy alien’, but as a quasi-prisoner of war. I’ve heard that, in a quiet act of resistance, you refused to sign or stamp any documents since. 80 years on, the record of your silent defiance in pursuit of truth in a foreign country continues to move me deeply. Like the lotus born from water and returning to it, sustained and thrived even by muddy water, you lived with dignity. I share with you this haiku composed by my grandmother, in remembrance and respect.
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.