MASUDA Otota
Born: 9 June 1879 – Died: 5 July 1942
Particulars:
Otota, often known as Oto, was born in Japan and arrived in Australia in 1888. He spent most of his life in Sydney but visited Japan in 1935 and returned the following year. He was a laundryman living and working in Mary Street in Gympie in Queensland when the Pacific War broke out. When he was arrested, he owned two stretchers, blankets, one quilt, one clock mirror, and laundry plant equipment including a collar machine, washing tubs, and a copper boiler with an estimated total value was 12 pounds 10 shillings, all at his home address. He had 2 pounds in cash, which was handed over to the authorities in Meanjin / Brisbane. He was interned at Hay Internment Camp and died of congestive cardiac failure at the age of 62. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Peter Hourdequin
Artist/s Statement:
Because there is limited information about the life of Masuda Otota, I decided to use a postcard from his time and a popular poetic form to convey aspects of his story combined with a message of peace. The postcard image is one from the public domain that shows the town of Gympie, around 1940. This is where Mr Masuda ran a laundry before his internment. I chose to write a poem in ballad form because this form was popular globally during Mr Masuda’s life, and was also a form used in Australian bush poetry. The poem conveys a message of peace that is important to me, and it implores readers to remember the human cost of war.
Special thanks to fellow contributing artist, Marcus Grandon, for his encouragement, help, and technical support during the production of this piece.
Artist Bio:
Peter Hourdequin is a professor of English at Tokoha University, in Shizuoka City, Japan. His research and teaching focus on ecolinguistics, sustainability, and cross-cultural understanding. In addition to his academic publications, Peter shares essays and photographs via his online newsletter, ‘Quiet Hills’ on Substack.