MATOBA Togoro
Born: 22 March 1888 – Died: 14 December 1942
Particulars:
Togoro was born in Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. He was a single man working as a carpenter in Goro, Kanaky / New Caledonia when the Pacific War began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was arrested in Goro as an ‘enemy alien’, transported from Kanaky / New Caledonia to Sydney, Australia by MV Cap des Palmes, then transferred to Hay Internment Camp in New South Wales. He had with him some clothing, a silver pocket watch and about 70 francs, which were all taken by the authorities. Later in 1942, he was taken to hospital with angina pectoris and was placed on the ‘dangerously ill’ list. He died shortly after, aged 54. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Kazuko Chalker
More info:
Kazuko Chalker
Artist/s Statement:
We don’t know exactly when Togoro arrived in New Caledonia, but it could have been 1910. Around that time many young single Japanese men went to New Caledonia seeking better paid jobs. He may have joined a group of young men with a five year contract to work as a miner at one of large nickel mines. When Togoro was captured as an ‘enemy alien’, he was 53 years old. If Togoro went to New Caledonia as a miner, it must have been when he was young, so he might have lived there some 30 years before he was captured.
Hence, we could surmise that after working as a miner he may have married and fathered children. He was a carpenter, as official papers documented, so he might have built a house of his own. I would like to imagine that he had a peaceful life in Goro, New Caledonia, together with his family, until he was captured. Sitting on the verandah of his own house he might have enjoyed looking at the autumn moon longing for his hometown in Japan.
I created the sumi-e or Japanese ink brush painting of the moon that I also enjoy contemplating.
Artist Bio:
Kazuko Chalker graduated Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney with first class honours in Visual Arts, and also received a scholarship to study at Alfred University in New York, USA. She shows her artwork through various exhibitions. Currently she enjoys volunteering at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia as an art guide.