NABESHIMA Tankichi
Born: 20 July 1886 – Died: 22 March 1943
Particulars:
Tankichi was born in what is now Hakusan City in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He moved to Menado, Celebes in the Dutch East Indies, now Sulawesi in Indonesia. He married a local woman and had three sons and two daughters. The oldest being a boy, was born in Menado in 1916. Tankichi was a merchant. Although Tankichi was a Buddhist, four of his children were Protestants and one was a Catholic. By the time the Pacific War broke out, Tankichi was widowed. He was taken to Australia with his children and grandchildren, and they were interned together in the Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria. Before he died at the age of 56, his oldest daughter gave birth in the internment camp. Tankichi’s grave can be found in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Shihoko Kuhara
Artist/s Statement:
As soon as I heard about this project, I decided to express Tankichi’s life using ikebana and hanakotoba, which means language of flowers in Japanese.
Tankichi Nabeshima
-Green Chrysanthemum: start over
Tankchi’s wife
-Purple Chrysanthemum: trust me
Tankichi’s children
-Hypericum: sadness doesn’t last
Indonesia
-Orchid: love
Australia
-Eucalyptus: memories
Artist Bio:
Shihoko Kuhara was born in Sydney, Australia in 2011. Her Japanese mother had lived in Australia for 20 years and father for 10 years by the time Shihoko was born. When Shihoko was 18 months old, her family moved back to Japan and they now live in Ishikawa Prefecture, where Mr Tankichi Nabeshima was born. She has been back to Sydney a couple of times since, and plans to return again soon. Shihoko is a passionate ballet dancer, piano player, and a practitioner of kado, also known as ikebana, which is Japanese flower arrangement.