NAKAMURA Kuniharu
中村国春
Born: 15 October 1905 – Died: 5 August 1944
Particulars:
Kuniharu was born on Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. He was rejected by the Japanese military because he was too short. He was aboard a merchant navy ship as a civilian engineer, when the ship was attacked and sunk by a US submarine, 150 miles north of Java. He was captured the following day at sea, and transported to Australia. He was interrogated at Gaythorne Internment and Prisoner of War Camp in Queensland, before he arrived at the Cowra Prisoner of War Camp in New South Wales. A week later was the Cowra Breakout, when Japanese prisoners of war attempted a mass escape. He died from a gunshot wound to his skull. He was 38 years old. He had a wife and daughter in Amami Oshima. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Masako Ogawa
Artist/s Statement:
Amami Oshima, the hometown of Kuniharu Nakamura, is famous for its beautiful starry sky. I made this while wondering what the night sky was like in Cowra where he was interned.
Artist Bio:
Masako Ogawa was born in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. She has been living in Australia for over 35 years. She currently works as a sessional tutor in translation and interpreting at Western Sydney University, and as a freelance translator and interpreter.