NAKANO Minoru
Born: 14 April 1884 – Died: 20 December 1946
Particulars:
Minoru was born in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan and arrived in Mackay, Queensland, Australia aboard the Yahata Maru in 1902, when he was 18 years old. He lived at Tanaka Boarding House in Gimuy / Cairns in 1918 but moved many times in the region for the next three years, working as a labourer. When the Pacific War broke out, Minoru was a single man living in Innisfail, working as a cook. When he was arrested, he handed over 84 pounds to the authorities at Meanjin / Brisbane and 1 pound 6 shillings to the authorities at Innisfail. Minoru was interned at Hay Internment Camp in New South Wales but was later transferred to Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia, due to reorganisation of camps. In the last year of the war, he was hospitalised and continued to be in and out of hospital several times. When Loveday Internment Camp closed after the war, he was moved to Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria. He died in the camp hospital more than a year after the war ended, at age 62. The cause of his death was not recorded in documents held at the National Archives of Australia. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Sun Yung Shin 신 선 영
Artist/s Statement:
When I read about Nakano Minoru and the others imprisoned, I was overwhelmed with sadness for what was stolen from them, their families, and their communities. Knowing names helps us perform our duties of ethical remembering. At first, I considered including archival images of the places where he was held in captivity, but I soon felt that I should focus on imagining his spirit at peace, rather than reproducing the places of his incarceration. Then I included images that might be at an altar or a grave. I thought about how these elements are created with sunlight, water, soil, time, labour, skill — rice, wooden bowl, chrysanthemum, sake, ceramic vessel, and cup, fragrant wood powders, herbs, and oils that become sticks of incense. Everything comes from nature, and to nature we all return. I hope the spirits of Nakano Minoru and all those who suffered so needlessly have found peace.
Artist Bio:
신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin is a multi-genre author and editor of 13 books, most recently ‘Six Tones of Water’ co-written with Vi Khi Nao and ‘The Wet Hex’ from Coffee House Press. Her forthcoming books include the picture book ‘Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs’, ‘Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language’, and ‘Asian American Histories of the United States for Young People’. Her work has been featured in POETRY, BOMB, the 13th Gwangju Biennale, and elsewhere.