NISHITANI Otomatsu
Born: Unknown – Died: 3 October 1945
Particulars:
Otomatsu was born in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan. He was married with two sons and one of his sons Tatsuki, who lived in Kumamoto, was recorded as his next of kin. He arrived in Gimuy / Cairns, Australia on the vessel Yamashiro Maru in 1891 and worked in the Mourilyan Mill. He was 5 feet 2 inches tall, with brown eyes and greying hair, and a gardener by occupation.
He had been in Australia for 45 years when the Pacific War broke out. He handed over a watch and chain, scissors, torch, and 7 pounds in cash to the authorities, who also searched his house and seized a portrait of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, books printed in Japanese including ‘English Conversation’, ‘Sando Seikatsu’ / Life in Three Cities, ‘Osaka no Yado’ / Osaka Inn, ‘Shizenkai no Hanashi’ / A Tale of Nature, and four copies of ‘Hi-no-de’ magazine, a permit for one two-cell torch, a Certificate of Exemption under the Sugar Cultivation Act 1913, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Japanese Minister of Finance for funding the Japanese war effort.
Otomatasu was interned at Hay Internment Camp in New South Wales, admitted to hospital, then transferred to Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He went in and out of hospital, and died of lung cancer at the age of 72. He was originally buried at the cemetery in Barmera. His grave is now in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Jan Hirano Kirkham
More info:
Jan Hirano Kirkham
Artist/s Statement:
I have incorporated momiji, the red tinted leaves of the maple tree entwined with the barbed wire representing his internment as well as the beautiful blue Shinji butterfly flying freely. Perhaps Otomatsu often pondered about his family and recalled the butterflies and the stunning displays of maple tree found in his hometown of Kumamoto. The marble tile represents the long, vertical, rectangular monuments often found in family plots near Buddhist temples. As an offering I have placed burned incense at the base.
Artist Bio:
Jan Hirano Kirkham is a second-generation Japanese Australian who was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1954. She is the second daughter of Japanese war bride Akiko Kirkham. She resides on acreage in the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, where her happy place is forest bathing in her expansive garden.