OKUBO Take
Born: 25 September 1872 – Died: 9 November 1945
Particulars:
Take was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan in 1872. Take arrived in Walyalup / Fremantle, Western Australia in 1896, aboard the SS Saladin and travelled north to Djugun and Yawuru Country, where she was registered as working as a dressmaker, creating garments for the community of Rubibi / Broome. In 1941, Take was interned and all her dressmaking fabrics and equipment were left at the Broome Japanese Club, which was taken over by authorities. Take was transported across the country, from Broome to Tatura on Yorta Yorta Country in Victoria. She died on 9 November 1945. No cause of death was found in documents held in the National Archives of Australia. Take’s grave is now in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Jo Anne Shiosaki
More info:
Michael Jalaru Torres, Jo Anne Shiosaki, and Tomoko (Irlean) Matsumoto
Artist/s Statement:
I am a second-generation Nikkei, my father Kakio Matsumoto also came from Nagasaki to Broome, Western Australia in 1913, and secured work in the pearling industry with Gregory & Company. My family was also interned at Tatura Internment Camp. I was just 4 years old. I am deeply inspired by the quiet strength of the Japanese women who came to Australia during the early pearling days. In the sweltering heat of Broome, far from home, they carved out lives on the margins — raising families, running boarding houses, dressmaking, cooking, waiting. Their sacrifices were immense, their voices often silenced by time and tide. Yet through hardship and isolation, they endured with grace and resilience. Their presence, though sometimes invisible in the larger story, is undeniable. And unforgettable.
–Tomoko Irlean Matsumoto (photographed)
Artist Bio:
Michael Jalaru Torres is an Indigenous fine art photographer and poet, born in 1976, in Broome, Western Australia. He is a Djugun-Yawuru man with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi / Jabbir Jabbir / Ngarluma peoples. He draws inspiration from the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work.
Jo Anne Shiosaki is a fourth-generation Nikkei who lives in Rubibi / Broome, Western Australia. Jo’s great-grandparents were one of the earliest Japanese families to migrate to Broome in the late 1800s. Her great-grandfather served as the President of the Japan Club in Broome before the war. She acknowledges the Nikkei community of Broome for helping to create these photographic images, and their willingness to share deeply personal experiences in order to preserve the memories of those who endured internment.
Tomoko (Irlean) Matsumoto lives in Broome, Australia. She was just 4 years old when her family was interned at Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria. Tomoko’s story is a poignant reminder of how war and racial policies disrupted the lives of so many. Stories like hers remind us not just of hardship, but of the human capacity for endurance, community, and hope.