TANIGUCHI Jimps
Born: 26 February 1893 – Died: 18 January 1944
Particulars:
Jimpei, known as Jimps, was born in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan in 1893. In 1910, at the age of 17, he arrived in Australia aboard the Minderoo. He was single, and his sister, Taniguchi Korin is listed as his next of kin in official documents. Also in official documents, he was classified as a ‘merchant seaman’, who came to Rubibi / Broome, Western Australia to work as a pearl diver for Louis Goldie, a well-known local master pearler. During internment, Jimps was sent to Wooloonook Wood Camp near Loveday in South Australia. He was re-classified as a prisoner of war and transferred to Hay Internment Camp in New South Wales on 14 May 1943. He was admitted to the camp hospital in November 1943 after suffering a number of illnesses, and died in 1944 when he was 50. He now rests in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Jo Anne Shiosaki
More info:
Michael Jalaru Torres, Jo Anne Shiosaki, and Philip Matsumoto
Artist/s Statement:
I am a second-generation Nikkei, and it is an honour to participate in this project — remembering our ancestors and the lives they built with such resilience. My father Kakio, arrived in Broome in 1913 and like Jimpei, found work in the pearling industry with Gregory & Company. When our family was interned at Tatura, I was just a one-year-old baby. My father was separated from us during that time, and given that he and Jimpei had the same occupation and were held in the same camp, it is highly likely they knew each other well. I imagined they would have had quiet conversations about the war, family in Japan, camp life, and reminisced about Broome. Their shared experiences, though marked by hardship, are part of the legacy we carry forward with pride.
–Philip 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.
Philip Matsumoto was born in Broome in Western Australia and is the son of Kakio and Lena Matsumoto. When the family was interned at Tatura, he was just a year old. Philip is a respected community leader and long serving councillor for the Shire of Broome, a position he has held for nearly 30 years. An Elder of the Walman Yawuru Clan, he is deeply rooted in the cultural and civic life of the Broome community.