Okinawan Community Members – Sydney

On February 16, Okinawan community members in Sydney (Okinawa Kenjinkai and Eisa Champuru) held a celebration of Lunar New Year (Soguwachi, ソーグヮチ) and a workshop for the When You Call My Name project. Mayu Kanamori reached out to Okinawan community members to take charge of creating artworks for the 20+ Okinawan WWII internees who died while interned are buried at the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery. It was a beautiful occasion for Okinawan Australians of many generations to come together and contemplate their ancestral migration history to Australia, and honour that history through creative work. An explanatory video by Mayu Kanamori was played before members created artworks in the shared space. Further information about internment and Okinawan migration histories to Australia were also provided.

As a way of combining the Lunar New Year celebration and the When You Call My Name project, community members wrote out the names of all the Okinawan civilians at the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery and tied them to the mane on the lion or shīsā (シーサー). The Eisa Champuru group performed Eisa (Okinawan dance and drumming) performances, including the shishimai (獅子舞) lion dance. Eisa is traditionally performed at Obon time, a celebration that honours ancestors, so it was fitting that the shishimai honoured the Okinawans at the Cowra cemetery – creating a link between current and past Okinawans in Australia. It was a poignant day, reflecting on Okinawan struggles but also the vibrancy of surviving and thriving with Okinawan culture and identity. Everybody present felt grateful to be part of this deeply meaningful project.

– Timothy Kazuo Steains 2025