Commencement of Cowra Japanese War Cemetery Bilingual Database & Resource Site Project
2016/8/17
A comprehensive Database and Resource Site containing information pertaining to all of the graves at the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery (CJWC) commenced in April 2016.
The concept of this bilingual English-Japanese website was developed by its Project Team. The idea was then submitted to the Embassy and it is now receiving funding from the Embassy of Japan. The website will allow the background information of those buried at the CJWC to be accessible by their relatives in Japan and around the world and give life to the names on the graves for visitors to Cowra. The primary aim of this project is to shed light on one lesser-known aspect of the history of the Japan-Australia relationship.
The CJWC houses 524 graves of Japanese nationals who died in Australia before and during WWII, including military personnel who died as prisoners of war and civilians who were interned as enemy aliens and died in internment camps. They include not only those who had lived in Australia prior to the war, but also Japanese civilians transferred from other regions in the Pacific to be interned in Australia. Graves for those of Taiwanese and Korean origin may be found in the cemetery as well.
The Embassy is very appreciative that the Cowra cemetery has been looked after so well by the City of Cowra over the years, since the Cemetery established as the Australia-Japan joint project in 1964. Commemorative ceremonies are held at the cemetery in August every year to honor the memory of those whose graves may be found there. Each grave has a metal plate engraved with the deceased person’s name, date of death and, in some cases, age at the time of death. With the exception of only a few, their background stories and the causes of death are largely unknown. The Embassy hopes that this user-friendly Database and Resource Site will help reveal some of the previously untold circumstances of the individuals buried in the cemetery.
Lead by Dr. Keiko Tamura, Research Associate at the Australian National University, the website Project Team is working closely with the Mayor of Cowra, Mr Bill West, and members of the Cowra Council.
It is expected that the project will be completed around 2019. The Project Team is made up of
the following members..
Dr. Keiko Tamura-Research Associate, Australian National University
Dr.Yuriko Nagata-Honorary Research Senior Fellow, University of Queensland
Ms. Mayu Kanamori-artist, writer and photographer
Ms. Chie Muraoka-designer and web consultant
For more information, interview requests and photos, please contact the Consular Section, Embassy of Japan, e-mail: consular@cb.mofa.go.jp
The concept of this bilingual English-Japanese website was developed by its Project Team. The idea was then submitted to the Embassy and it is now receiving funding from the Embassy of Japan. The website will allow the background information of those buried at the CJWC to be accessible by their relatives in Japan and around the world and give life to the names on the graves for visitors to Cowra. The primary aim of this project is to shed light on one lesser-known aspect of the history of the Japan-Australia relationship.
The CJWC houses 524 graves of Japanese nationals who died in Australia before and during WWII, including military personnel who died as prisoners of war and civilians who were interned as enemy aliens and died in internment camps. They include not only those who had lived in Australia prior to the war, but also Japanese civilians transferred from other regions in the Pacific to be interned in Australia. Graves for those of Taiwanese and Korean origin may be found in the cemetery as well.
The Embassy is very appreciative that the Cowra cemetery has been looked after so well by the City of Cowra over the years, since the Cemetery established as the Australia-Japan joint project in 1964. Commemorative ceremonies are held at the cemetery in August every year to honor the memory of those whose graves may be found there. Each grave has a metal plate engraved with the deceased person’s name, date of death and, in some cases, age at the time of death. With the exception of only a few, their background stories and the causes of death are largely unknown. The Embassy hopes that this user-friendly Database and Resource Site will help reveal some of the previously untold circumstances of the individuals buried in the cemetery.
Lead by Dr. Keiko Tamura, Research Associate at the Australian National University, the website Project Team is working closely with the Mayor of Cowra, Mr Bill West, and members of the Cowra Council.
It is expected that the project will be completed around 2019. The Project Team is made up of
the following members..
Dr. Keiko Tamura-Research Associate, Australian National University
Dr.Yuriko Nagata-Honorary Research Senior Fellow, University of Queensland
Ms. Mayu Kanamori-artist, writer and photographer
Ms. Chie Muraoka-designer and web consultant
For more information, interview requests and photos, please contact the Consular Section, Embassy of Japan, e-mail: consular@cb.mofa.go.jp
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