When you call my name -
Postcard from a stranger
Dear Sansuke,
My apologies for calling you by your given name. I would address you in the polite form as is customary except I am not certain the family name on your grave marker is really your name. In past months, I have been following various paper trails, trying to piece together fragments of your life. I will continue my search with the hope of saying your name properly one day.
Best,
Jenny
p.s. This postcard is a digital collage of a photo I took while standing at the edge of Streeter’s Jetty in June 2024 and some documents relating to you in the National Archives of Australia (including various versions of your name). I did not know our paths would cross when I travelled to Broome. You probably had spent considerable time at this spot too, watching the tides go in and out.
TSUKIUCHI, Sansuke
In the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery database, other than that he was a Buddhist, an internee at Loveday, died on 12 September 1945 and buried in Loveday, no other information of him was recorded. Under the same identification number (DJ18160), there are various documents in the National Archives of Australia of an internee born 10 February 1876 in Wakayama Prefecture, entered and exited from Broome a few times during the period 1893-1935, detained in Darwin on 8 December 1941 and died on 12 September 1945 of natural causes. The family names on the records are not all in agreement (TSUJIUCHI, TSUJUICHI, Tsuje). They seem to be the records of the same person of cemetery plot B-02-12.
From research so far, I suggest that TSUJIUCHI Sansuke left Wakayama when he was not quite 20 years old to join the pearl-shell industry in Broome as an indentured labourer. He relocated to Darwin, likely through the arrangement by his employer Gregory & Co, some time after 1935. He was detained as an ‘enemy alien’ on 8 December 1941, two months before Japan’s bombing of Darwin. He was interned in Loveday and died on 12 September 1945 while still in captivity. He was first buried in Barmera and reburied in Cowra in 1964. His name was mis-recorded in the transfer of record.
A note on Streeter’s Jetty -
Streeter’s Jetty was first constructed in 1886. The original jetty was the only jetty in Western Australia built for the sole use of pearl luggers. It was used continuously by the pearling industry, with the early 20th century being the heyday in Broome. The present jetty was re-constructed in 2000.
A 'mystery man'
That's how Mayu described him to me. Other than a name on the grave marker, an identification number, and that he was an internee in Loveday and died on 12 September 1945, there was not much information about him.
What's in a name
I do have a bit of an obsession with names.
A lot of information is embedded in a name - the cultural background of the person, the history and hope of the family.
The romanised form of my name is the closest to how it is spoken. The tonality of Cantonese is lost in transliteration, of course. The order has to be first Wong, the family name, followed by Ching Yee, my given name. Not any other way. No additional punctuation marks for "administrative convenience" either. "Jenny" does not appear in any of my official documents. It was suggested to me by my parents before I started school. Born and raised in colonial Hong Kong, it was the norm to take on an English name. I very much embrace it as part of my identity.
A lot of times, database designs that do not take into consideration naming conventions outside of the Anglo-Saxon world would result in my name incorrectly recorded: wrong order/ shortened/ a middle name added.
Sansuke's name got muddled, lost, incorrectly recorded. All that is left for me to connect his traces with any certainty is an identification number.
For now, at least.
Not quite the mystery man
I have a high degree of certainty that the person buried in Cowra cemetery plot B-02-12 is TSUJIUCHI Sansuke. This is what I know about Mr Tsujiuchi so far :
He was born on 10 February 1876 in Tanamimura, Nishimurogun, Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県西牟婁郡田並村). Like a number of his peers in search of better economic prospects (1), he first arrived in Broome, Western Australia, in 1893. For the next 40 years or so, he was based in Broome as an indentured labourer in the pearl-shell industry (2). He relocated to Darwin at some point after end 1935. In his 60s then, he no longer worked at sea. He was a shell packer. He lived in the company of close-knit hometown groups (3), including the Murakami family (4), and had the support of a sympathetic employer (5). Soon after Prime Minister Menzie's announcement of Australia's involvement in Second World War on 3 September 1939, the National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations was enacted. Mr Tsujiuchi was detained as an “enemy alien” on 8 December 1941 in Darwin under the Regulations. Together with other civilian internees, he was transferred to the Adelaide camps in January 1942 and interned in Camp 14B, at Loveday. He was admitted to the camp hospital on 30 August 1945 and died at 2.30am, on 12 September 1945 (6). An inquest held on 21 September 1945, with Japanese witnesses present, confirmed he died of natural causes, namely cardiac failure, following a coronary occlusion. He was first buried in the Barmera War Cemetery on 13 September 1945 (7).
(Left) Tsujiuchi's inquest entry, with brief biographical data (8).
His inquest was reported in the SA Police Gazette on 26 September, 1945
Traces he left behind
I located two documents in the archives that bear Mr Tsujiuchi's "touch". The Report on Prisoner of War dated 26.12.1941 (right) has his signature. It was recorded that he had a wife - Ayoko Tsujiuchi (spelling of her surname was inconsistent even within the same form). His father was Ezaimon Tsujiuchi and mother FTO Tomadari. He recorded he had no children.
The other document was a letter admitting his entry dated 30.11.1929 (above). The imprints of his left hand and his thumbs were taken.
Affixed to the Certificate of Exemption from Dictation Test (9) issued on 15.10.1928 was his photo (left) The letter indicated he was unwell in October 1928 and left Broome.
Mr Tsujiuchi made a number of trips away from Broome besides this one with the last ones probably in 1935/36 (10).
Internment
Mr Tsujiuchi was detained on 8 December 1941 in Darwin. He was among the first Japanese to be interned in Compound 14B, Loveday.
While I could not locate records specific to Mr Tsujiuchi, scholars including Dr Yuriko Nagata, Dr Pam Oliver and Christine Piper have conducted in-depth research into lives of Japanese internees. The recollection of experiences varied greatly depending on the individual's background, family situations, and life circumstances (11).
I imagine Mr Tsujiuchi involved himself in gardening, and even games of mahjong, to past time in confinement (12). He probably had also settled in some sort of routine, growing opium poppies to produce morphine and pyrethrum daisies for the Australian army. He might also wood chopped at Moorook West Camp (13).
(Photo on right:
Barmera, SA, 1944-04 No.9 Camp Nursery, Loveday Internment Group.
Japanese internees using a "holland" celery planter to quickly and efficiently plant guayule seedlings. They had been raised for trials to investigate the plant's use as an alternative source of natural rubber. (Photographer Sgt H.K Cullen).
source: Australian War Memorial website )
Note second man from right. He is, perhaps, Mr Tsujiuchi?
Most accounts seem to indicate that treatment in Australian internment camps during the Second World War were generally humane (14). Yet, one must acknowledge the fact that to be incarcerated purely because of one's place of birth, ethnicity, or nationality was a grave violation of the principle of presumption of innocence. Some internees appealed to the Aliens Tribunal, defending their innocence and demonstrating their connections and contributions to Australia (15). I have no information whether Mr Tsujiuchi submitted an appeal or not. Nor could I confirm whether he was included as one of the internees nominated by the Japanese government for early release in prisoner exchange arrangements (16). I suspect he never was.
There is one fact that I am certain of. Unlike some of his fellow pearl workers who were reclassified from Internees to Prisoners of War Japanese Merchant Seamen (PWJM), a label with even deeper stigma and reduced access to justice (17), Mr Tsujiuchi had remained a civilian internee as his work was on shore at the time of his detention.
He would have heard the broadcast of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito on 15 August 1945 announcing Japan's surrender. Shock, disbelief, concern, relieve, joy ... a mix of emotions expressed by his fellow internees (18).
He probably was already quite frail at that stage. He was admitted to the camp hospital on 30 August 1945 and died at 2.30am, on 12 September 1945, of cardiac failure following a coronary occlusion.
SA Police Gazette on September 26, 1945
Photo Above:
Barmera, SA. 1943-03-11/17.
Japanese prisoners of war digging a grave for one of their fellow prisoners of war who died at the 14th Australian Prisoner o War Camp Loveday Group.
source: Australian War Memorial website
• • •
"Human decency demands that we honour the experiences of people who suffer the consequences of actions taken in the nation's interest; that is, actions that are taken in our names." ~ Craddock Morton (19)
Inter-generational burden and trauma
Mayu says, as a member of the Japanese diaspora, she bears the burden and shame on the subject of war.
My maternal grandparents fled their hometown in Southern China to escape from Japanese invasion in the 1930s. Till the end of their lives, they refused to have anything to do with Japan. Blissfully unaware of the scars of displacement and blessedly sheltered from conflicts, I was brought up in the 80s on the latest Japanese exports - from white goods to anime; ramen to onsen.
I only started learning and thinking about inter-generational trauma and guilt as an adult.
Why am I invested in a man that I don't know?
What am I asking myself as I delve further into the records of Mr Tsujiuchi?
Lessons from history
Perpetrators of wars and conflicts should shoulder the burden of their crimes.
Are civilians mere by-standers? I am thinking about the ease with which the public accepted government acts infringing on human rights in the name of collective security.
Given fluidity in the construct of citizenship, identity and belonging (20), is today's Australia any more resilient to the fear of otherness?
Would I be a perpetrator? Could I also find myself in the position of a victim?
If there was one question I could ask Mr Tsujiuchi, what would that be?
I am still searching for your real name, Mr Tsujiuchi. Hopefully, I shall be able to say it with confidence - and see it engraved properly - someday.
Postcard from a stranger, digital collage, 2025
Notes
1.Sissons, D. C. S. (2016). "The Japanese in the Australian pearling industry". In A. Stockwin & K. Tamura (Eds.), Bridging Australia and Japan: Volume 1: The writings of David Sissons, historian and political scientist (Vol. 8, pp. 97–118). ANU Press. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1crmh.8, accessed 19.03.2025)
2. At the time of his detention in Darwin in 1941, presumably by his own recollection, the following entries into Broome were recorded: 1893, Saridan; 1928, Santa; 1935, Manderoo (National Archives of Australia: MP1103/2, DJ18160). I could not corroborate these three entries with NAA Passenger arrivals index though. Instead, under the name TSUJIUCHI Sansuke, an entry on 08.12.1935, Centaur was recorded. There are also various entries under the family name TSUJIUCHI but with different initials for given names (TSUJIUCHI T: 1923, Gorgon; TSUJIUCHI Y: 1931, Minderoo; TSUJIUCHI I: 1936, Centaur). There is also an entry under TSUJUICHI S: 1929, Gascoyne. (NAA: Passenger arrivals index, 1898-1972 online, accessed 11.03.2025).
3. Lamb, J. D. (2015). Silent pearls: old Japanese graves in Darwin and the history of pearling (First edition.). John Lamb, p.176.
4. At the time of his capture, listed as his procession being held at the Gregory Camp were: 2 mattress, 2 suitcases, 2 fishing nets, 1 tool box, and 1 suitcase at Premises of Yoshio Muratami [sic] (NAA:MP1103/2, DJ18160, Form A.114 Property Statement).
5.Bain, M. A. (1983). Full fathom five. Artlook Books, p.318.
6.NAA: MP1103/1, DJ18160, Form A.112 Service and Casualty Form.
7.Ibid.
8. Ancestry Library , State Library of New South Wales.
9. Under Immigration Act 1901, migrants who entered Australia between 1901 and 1958 could be asked to take a dictation test and required to apply annually for a Certificate Exempting from Dictation Test (CEDT) (NAA:A432/79; 1960/3142, Laws in respect of aliens). The letter dated 30.11.1929 seems to corroborate with the Passenger arrivals index of an entry under TSUJUICHI S:1929, Gascoyne. There is another CEDT (duplicate copy without photo) dated 08.01.1930 that suggests he left Broome again shortly after he came back in 1929 (NAA: K1145, 1930/1).
10. See Note 2.
11. Personal accounts of internees in Nagata, Y. (1996). Unwanted aliens : Japanese internment in Australia. University of Queensland Press, pp.158-192; Piper's Loveday Project and Loveday Lives, a project supported by The Japan Foundation, Sydney, and created by historians based in The Flinders University.
12.Nagata, Y. (1996). Unwanted aliens : Japanese internment in Australia. University of Queensland Press, p164.
13. Ibid p.151. Also see "Military history internment in South Australia 1939-78 Loveday internment groups", p.9 (NAA: D844, 73A/1/6[F]).
14. Bagnall K., Trinca, M., Martinuzzi, I., & Beaumont, J. (2008). "Vermin, hot showers and a shortage of trousers: official visits to wartime internment camps" in Under Suspicion . National Museum of Australia, pp. 142–156.
15.Aliens Tribunal transcripts of evidence of objections against internment under Regulation 26 of the National Security (General) Regulations (NAA: MP529/3).
16.Nagata, Y. (1996). Unwanted aliens : Japanese internment in Australia. University of Queensland Press, pp.96-97.
17. Ibid, pp.131-133. The major reclassification and reorganisation of internees in April 1943 was one of the factors leading to the August 1944 Cowra breakout.
18. Ibid, pp.181-188.
19. Beaumont, J., O’Brien, I. M., & Trinca, M. (2008). Under suspicion : citizenship and internment in Australia during the Second World War (1st ed.). National Museum of Australia Press, V.
20. The discussion on "markers of acceptance and inclusion" still relevant in present day Australia. Oliver P., Trinca, M., Martinuzzi, I., & Beaumont, J. (2008). "Citizens without certificates or enemy aliens? Japanese residents before 1947". In Under Suspicion. National Museum of Australia, pp. 125–141.
Other references
Ganter, R. (1999). The Wakayama triangle: Japanese heritage of North Australia. Journal of Australian Studies, 23(61), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443059909387474
Martinez, J. (2005). The End of Indenture? Asian workers in the Australian Pearling Industry, 1901–1972. International Labor and Working Class History, 67(67), pp.125–147. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0147547905000116
Martínez, Julia, Vickers, Adrian and Guthro, Clem. The Pearl Frontier: Indonesian Labor and Indigenous Encounters in Australia’s Northern Trading Network, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824854829
Miles, M., & Warren, K. (2017). The Japanese Photographers of Broome: Photography and Cross-Cultural Encounter. History of Photography, 41(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/03087298.2017.1280903
Piper, C. (2014). After darkness. Allen & Unwin.
Acknowledgement
Tsujiuchi Sansuke's inquest entry and 26.09.1945 SA Police Gazette were located with the help of Edith Ho, Team Leader, Business & Government Team, State Library of New South Wales.