[Monument construction in Rohwer Memorial Cemetery, Rohwer, Arkansas, ca. 1944]

Muramoto, Walter [ bio ]

Description

1 photographic print : b&w;

Monument under construction in open area at Rohwer Memorial Cemetery in Rohwer concentration camp, Rohwer, Arkansas, ca. 1944. Tall white pillar rises at center with an eagle sitting on a dark sphere at top; surrounded by low wall with short tapered pillars along rail. Road along right edge extending from foreground into distance. Planks lay across ditch near pile of scrap lumber. Photographer's shadow visible on ground at BR.

Japanese

Monuments

Eagles

Roads

Cemeteries

Construction

World War, 1939-1945

Concentration camps

Arkansas

Rohwer Relocation Center (Ark.)

History
This monument still stands in the Rohwer Memorial Cemetery. From "Ten Visits Revised" by Frank and Joanne Iritani (Los Angeles: Japanese American National Museum, 1999): "The tallest monument has Japanese characters on its sides and a sphere at the top upon which an eagle sits. The Japanese poem has been translated: In October 1944, the year of the monkey, a monument was built. Sleeping beneath this ground are Japanese souls. Let us pray for the repose of their spirits. Oh, how sad. The tiered cement base has the inscription, 'Erected by the inhabitants of Rohwer Relocation Center, October, 1944.'"

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (hnrc@janm.org).