Rohwer Internees Monument, (sculpture).

Rohwer Internees Monument, (sculpture).

Fujioka, Kaneo, sculptor.

Horisawa, Kay, sculptor.

Rohwer Internees Monument, (sculpture).

Evacuee's Memorial, (sculpture).

1944. Dedicated: Oct. 1944.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: concrete; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 12 ft. x 2 ft. 2 in. x 1 ft. 11 in.; Base: approx. 4 ft. 6 in. x 15 ft. 10 in. x 15 ft.

(On west side on obelisk, incised lettering:) (Japanese characters)/TO HIM WHO SLEEPS/ETERNALLY HERE/A DESCENDANT OF/GLORIOUS YAMATO/WHO CAME IN HIS/PRIME WITH HOPES/AND AMBITIONS/HEROIC TO BATTLE/THE FORTUNES OF/LIFE PEACE AND/BLISS BE YOURS/1944 (On south side of obelisk, incised lettering:) ROHWER/RELOCATION/CENTER/PROJECT/DIRECTOR/RAY D/JOHNSON/AND/JOSEPH/B HUNTER (On east side of obelisk, incised lettering:) (Japanese characters)/ERECTED BY THE/INHABITANTS OF RO/HWER RELOCATION/CENTER/OCTOBER 1944 (On north side of obelisk, incised lettering:) MAY THE/PEOPLE/OF/ARKANSAS/KEEP IN/BEAUTY/AND RE/VERENCE/FOREVER/THIS/GROUND/WHERE/OUR/BODIES/SLEEP unsigned

An eagle with wings outspread is perched on a globe that appears to rise out of formed concrete rocks. The globe rests atop an obelisk that is decorated on all four sides with ornamental carvings and Japanese script. The south face features an egret and peacock standing beneath a tree branch and a stylized rising sun. The north face features a star and an American eagle wearing a shield. On the east side, at the top, is a flower. The obelisk rests on top of a square, tiered base. The base has been carved with elegant, decorative floral patterns along each side and a star and circle alternately at the corners. The upper rim of the bottom tier is lined with stars. An urn rests at each corner of the base.

History -- United States -- World War II

Ethnic -- Japanese

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Animal -- Bird -- Egret

Animal -- Bird -- Peacock

Landscape -- Celestial -- Sun

Landscape -- Celestial -- Star

Object -- Other -- Globe

Object -- Foliage

Object -- Flower

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arkansas -- Rohwer

Administered by Desha County, Robert Moore Street, Desha County Courthouse, Arkansas City, Arkansas 71630

Located Rohwer Relocation Center Memorial Cemetery, West of Arkansas Highway 1, Rohwer, Arkansas

The sculpture was built as a memorial to internees of the Rohwer concentration camp who died while at the camp. The artists designed and built the sculpture while internees there. The camp was used to imprison Japanese Americans during World War II. The artists were able to use only the materials they had available at the camp. The sculpture is located in the memorial cemetery, built by the internees of the Rohwer camp, which is situated just outside the camp boundary. The State of Arkansas named the Rohwer Memorial Cemetery a state historical monument. In 1974, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Midwest District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League organized the Rohwer Restoration Project in 1989 to save the sculpture and another built by the artists (see IAS AR000272). In 1990 the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program nominated the cemetery to the National Park Service to have it declared a National Historic Landmark. Historic photos of the sculpture show that the base was originally encircled with bullet-shaped cones, all of which are now gone. The sculpture has been partially restored.

IAS files contain a partial transcription of Japanese characters on sculpture. IAS files contain a 1991 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Rohwer Relocation Center Memorial Cemetery. IAS files contain a related excerpt from the booklet, "The First Rohwer Reunion," Los Angeles, CA: First Rohwer Reunion Committee, July 1990, pg. 42-43.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arkansas survey, 1993.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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