Twenty-two historical artifacts stolen from Okinawa during World War II have been returned to Japan after a Massachusetts family discovered them among their late father’s personal belongings, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported March 16.
The artifacts, some of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, provide important evidence of Okinawa’s history. They include six portraits, a hand-drawn 19th-century map of Okinawa and several ceramics, officials said.
The Boston FBI office said they helped arrange the return of items that went missing nearly 80 years ago. The official repatriation ceremony will take place in Japan later.
In 2001, the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education registered some of the artifacts in the FBI’s National Stolen Art Database, a database of works of art and cultural property reported stolen to the FBI by law enforcement agencies in the United States. United and abroad.
According to the FBI, the artifacts were discovered when a family who wished to remain anonymous discovered valuable Asian art in their late father’s personal belongings.
His father was a World War II veteran but never served in the Pacific Theater. The family then checked the National Stolen Art Archive and discovered that at least four items were missing, 18th-century portraits that had been entered into the database.
“This case highlights the important role the public plays in recognizing and reporting potential stolen works of art,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston field office, said in a statement. “We would like to thank the Massachusetts family who did the right thing by reaching out to us and giving us these treasures so we could return them to the people of Okinawa.”
Source: Rossa Primavera
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