Difference between revisions of "Tomari International Cemetery"
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Revision as of 08:34, 10 August 2013
- Other Names: 阿蘭陀墓地 (J: oranda bochi) or ウランダー墓 (O: urandaa haka)
- Japanese: 泊外国人墓地 (Tomari gaikokujin bochi) or 泊外人墓地 (Tomari gaijin bochi)
The Tomari International Cemetery is a small cemetery in Tomari, one of the main port areas of Naha. It contains the graves of 22 foreign individuals from the 18th through early 20th centuries, and roughly 300 from the postwar period, mostly those of Americans killed in the Battle of Okinawa, Korean War, or Vietnam War, or those regularly resident in Okinawa at the time of their death. The cemetery was destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, but was rebuilt by the US Civil Administration of the Ryukyus (USCAR) and the City of Naha, reopening on June 30, 1955.
Of the graves from the earlier period, the earliest are those of two Chinese castaways, dated c. 1718 (Kangxi reign) and c. 1785 (Qianlong reign. There are four other graves of Chinese individuals; ten of Americans, including several who came to Ryûkyû as members of Commodore Perry's expedition; two Englishmen, one Frenchman, one Swede, and two graves that have not been identified.
In 1964, a monument was erected within the cemetery commemorating the landing of Commodore Perry nearby in 1853.
Individuals buried at Tomari
- William Hares, d. 1816, English sailor, whose funeral was provided for by the villagers of Tomari
- J.J. Doss, 1818-1843
- Mathieu Adnet, French priest, d. 1848
- Suzanne Katherin Bennett, daughter of ?? and Katherine Bennett, d. 1848
- Hugh Ellis of the USS Mississippi, d. 1853
- William Board, d. 1854, US sailor killed in the Board Incident
- Eli Crosby of the USS Susquehanna, d. 1854
- John Williams of the USS Vincennes, d. 1854
- John Miller of the USS Vincennes, d. 1854
- Henry Amoore, 1840-1908, Englishman and teacher at the Okinawa Prefectural Middle School
References
- Graves and plaques on-site.
