At a formal repatriation ceremony on Tuesday at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Embassy of the United States in Tokyo returned 22 historic artifacts that were looted following the Battle of Okinawa and had been missing for almost 80 years.
The 22 artifacts, some of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, represent a significant piece of Okinawan history and include six portraits, (three of which were one piece and appear to have been divided into three pieces), a hand drawn map of Okinawa dating back to the 19th century, and various pieces of pottery and ceramics.
“We are immensely proud to have been able to recover and return these national treasures to the people of Okinawa, where they will remain an important part of their history and heritage for generations to come,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI would like to thank the Massachusetts family who reached out to us and relinquished these artifacts, the Smithsonian Institute for ensuring they were properly packaged for transport, and our military partners for their help in securing and transporting them back home, making today’s repatriation a reality.
FBI Boston recovered the artifacts last year after a Massachusetts family (who wishes to remain anonymous) was sorting through their late father’s personal effects and came across what appeared to be very valuable Asian art. Their father was a World War II veteran, but never served in the Pacific Theater. In an effort to identify the provenance of the artifacts, they checked the FBI’s National Stolen Art File and determined that at least four of the items were missing 18th century portraits that had been listed in the database. Included with the artifacts was an unsigned, typewritten letter stating the items were collected in Okinawa during the last days of World War II.
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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