In the USA, cultural values were found in the attic of a house, exported from Japan during the Second World War
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22 items of cultural value for Japan were found in the attic of a private house in the state of Massachusetts (USA). They were smuggled out of Okinawa during World War II. Now the treasures have been returned to Japan.
FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Kelly was notified of the discovery of the Asian art treasure in January 2023, reports
ArtNews.
The house in which the valuables were found used to belong to a World War II veteran. His family members discovered the art while going through his deceased father’s possessions.
“They came across very valuable objects of Asian art,” said Kelly, who is the art crime coordinator for the FBI in Boston. – There were some scrolls, some pottery, an ancient map. They looked old and valuable”.
F.B.I
According to the agent, the veteran’s relatives found out that the Japanese scrolls they found about 20 years ago were listed on the FBI’s National Register of Stolen Works of Art. So they decided to contact the police.
In total, FBI agents discovered 22 artifacts in the attic, including six painted scrolls from the 18th and 19th centuries, a hand-drawn map of Okinawa from the 19th century, as well as ceramics and pottery.
F.B.I
It was revealed that they were stolen in the last days of the war, when the military seized the local treasures and documents of the Ryukyu Kingdom during the Battle of Okinawa – of the monarchical state that existed in this territory from 1429 to 1879. One of the artifacts found depicted members of the Okinawan royal family.
Subsequently, the FBI transported the find to the National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where experts had the opportunity to look at the valuables for the first time in many years.
F.B.I
After an investigation by the FBI and the US Department of Defense, the artifacts were returned home to Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. The restored treasure was received at an official ceremony by the governor of the prefecture, Danny Tamaki.
“A nation’s cultural identity is truly summed up in artifacts and history. Therefore, it is very important for us, as custodians of artifacts and cultural heritage, to make every possible effort to ensure that they are returned to the civilizations and cultures of the countries to which they belong“, Agent Kelly noted.
More finds from the Japanese treasure can be seen in the gallery:
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