the SEVEN UYENOS

From 1920 to 1941, a group of acrobats toured Australian cities and regional towns with Wirth’s Circus. Known as the Seven Uyenos (or the Royal Uyenos, or the American Uyenos) this skilled and experienced group of Japanese performers based in the United States was successful and well known, returning to Australia many times.

Led by Shojiro (Albert) Ueno, who had toured professionally since the age of five, this talented group was the highlight of the circus, with contemporary media reports noting that the Uyenos “stand out above all their predecessors at this class of work”. The troupe were known for their juggling, tumbling, balancing and other feats. One member, Kaichiro (or Kakichi) Namba, was famous for his ability to ascend a ladder using only his head and none of his limbs.

The troupe arrived in Australia in late 1940 to perform with Wirth’s Circus as the American Uyenos, as they had in previous years. But the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the outbreak of war in the Pacific dramatically altered the situation of Japanese people in Australia. The seven members of the troupe – Ueno, Namba, Hatsutaro Kaneko, Uwao Akai, Ukichi Yamamoto and Hama Koyama – were interned as “enemy aliens” at Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria, where they remained for the duration of the war.

The 1939 National Security (Aliens Control) Act had required all “aliens’ over the age of 16 in Australia to register; “enemy aliens” could be naturalised British subjects who were born in enemy countries, or Australianborn descendants of immigrants born in enemy countries. By 1942, more than 12,000 people were interned in Australia. Tatura was a purpose-built camp, one of seven Victorian camps that housed the majority of internees. Japanese nationals were interned (along with German and Italian people, and others) as well as Australians of Japanese heritage. Many were from the pearling industry or had worked in the sugar industry in Queensland. The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 meant that there had been very little 20th-century Japanese immigration, so the Japanese-Australians interned were generally from families who had been in Australia for a long time and were well-integrated into their communities.

Ueno was a Japanese national, but he spoke fluent English, thanks to his life of international touring. He became the leader of B Compound at Tatura, which he was reported to run in a “democratic” and generous style. Life was difficult for internees, most of whom lost everything when they came to the camps: homes, jobs, opportunities, education and communities. Conditions were not necessarily brutal, but they were certainly not comfortable. Internees could not, for example, heat their cabins, even in the cold Victorian winter.

Doris Wirth visited the troupe at Tatura – even bringing an elephant, to the delight of the 361 children interned there. Internees used the skills they had to support and occupy each other; concerts were a particular source of entertainment at which the troupe used to perform.

In some camps, there was conflict –both politically and culturally – between Australian-born Japanese internees and Japanese nationals. Ueno said that at the end of the war “it was a relief … most of us were happy” but that “there were some who couldn’t accept the news.”

Members of the troupe were forcibly repatriated to Japan in 1946. Ueno worked as an interpreter for Occupation forces in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and then as an English-speaking guide for the Japan Travel Bureau. Namba joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the USA after struggling to adapt to life in Japan; his constant international touring meant that he lacked Japanese language skills. The troupe did not perform together again.

Curator, Photographs, Film and Sound

The author gratefully acknowledges the invaluable research of Yuriko Nagata.