7 Uyenos: Original Japanese Troupe

Photographic montage of performances by the Japanese acrobatic troupe the 7 Uyenos, made to promote performances at Berlin’s Wintergarten theatre, probably in the 1930s. Based in the USA, the Uyenos toured internationally as performers for many years, and arrived in Australia in late 1940 to perform with Wirth’s circus as the ‘American Uyenos’, as they had done in the 1920's and 1930s. In December 1941, the seven members of the troupe - Shojiro Uyeno [AKA Albert Ueno], Kaichiro [Kakichi] Namba, Hatsutaro Kaneko, Uwao Akai, Ukichi Yamamoto and Hama Koyama – were interned as ‘enemy aliens’ at Tatura following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, and remained there for the duration of the war. Albert Ueno [Albert Uyeno] became leader of Compound B at Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria. Members of the troupe were forcibly repatriated to Japan in 1946. After the war, Albert Ueno worked as an interpreter for occupation forces in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and then as an English-speaking guide for the Japan Travel Bureau. Kakichi Namba joined the Ringling-Barnum circus in the USA.