Bando Prisoner of War camp
Encyclopedia
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in what is now Naruto
Naruto, Tokushima
is a city in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.In the quinquennial census of 2010, the city had a population of 61,522 . With a total area of the population density is 454 persons per km².The city was founded on March 15, 1947....
, Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is the city of Tokushima.- Tokushima Prefecture and Myodo Prefecture :Long ago, Tokushima City belonged to a region known as Myōdō-gun...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. From April 1917 to January 1920, just under a thousand of the three thousand nine hundred German soldiers captured at Tsingtao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
in November 1914 were imprisoned at the camp. When the camp closed in 1920, sixty-three of the prisoners chose to remain in Japan.
Orchestra
During their internment the prisoners formed an orchestra which performed over a hundred concerts between 1917 and 1920, including at nearby Ryōzen-jiRyōzen-ji (Naruto)
is a Kōya-san Shingon temple in Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Temple 1 of the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage, the main image is of Shaka Nyorai. Said to have been founded by Gyōki during the Tempyō era, its buildings are more recent replacements after damage by fires...
. On 1 June 1918 the prisoners mounted the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
in the country. This event is the origin of the popularity of the symphony in Japan, performed numerous times at the end of each year, and is celebrated annually with a concert at the Naruto Bunka Kaikan on the first Sunday in June.
German House
The museum opened in 1972 to exhibit related items. In 1974 Naruto was twinned with LüneburgLüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
in Germany and the subsequent accession of further materials necessitated the move to new premises. A new building near the former camp opened in 1993.