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A scroll found among the recovered artifacts. (Photo provided by FBI Boston)
A local family who discovered World War II loot among their late father’s belongings “did the right thing” by notifying the FBI, allowing federal authorities to return the historic artifact to Japan for the first time in 80 years. It’s arrived.
The Boston Division of the FBI announced that it has recovered 22 historical artifacts that were looted after the Battle of Okinawa. These artifacts were missing for nearly 80 years.
Federal authorities were alerted last year after a Massachusetts family went through their late father’s belongings and discovered what they believed to be priceless Asian art. Artifacts included portraits, scrolls, pottery, and ancient maps.
“It looked old and it looked like it had value,” said FBI Boston Special Agent Jeffrey Kelly, a member of the FBI’s art crimes team. “So they did a little research and discovered that at least the scroll had been entered into the FBI’s National Stolen Art File about 20 years ago.
“Then when they realized it had been stolen, they contacted the FBI and they contacted me,” Kelly added.
The artifacts also included an unsigned, typewritten letter stating that the items were collected in Okinawa at the end of World War II.
The FBI conducted an investigation and was able to prove the authenticity of the work.
“One of the basic things to do here is just do a side-by-side comparison,” Kelly says. “And we obtained images of antiquities that were looted sometime in the mid-1940s.
“Although it’s not a high-quality black-and-white photo, it’s clear enough to be compared side-by-side with the Massachusetts antiquities, and we can come to a pretty good conclusion that they’re a match,” he added.
The 22 artifacts, some dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, represent an important part of Okinawa’s history. Relics include portraits of six people, a hand-drawn map of Okinawa dating back to the 19th century, and various pottery and ceramics.
“There’s something very climactic about unrolling the scroll,” Kelly says. “When we first retrieved it, we didn’t do that because we definitely didn’t want to damage it.”
“The first time they were unrolled and we were able to see them was when we were at the Smithsonian with experts,” he added. “And it’s a really exciting moment to see the scroll unfold before your eyes, and you’re witnessing history and witnessing something that a lot of people haven’t seen in a long time.”
The family’s late father was a World War II veteran, but he never served in the Pacific Theater. The local family wishes to remain anonymous.
“I think one of the biggest takeaways from this entire investigation is the fact that the family did the right thing in this case,” Kelly said. “They did everything right. They had some questionable artifacts that they thought might not belong to this country. They looked into the National Stolen Art File. And they found out that it actually When they realized that cultural property may have been looted, they did what they had to do: report it to the FBI.
“We are not going to put people in jail because they happened to inherit items of questionable origin or questionable origin,” he added. “At the end of the day, we’re here to help make sure it’s returned to its rightful owner.”
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art assisted the FBI in ensuring the art was properly packaged for return to Japan.
On Friday, the governor of Okinawa Prefecture announced at a press conference that the artifacts would be returned to Japan, saying, “It is extremely significant that the FBI and other U.S. government officials cooperated in making this return possible.”
An official return ceremony for the artifacts will be held in Japan at a later date.
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