Story: Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars

Māori soldiers in Japan, 1946–48

Māori soldiers in Japan, 1946–48

The senior chaplain of Jayforce, Padre Harry Taylor (fourth from left), shakes hands with departing Māori soldiers in Ozuki, Japan, some time between 1946 and 1948. The soldiers were part of Jayforce, the New Zealand contingent of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Jayforce included a Māori unit, D Squadron of the Divisional Cavalry Unit, stationed in Japan from 1946 to 1948. It was based in the prefectures of Yamaguchi and Shimane in southern Honshu. These soldiers are about to board a train that will take them to the port of Kure, to catch a ship home.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, War History Collection (DA-01514)
Reference: J-1485

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Monty Soutar, 'Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars - Overseas service after 1945', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36699/maori-soldiers-in-japan-1946-48 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Monty Soutar, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 May 2016