Word: kusaka
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...return of the stone sculptures was cause for celebration: Mamoru Kusaka, the Japanese businessman who owned them, had decided they rightfully belonged in Korea. But Koreans are acutely aware of how much of their cultural patrimony remains in exile. From the late 19th century until Japan's defeat in World War II, Japanese colonial officials and private collectors amassed at least 100,000 artifacts and cultural treasures from all corners of the Korean peninsula. Japanese looters and government-sponsored archaeologists violated the tombs of Korea's Kings and Queens, plundering finely worked gold jewelry, jade pendants and delicate celadon bowls...
...Given such official intransigence, the best chance of restitution rests with individuals like Kusaka, the businessman who returned the stone sculptures to Korea last summer. Kusaka started to collect Korean artifacts only after the war, in part so his wife and daughter would have beautiful bowls to use in the tea ceremony. He planned to build a museum in central Japan to house his collection of stone figures and blue celadon?until he met Korean business tycoon Chun Shin Il, who has spent years buying lost Korean sculptures. Over cups of sake, Chun explained to Kusaka his mission to repatriate...