"Here lies A-ru-ga-ni Ro-ku-ro (male name), 1940." This grave ("talunga" in Kapingamarangi) is located on uninhabited Matiro Island (three islets south of Touhou Island) in Kapingamarangi Atoll, in Pohnpei state, in what is now known as the Federated States of Micronesia.

While walking the reef and exploring the uninhabited islands, I came upon a single Japanese-language gravestone located on Matiro Island (three islets south of Touhou Island) in Kapingamarangi Atoll. Kesia George, wife of the school principal, told me that this was the grave of "Hiroku Monop," the younger brother of her grandfather, or her great-uncle, who passed away well before she was born. But via an interpreter, Lena, senior citizen and sister of the decedent, said it was the grave of "Roturo Monop" (her older brother, a Kapingamarangi man). Elder Ersin also remembered his name as "Roturo Monop." Dr. Yukiko Inoue, University of Guam professor of education (from Japan), translates the tombstone inscription as "Here lies A-ru-ga-ni Ro-ku-ro (male name), 1940."

After "Arugani Rokuro" / "Roturo Monop" passed away on Pohnpei island, his body was returned to Kapingamarangi for interment. The fact that Arugani Rokuro's remains were transported from Pohnpei back home to Kapingamarangi for burial indicates that he was a privileged son of a wealthy family. His younger sister (Lena) is now 70-or-80-some years old, more than 65 years later (in 2007), so Arugani Rokuro died as a teenager or as a young man in his early 20s. This grave ("talunga" in Kapingamarangi) serves as material evidence of the Japanese era on Kapingamarangi, and lies alongside several others with English-language inscriptions.

"Here lies A-ru-ga-ni Ro-ku-ro (male name), 1940." This grave ("talunga" in Kapingamarangi) is located on uninhabited Matiro Island (three islets south of Touhou Island) in Kapingamarangi Atoll, in Pohnpei state, in what is now known as the Federated States of Micronesia.

While walking the reef and exploring the uninhabited islands, I came upon a single Japanese-language gravestone located on Matiro Island (three islets south of Touhou Island) in Kapingamarangi Atoll. Kesia George, wife of the school principal, told me that this was the grave of "Hiroku Monop," the younger brother of her grandfather, or her great-uncle, who passed away well before she was born. But via an interpreter, Lena, senior citizen and sister of the decedent, said it was the grave of "Roturo Monop" (her older brother, a Kapingamarangi man). Elder Ersin also remembered his name as "Roturo Monop." Dr. Yukiko Inoue, University of Guam professor of education (from Japan), translates the tombstone inscription as "Here lies A-ru-ga-ni Ro-ku-ro (male name), 1940."

After "Arugani Rokuro" / "Roturo Monop" passed away on Pohnpei island, his body was returned to Kapingamarangi for interment. The fact that Arugani Rokuro's remains were transported from Pohnpei back home to Kapingamarangi for burial indicates that he was a privileged son of a wealthy family. His younger sister (Lena) is now 70-or-80-some years old, more than 65 years later (in 2007), so Arugani Rokuro died as a teenager or as a young man in his early 20s. This grave ("talunga" in Kapingamarangi) serves as material evidence of the Japanese era on Kapingamarangi, and lies alongside several others with English-language inscriptions.