The hope of another spring : Takuichi Fujii, artist and wartime witness

Select an Action

Title:

The hope of another spring : Takuichi Fujii, artist and wartime witness

Author:

Johns, Barbara, 1942- author.

ISBN:

9780295999999

Personal Author:

Johns, Barbara, 1942- author.

Physical Description:

xi, 334 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.

Series:

The Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies

Scott and Laurie Oki series in Asian American studies.

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

Takuichi Fujii (1891-1964) left Japan in 1906 to make his home in Seattle, where he established a business, started a family, and began his artistic practice. When war broke out between the United States and Japan, he and his family were incarcerated along with the more than 100,000 ethnic Japanese located on the West Coast. Sent to detention camps at Puyallup, Washington, and then Minidoka in Idaho, Fujii documented his daily experiences in words and art. "The Hope of Another Spring" reveals the rare find of a large and heretofore unknown collection of art produced during World War II. The centerpiece of the collection is Fujiis illustrated diary that historian Roger Daniels has called the most remarkable document created by a Japanese American prisoner during the wartime incarceration. Barbara Johns presents Takuichi Fujiis life story and his artistic achievements within the social and political context of the time. Sandy Kita, the artists grandson, provides translations and an introduction to the diary. This is a significant contribution to Asian American studies, American and regional history, and art history.

Contents:

Another spring : biography -- Painting and recognition in the 1930s -- An Issei diary of World War II -- Public and private : expanding upon the diary -- Abstract expressions. -- MinidokaXX : the art diary of Takuichi Fujii: Introduction to the diary : the nature of the work and of its translation / Art diary

Subject Term:

Japanese American painters -- Biography.

Japanese American painters -- Diaries.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Japanese American.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- United States.

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.

Japanese Americans -- Washington (State) -- History -- 20th century.

Added Author:

Daniels, Roger,

Kita, Sandy, 1950-

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	ND237 .F785 H67 2017	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Takuichi Fujii (1891-1964) left Japan in 1906 to make his home in Seattle, where he established a business, started a family, and began his artistic practice. When war broke out between the United States and Japan, he and his family were incarcerated along with the more than 100,000 ethnic Japanese located on the West Coast. Sent to detention camps at Puyallup, Washington, and then Minidoka in Idaho, Fujii documented his daily experiences in words and art. The Hope of Another Spring reveals the rare find of a large and heretofore unknown collection of art produced during World War II. The centerpiece of the collection is Fujii's illustrated diary that historian Roger Daniels has called "the most remarkable document created by a Japanese American prisoner during the wartime incarceration."Barbara Johns presents Takuichi Fujii's life story and his artistic achievements within the social and political context of the time. Sandy Kita, the artist's grandson, provides translations and an introduction to the diary. The Hope of Another Spring is a significant contribution to Asian American studies, American and regional history, and art history.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

This is really two books in one: a biography of an Issei Japanese artist who spent much of his life in Seattle and an examination of the US government's incarceration--at the time of the US entry into WW II--of individuals of Japanese descent living along the West Coast. Fujii (1891-1964) was among those incarcerated, and he recorded his experiences in an illustrated diary. A brief foreword by historian Roger Daniels provides an overview of Fujii's life. In the first two chapters, Johns examines Fujii's life through the 1930s. The rest of the book focuses on the diary. A selection of 112 drawings (from the 249 Fujii did) are included, along with English translations of Fujii's simple, brief comments. The drawings are realistic pen-and-ink images on what is now aged paper. The volume appears in the "Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies." What makes this book compelling is its examination of an artist and his work during a shameful period in US history. The presentation is direct, without cant or moralizing. This book will be valuable in numerous disciplines, not just art history. An exhibition history of the artist is included. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Dale K. Haworth, Carleton College

Library Journal Review

Art historian and curator Johns (Signs of Home) chronicles the life and art of Takuichi Fujii (1891-1964), a first-generation Japanese American. After moving to the United States in 1906, Fujii made a home in Seattle, where he owned a stall in the city's public market, had a family, and was a practicing artist. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he and his family, along with 100,000 Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast, were removed from their homes and placed in internment camps. He recorded his experiences while held in Puyallup, WA, and Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho through his paintings and a diary, which his grandson translates for this book. Paintings in black and white and color adorn the book throughout. The title also includes Fujii's artist statement and an exhibition history. His writings provide context to his paintings, which document difficult times in his life and a dark chapter in American history. Verdict Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Asian American studies, art, art history, and U.S. history; in particular, those wanting to read more about Japanese American history.-Tina Chan, MIT Libs., Cambridge © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.