Jido fuyo "Usagi no mochitsui"

Hoshida, George [ bio ]

Description

3 drawings on paper (1 sheet) : ink ; top image 5.5 x 6 in., bottom left image 4 x 3.25 in., bottom right image 4 x 2.75 in., on sheet 9.5 x 6 in.

Ink sketches of a scene from a children's play, "Usagi no mochitsuki", a comedy skit and two soldiers walking. Sketches divided by blue lines.
Top sketch of four figures performing on stage in "Usagi no mochitsuki." Facing right, two figures are seated and two figures stand on either side with one arm raised. All figures wear hats on their heads.
Bottom left sketch depicts two men, Ageno and Iwai, dressed as Chinese with hats and hair in queues. Ageno stands on left with back to viewer facing Iwai who stands facing viewer. Ageno's jacket has cross-hatched lines.
Bottom right sketch of two soldiers in uniform walking toward right with rifles over proper right shoulder. Both face right.
Drawing 97.106.2EE on recto of same sheet.

Caption
Hoshida was one of the seven to nine hundred Japanese Americans in Hawaii who were incarcerated in Justice Department internment camps. He was acutely aware of the importance of recording his experiences through the pen and ink drawings and watercolors he made during his incarceration in five different locations. While Hoshida did not attempt to make any overt commentary on the interment, his drawings and sketches provide a continuous and detailed account of daily activities and his long journey from Hilo, Hawaii, to the desert of Arizona.

Inscription
Written in blue ink on top image, left (In Japanese): Jido fuyo "Usagi no mochitsuki." Written in blue ink on bottom left image (In Japanese and English): Sungeki / Ageno [underlined] / Iwai [underlined].

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (hnrc@janm.org).