[Fujitani Kodo, 55 sai]

Hoshida, George [ bio ]

Description

2 drawings on paper, lined and laminated (1 sheet) : ink ; left image 3.875 x 2.75 in., right image 3.875 x 2.75 in., on sheet 6 x 9.5 in.

Ink portraits of two men, Kodo Fujitani and Ryuten Kashiwa, at Lordsburg Justice Department Camp, New Mexico. Both drawings have black line borders.
Left portrait of Kodo Fujitani, 55 year-old Reverend of Honolulu Moilili Nishi Hongwangi in Hawaii, originally from Shimane, Japan. Fujitani looks directly at the viewer through glasses. He has a small mustache and a crewcut. He wears a button-down shirt. Visible from shoulders up.
Right portrait of Ryuten Kashiwa, 59 year-old Reverend of Waialua Hongwanji on Oahu, Hawaii, originally from Fukui, Japan. Facing left in profile, Kashiwa has a small mustache, round-rimmed glasses and wears a button-down shirt. Visible from shoulders up.

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 black ink to left of left image (In Japanese): Shimianeken Hikawagun Kukimura oaza [unreadable] / [Gekkoji or Gakkoji] / Hawai Honorurushi Moiriri Nishi Hongwanji / Kaikyoshi Fujitani Kodo / 55 sai. Written in pencil below left image: Copy / B6 8-5. Written in black ink to left of right image (In Japanese): Fukuiken Nyugun Tachimachimura Sugimoto / [unreadable]tera / Hawai Oafu Waiarua Hongwanji / Kaikyoshi Kashiwa Ryuten / 59 sai. Written in pencil below right image: Copy / B6 8-5. Written in pencil, top left corner: 135.

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).