Chiura Obata
Encyclopedia
was a well-known Japanese-American artist. He came to the United States in 1903, at age 17. After initially working as an illustrator and commercial decorator, he had a successful career as a painter, following a 1927 summer spent in the Sierra Nevada, and was a faculty member in the Art Department at the University of California at Berkeley from 1932 to 1953, interrupted by World War II, when he spent over a year in internment camps. After his retirement, he continued to paint and to lead group tours to Japan to see gardens and art.
in Japan
. He was the youngest of a very large family. At the age of five, he showed a natural inclination for drawing. He was then adopted by his older brother, Rokuichi, who was himself an artist. At the age of seven he began his formal training by a master painter in the art of sumi-e, Japanese ink and brush painting.
At the age of 14, Obata ran away from home to avoid being put into military school. In Tokyo
, he became apprenticed to the painter Tanryo Murata for three years. He also studied with Kogyo Terasaki and Goho Hasimoto. He was trained in Western as well as Japanese art, painting throughout his life with the Western influence. Shortly after he finished his apprenticeship, he received a very prestigious art award in Tokyo.
, he found work as a domestic servant in a household, with the pay of $1.50 per week plus room and board. He was one of the founders of the Fuji Club, the first Japanese-American baseball team on the mainland in America. In 1906, Obata made on-site sketches of the aftermath of San Francisco earthquake. In 1909 he worked in the hops fields in the Sacramento Valley
.
Eventually, Obata was able to earn his living in California as an illustrator for different newspapers, including San Francisco's two Japanese newspapers, The New World and the Japanese American, and as a commercial designer. As a designer he decorated the famous Oriental rooms for Gump's
department store and did similar work for the Emporium and City of Paris department stores. He designed "Jewel Rooms" for the G. T. Mars Co. and one in the Hotel Ambassador. He made five large murals for the Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Co. and for the Iwata Dry Goods Co.
From 1915-1917 Obata was an illustrator and cover page designer for the magazine Japan, published for the Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Co., during which time he turned out about 3000 illustrations and numerous cover designs.
During the 1920s, Obata spent much time painting landscapes throughout California. In 1921, he co-founded the East West Art Society in San Francisco. He spent the summer of 1927 on a sketching tour of Yosemite and the Sierra high country, producing over 100 new paintings. He had been invited on the trip by Worth Ryder, a professor of art at UC Berkeley, who had become a friend. The first exhibition Obata had for American audiences was in the following year, 1928.
in California. Published in limited editions of 100 by the Takamizawa Print Works in Japan, the prints were exhibited at the Eighty-Seventh Annual Exhibition at Ueno Park
in Tokyo in 1930 and his painting of Lake Basin in the High Sierra won first prize. He left Tokyo shortly thereafter.
Beginning in 1930, Obata had many very successful exhibitions in California. One, in 1931 at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor
, was a large exhibit of both his work and the work of his brother, Rokuichi.
In 1932 Obata was appointed as an instructor in the Art Department at the University of California, Berkeley
. Between 1930 and 1941, one-man exhibitions were held in numerous locations.
in Berkeley, from which his wife offered lessons in ikebana
. The shop was the target of a gunshot after the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, and eventually the Obatas were forced to close it and cancel all classes.
Executive Order 9066
led to Obata organizing a large sale of his many paintings and woodblock prints. He donated the profits from the sale to a campus student fund. University President Robert Gordon Sproul
, a friend of the Obatas, offered to store many of the remaining works.
In April 1942, Obata was interned at the Tanforan detention center. By May, he and fellow artists were able to create an art school that had 600 students, entirely with their own money and with donations from the outside from friends from U.C. Berkeley. The school was so successful that they were able to exhibit the artwork outside the camp in July.
In September 1942, Obata was moved to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Topaz, Utah. There Obata was the founder and Director of The Topaz Art School, which had 16 artist/instructors who taught 23 subjects to over 600 students. During his internment, Obata made about one hundred sketches and paintings.
As director of the art school, Obata had worked closely with the intern camp administration. In the spring of 1943, with tensions high at the camp because of the signing of controversial loyalty oath
s, Obata was attacked one night, ending up in the camp hospital for two weeks. He was released from Topaz immediately after he left the hospital. Obata moved with his family to St. Louis, Missouri
, where Gyo, one of his sons, was going to architecture school. Obata found employment there with a commercial art company.
district in Berkeley, where they had lived before the war.
His one-man shows continued, as did his sketching and painting trips in the high country, often with the Sierra Club
. In 1953 he retired as Professor Emeritus from U.C. Berkeley. In 1954 he became a naturalized citizen.
Obata played a pivotal role in introducing Japanese art techniques and aesthetics to other artists in California. These techniques and aesthetics became one of the distinctive characteristics of the California Watercolor School.
, 5th Class, Emperor's Award, for promoting good will and cultural understanding between the United States and Japan. He died in 1975, aged 90.
Posthumous exhibitions of Obata's works have been organized at the Oakland Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, and, in 2000, at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
in San Francisco, a retrospective of 100 ink and brush paintings, large scrolls and color woodblock prints. In 2007 there was an exhibit in Yosemite National Park. The museum collection at Yosemite National Park contains several Obata prints of the park. The Smithsonian American Art Museum organized an exhibition of Obata's Yosemite woodblock prints, which was shown at the American Art Museum in Washington, DC in early 2008 and then traveled to the Wichita Falls Museum, Wichita, TX (2008) and Federal Hall National Memorial, National Park Service, in New York, NY (2009).
in the San Francisco Bay Area. She had an exhibition of her arrangements in 1913 at San Francisco’s 75th Diamond Jubilee Celebration, and in 1915 she exhibited at the Panama Pacific Exposition, beginning a career as a teacher of that art. Their first child, a daughter, was named Fujiko. Their second child, a son, was named Kim; the third, also a son, was named Gyo. Their last was a daughter, Yuri. Haruko's last public demonstration was in Golden Gate Park
when she was 93 years old. Their son Gyo Obata
became a famous architect, one of the founding partners of the global architecture-engineering giant HOK
.
Early life
Obata was born in 1885 in Okayama prefectureOkayama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Okayama.- History :During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.- Geography :...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was the youngest of a very large family. At the age of five, he showed a natural inclination for drawing. He was then adopted by his older brother, Rokuichi, who was himself an artist. At the age of seven he began his formal training by a master painter in the art of sumi-e, Japanese ink and brush painting.
At the age of 14, Obata ran away from home to avoid being put into military school. In Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, he became apprenticed to the painter Tanryo Murata for three years. He also studied with Kogyo Terasaki and Goho Hasimoto. He was trained in Western as well as Japanese art, painting throughout his life with the Western influence. Shortly after he finished his apprenticeship, he received a very prestigious art award in Tokyo.
Early career
In 1903, Obata came to the United States, arriving initially in Seattle, planning to study American art before continuing to Paris to study European art. When he got to San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, he found work as a domestic servant in a household, with the pay of $1.50 per week plus room and board. He was one of the founders of the Fuji Club, the first Japanese-American baseball team on the mainland in America. In 1906, Obata made on-site sketches of the aftermath of San Francisco earthquake. In 1909 he worked in the hops fields in the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
.
Eventually, Obata was able to earn his living in California as an illustrator for different newspapers, including San Francisco's two Japanese newspapers, The New World and the Japanese American, and as a commercial designer. As a designer he decorated the famous Oriental rooms for Gump's
Gump's
Gump’s is a luxury American home furnishings and home décor retailer. Gump’s was founded in 1861 in San Francisco, California.- History :S & G Gump was founded in 1861 as a mirror and frame shop by Solomon Gump and his brother, Gustav...
department store and did similar work for the Emporium and City of Paris department stores. He designed "Jewel Rooms" for the G. T. Mars Co. and one in the Hotel Ambassador. He made five large murals for the Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Co. and for the Iwata Dry Goods Co.
From 1915-1917 Obata was an illustrator and cover page designer for the magazine Japan, published for the Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Co., during which time he turned out about 3000 illustrations and numerous cover designs.
During the 1920s, Obata spent much time painting landscapes throughout California. In 1921, he co-founded the East West Art Society in San Francisco. He spent the summer of 1927 on a sketching tour of Yosemite and the Sierra high country, producing over 100 new paintings. He had been invited on the trip by Worth Ryder, a professor of art at UC Berkeley, who had become a friend. The first exhibition Obata had for American audiences was in the following year, 1928.
Initial successes
In 1928, after his father's death, Obata returned to Japan. There he supervised the production of 35 colored woodblock prints of California landscapes for his "World Landscape Series", the majority of which are views of Yosemite National ParkYosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
in California. Published in limited editions of 100 by the Takamizawa Print Works in Japan, the prints were exhibited at the Eighty-Seventh Annual Exhibition at Ueno Park
Ueno Park
is a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies the site of the former Kan'ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built the temple to guard Edo Castle against the north-east, then considered an unlucky direction...
in Tokyo in 1930 and his painting of Lake Basin in the High Sierra won first prize. He left Tokyo shortly thereafter.
Beginning in 1930, Obata had many very successful exhibitions in California. One, in 1931 at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is a fine art museum in San Francisco, California...
, was a large exhibit of both his work and the work of his brother, Rokuichi.
In 1932 Obata was appointed as an instructor in the Art Department at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Between 1930 and 1941, one-man exhibitions were held in numerous locations.
World War II
Obata and his wife Haruko ran an art supply store on Telegraph AvenueTelegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
in Berkeley, from which his wife offered lessons in ikebana
Ikebana
is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as .-Etymology:"Ikebana" is from the Japanese and . Possible translations include "giving life to flowers" and "arranging flowers".- Approach :...
. The shop was the target of a gunshot after the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, and eventually the Obatas were forced to close it and cancel all classes.
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
led to Obata organizing a large sale of his many paintings and woodblock prints. He donated the profits from the sale to a campus student fund. University President Robert Gordon Sproul
Robert Gordon Sproul
Robert Gordon Sproul was eleventh President of the University of California serving from 1930 to 1958....
, a friend of the Obatas, offered to store many of the remaining works.
In April 1942, Obata was interned at the Tanforan detention center. By May, he and fellow artists were able to create an art school that had 600 students, entirely with their own money and with donations from the outside from friends from U.C. Berkeley. The school was so successful that they were able to exhibit the artwork outside the camp in July.
In September 1942, Obata was moved to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Topaz, Utah. There Obata was the founder and Director of The Topaz Art School, which had 16 artist/instructors who taught 23 subjects to over 600 students. During his internment, Obata made about one hundred sketches and paintings.
As director of the art school, Obata had worked closely with the intern camp administration. In the spring of 1943, with tensions high at the camp because of the signing of controversial loyalty oath
Loyalty oath
A loyalty oath is an oath of loyalty to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member.In this context, a loyalty oath is distinct from pledge or oath of allegiance...
s, Obata was attacked one night, ending up in the camp hospital for two weeks. He was released from Topaz immediately after he left the hospital. Obata moved with his family to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where Gyo, one of his sons, was going to architecture school. Obata found employment there with a commercial art company.
Post-war career
In 1945, when the military exclusion ban was lifted, Obata was reinstated as an instructor at U.C. Berkeley. In 1949 he was promoted to Associate Professor of Art. In 1950, he and his wife moved out of the attic apartment of a friend, purchasing a house in the ElmwoodElmwood, Berkeley, California
The Elmwood District is a neighborhood of the City of Berkeley, California. It is primarily residential, with a small commercial area. The district does not have set lines of demarcation, but is focused around College and Ashby Avenues...
district in Berkeley, where they had lived before the war.
His one-man shows continued, as did his sketching and painting trips in the high country, often with the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
. In 1953 he retired as Professor Emeritus from U.C. Berkeley. In 1954 he became a naturalized citizen.
Obata played a pivotal role in introducing Japanese art techniques and aesthetics to other artists in California. These techniques and aesthetics became one of the distinctive characteristics of the California Watercolor School.
After retirement
In 1954, Chiura and Haruko Obata led the first of the "Obata Tours" to Japan, to see Japanese gardens and Japanese art. From 1955 to 1970, Obata traveled throughout California, giving lectures and demonstrations on Japanese brush painting, and leading tours. In 1965 he received the Order of the Sacred TreasureOrder of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
, 5th Class, Emperor's Award, for promoting good will and cultural understanding between the United States and Japan. He died in 1975, aged 90.
Posthumous exhibitions of Obata's works have been organized at the Oakland Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, and, in 2000, at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, commonly called simply the de Young Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It is named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H...
in San Francisco, a retrospective of 100 ink and brush paintings, large scrolls and color woodblock prints. In 2007 there was an exhibit in Yosemite National Park. The museum collection at Yosemite National Park contains several Obata prints of the park. The Smithsonian American Art Museum organized an exhibition of Obata's Yosemite woodblock prints, which was shown at the American Art Museum in Washington, DC in early 2008 and then traveled to the Wichita Falls Museum, Wichita, TX (2008) and Federal Hall National Memorial, National Park Service, in New York, NY (2009).
Personal life
In 1912, Obata married Haruko Kohashi (1892-1989). She was one of the first teachers of ikebanaIkebana
is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as .-Etymology:"Ikebana" is from the Japanese and . Possible translations include "giving life to flowers" and "arranging flowers".- Approach :...
in the San Francisco Bay Area. She had an exhibition of her arrangements in 1913 at San Francisco’s 75th Diamond Jubilee Celebration, and in 1915 she exhibited at the Panama Pacific Exposition, beginning a career as a teacher of that art. Their first child, a daughter, was named Fujiko. Their second child, a son, was named Kim; the third, also a son, was named Gyo. Their last was a daughter, Yuri. Haruko's last public demonstration was in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
when she was 93 years old. Their son Gyo Obata
Gyo Obata
Gyo Obata is a significant American architect, the son of renowned painter Chiura Obata and his wife, Haruko Obata, a floral designer. In 1955, he co-founded global architectural firm HOK . He lives in St. Louis, Missouri and still works in HOK's St. Louis office...
became a famous architect, one of the founding partners of the global architecture-engineering giant HOK
Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
HOK is a global architecture, interiors, engineering, planning and consulting firm. HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering firm and the "No. 1 role model for sustainable and high-performance design." HOK also is the second-largest interior design firm...
.
Publications
- From the Sierra to the Sea (1937)
- The Seasons at California (1939) (color reproductions of paintings on silk, prepared for publication by the editorial staff of California Monthly
- Sumie (1967)
- Through Japan with Brush & Ink (1968) (in Japanese)
Further reading
- Obata's Yosemite: The Art and Letters of Chiura Obata from His Trip to the High Sierra in 1927, edited by Janice Tolhurst Driesbach and Susan Landauer (1993), ISBN 978-0939666676
- Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata's Art of the Internment, Kimi Kodani Hill (2000), ISBN 1-8901771-26-0
- The New Wave - Twentieth Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, Amy Reigle Stephens, Bamboo Publishing Ltd. London, ISBN 1-870076-19-2
External links
- The Great Nature of Chiura Obata Macromedia Flash presentation
- Sierra Nevada virtual museum