Léonie Gilmour
Encyclopedia
Léonie Gilmour was an American educator, editor, and journalist. She was the lover and editor of the writer Yone Noguchi
and the mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi
and dancer Ailes Gilmour
. She is the subject of a feature film, Leonie
.
on June 17, 1873 to working class parents and grew up in the East Village, Manhattan
. She attended the Workingman's School (later Ethical Culture School) and graduated from the Bryn Mawr School
of Baltimore in 1891, where she won a full scholarship to Bryn Mawr College
. She also spent a year at the Sorbonne
. However, according to the Bryn Mawr College archives, she did not receive a degree although she completed seven semesters at the college.
After leaving Bryn Mawr College in 1896, she taught at Academy of St. Aloysius
in New Jersey
and at various editing jobs. In 1901, she answered a classified advertisement placed by Yone Noguchi
, a 25-year-old Japanese writer who had recently arrived in New York. Noguchi had spent seven years in California
and had published two books of English poetry, but his mastery of English was insecure. Gilmour agreed to become his editor. The relationship proved successful, and with Gilmour's assistance, Noguchi resumed work on a fictional diary of a Japanese girl published in 1902 as The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
.
Following Noguchi's return from England
in 1903, the relationship took an amorous turn, and on November 18, Noguchi wrote out a declaration of questionable legality stating that "Leonie Gilmour is my Lawful wife." The marriage remained secret and the two continued to maintain separate residences. When the arrangement proved less than successful, it appeared that the experiment would simply be brought to an end in the early months of 1904 with no one being the wiser. Noguchi resumed his relationship with Washington, D.C.
journalist Ethel Armes
and with the onset of the Russo-Japanese War
, began making plans to return to Japan in the fall.
Trouble developed, however, when Gilmour discovered she had become pregnant during the waning days of the relationship. Rather than pressing Noguchi for a reconciliation, she chose to join her mother in Los Angeles
, and gave birth to Isamu Noguchi
on November 18, 1904.
The birth was publicized when a Los Angeles Herald reporter visited Leonie in the hospital. After Ethel Armes
confirmed the truth of the story and canceled her engagement to Noguchi, Noguchi began attempting to persuade Gilmour to come to Japan. Leonie resisted for some months before finally agreeing. By the time she arrived in March 1907 Noguchi had become involved with a Japanese woman, Takeda Matsuko.
In Tokyo
, Gilmour worked primarily as a teacher and resumed her helpful role as Noguchi's editorial assistant. Unable to use her alma mater
connection with Tsuda Umeko
to secure a position at Tsuda College
as she hoped, Leonie worked at a Yokohama
school and privately tutored the children of the late Lafcadio Hearn
, among others.
Domestic arrangements proved strained even before Leonie belatedly learned of the existence of Takeda Matsuko, around the time of Takeda's second pregnancy by Noguchi. Leonie separated from Noguchi in 1909, taking Isamu, and living in a series of residences in Ōmori
, Yokohama
and Chigasaki. In 1912 as a result of a relationship with a man whose identity remains mysterious (Isamu Noguchi biographer Masayo Duus speculates that he was one of Leonie's students) she gave birth to a daughter, Ailes Gilmour
.
Gilmour sent Isamu back to the United States to attend an experimental school in 1918. She and Ailes continued to reside in Japan until 1920 when they returned to the United States, settling in San Francisco, and later moving to New York, where she successfully dissuaded Isamu from his plan to attend medical school and redirected him to the artist's vocation she had chosen for him when he was still an infant. Ailes was sent to a progressive school in Connecticut
.
Gilmour herself made ends meet through a small import/export business and various other jobs. In December 1933 she was admitted to New York's Bellevue Hospital with pneumonia
and died on New Year's Eve
of coronary thrombosis
with arteriosclerosis
as a contributory factor.
. It has been speculated that she may have co-authored or authored some works attributed to him, and there is little doubt that much of Noguchi's best writing was accomplished with her editorial assistance.
As an author in her own right, Gilmour's most successful pieces were short autobiographical essays for newspapers and magazines chronicling unfortunate events with a wry ironic humor in a somewhat picaresque manner. Although her matter-of-fact style often appears flat and even heavy-handed, she was able to deploy it to good effect by applying it to unusual situations in which she found herself as a result of her unconventional attitudes and lifestyle. Gilmour's "Founding a Tent-Home in California," for example, provides a remarkable view of turn-of-the-century Los Angeles
seen from the perspective of a hapless, idealistic new arrival. "Dorobo, or the Japanese Burglar" portrays the experience of being burglarized with a humorous perspective, extending Gilmour's customary sympathy even to the perpetrator.
Some of Gilmour's letters also appear in The Collected English Letters of Yone Noguchi (1975).
, a film based on Gilmour's life. Actress Emily Mortimer
will play the role of Gilmour in the film.
Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
and the mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
and dancer Ailes Gilmour
Ailes Gilmour
Ailes Gilmour was a Japanese American dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern Dance movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham's dance company. Ailes' older brother was sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Ailes, born 1912 in Yokohama, Japan, and...
. She is the subject of a feature film, Leonie
Leonie (film)
Leonie is a 2010 film directed by Hisako Matsui and starring Emily Mortimer and Shido Nakamura. The film is based on the life of Léonie Gilmour, the American lover and editorial assistant of Japanese writer Yone Noguchi and mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer Ailes Gilmour...
.
Life
Gilmour was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on June 17, 1873 to working class parents and grew up in the East Village, Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
. She attended the Workingman's School (later Ethical Culture School) and graduated from the Bryn Mawr School
Bryn Mawr School
The Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school for girls from preschool through grade twelve. Founded in 1885, BMS is located in the Roland Park community of Baltimore, Maryland, USA at 109 W. Melrose Avenue, Baltimore MD 21210.-The Bryn Mawr School Community:In...
of Baltimore in 1891, where she won a full scholarship to Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
. She also spent a year at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
. However, according to the Bryn Mawr College archives, she did not receive a degree although she completed seven semesters at the college.
After leaving Bryn Mawr College in 1896, she taught at Academy of St. Aloysius
Academy of St. Aloysius
The Academy of St. Aloysius was a private high school for girls located in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, operated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. The school had an enrollment of 178 students and offered a College preparatory curriculum, an honors program and college credit...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and at various editing jobs. In 1901, she answered a classified advertisement placed by Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
, a 25-year-old Japanese writer who had recently arrived in New York. Noguchi had spent seven years in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and had published two books of English poetry, but his mastery of English was insecure. Gilmour agreed to become his editor. The relationship proved successful, and with Gilmour's assistance, Noguchi resumed work on a fictional diary of a Japanese girl published in 1902 as The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
The American Diary of a Japanese Girl is the first English novel published in the United States by a person of Japanese ancestry. Acquired for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Monthly Magazine by editor Ellery Sedgwick in 1901, it appeared in two excerpted installments in November and December of that...
.
Following Noguchi's return from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1903, the relationship took an amorous turn, and on November 18, Noguchi wrote out a declaration of questionable legality stating that "Leonie Gilmour is my Lawful wife." The marriage remained secret and the two continued to maintain separate residences. When the arrangement proved less than successful, it appeared that the experiment would simply be brought to an end in the early months of 1904 with no one being the wiser. Noguchi resumed his relationship with Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
journalist Ethel Armes
Ethel Armes
Ethel Marie Armes was an American journalist and historian.Daughter of Col. George Augustus Armes and Lucy Hamilton Kerr, the daughter of John Bozman Kerr, Ethel was brought up in Washington, D.C. where she attended private schools and later worked as a reporter for the Washington Post...
and with the onset of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, began making plans to return to Japan in the fall.
Trouble developed, however, when Gilmour discovered she had become pregnant during the waning days of the relationship. Rather than pressing Noguchi for a reconciliation, she chose to join her mother in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and gave birth to Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
on November 18, 1904.
The birth was publicized when a Los Angeles Herald reporter visited Leonie in the hospital. After Ethel Armes
Ethel Armes
Ethel Marie Armes was an American journalist and historian.Daughter of Col. George Augustus Armes and Lucy Hamilton Kerr, the daughter of John Bozman Kerr, Ethel was brought up in Washington, D.C. where she attended private schools and later worked as a reporter for the Washington Post...
confirmed the truth of the story and canceled her engagement to Noguchi, Noguchi began attempting to persuade Gilmour to come to Japan. Leonie resisted for some months before finally agreeing. By the time she arrived in March 1907 Noguchi had become involved with a Japanese woman, Takeda Matsuko.
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...
, Gilmour worked primarily as a teacher and resumed her helpful role as Noguchi's editorial assistant. Unable to use her alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
connection with Tsuda Umeko
Tsuda Umeko
was an Japanese educator, feminist and pioneer in education for women in Meiji period Japan. Originally named , with mume or ume referring to the Japanese plum, she went by the name Ume Tsuda while studying in the United States before changing her name to Umeko in 1902.- Early life :Tsuda Umeko...
to secure a position at Tsuda College
Tsuda College
is a private women's college in Kodaira, Tokyo. The college was founded in 1900 by Tsuda Umeko as Joshi Eigaku Juku. The name was later changed to Tsuda Eigaku Juku and then Tsuda Juku Senmon Gakko and finally Tsuda Juku Daigaku in 1948....
as she hoped, Leonie worked at a Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
school and privately tutored the children of the late Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
, among others.
Domestic arrangements proved strained even before Leonie belatedly learned of the existence of Takeda Matsuko, around the time of Takeda's second pregnancy by Noguchi. Leonie separated from Noguchi in 1909, taking Isamu, and living in a series of residences in Ōmori
Omori
is a district located a few kilometres south of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan accessed by rail via the Keihin Tohoku line, or by road via Dai Ichi Keihin. Ōmorikaigan, the eastern area of Ōmori, can be reached via the Keikyu line....
, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
and Chigasaki. In 1912 as a result of a relationship with a man whose identity remains mysterious (Isamu Noguchi biographer Masayo Duus speculates that he was one of Leonie's students) she gave birth to a daughter, Ailes Gilmour
Ailes Gilmour
Ailes Gilmour was a Japanese American dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern Dance movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham's dance company. Ailes' older brother was sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Ailes, born 1912 in Yokohama, Japan, and...
.
Gilmour sent Isamu back to the United States to attend an experimental school in 1918. She and Ailes continued to reside in Japan until 1920 when they returned to the United States, settling in San Francisco, and later moving to New York, where she successfully dissuaded Isamu from his plan to attend medical school and redirected him to the artist's vocation she had chosen for him when he was still an infant. Ailes was sent to a progressive school in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Gilmour herself made ends meet through a small import/export business and various other jobs. In December 1933 she was admitted to New York's Bellevue Hospital with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and died on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
of coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is a form of thrombosis affecting the coronary circulation. It is associated with stenosis subsequent to clotting. The condition is considered as a type of ischaemic heart disease.It can lead to a myocardial infarction...
with arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
as a contributory factor.
Literary works
Although Gilmour harbored literary aspirations, her achievements as a writer were limited. Much of her literary energy was channeled into her editorial projects, particularly those of her partner, Yone NoguchiYone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
. It has been speculated that she may have co-authored or authored some works attributed to him, and there is little doubt that much of Noguchi's best writing was accomplished with her editorial assistance.
As an author in her own right, Gilmour's most successful pieces were short autobiographical essays for newspapers and magazines chronicling unfortunate events with a wry ironic humor in a somewhat picaresque manner. Although her matter-of-fact style often appears flat and even heavy-handed, she was able to deploy it to good effect by applying it to unusual situations in which she found herself as a result of her unconventional attitudes and lifestyle. Gilmour's "Founding a Tent-Home in California," for example, provides a remarkable view of turn-of-the-century Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
seen from the perspective of a hapless, idealistic new arrival. "Dorobo, or the Japanese Burglar" portrays the experience of being burglarized with a humorous perspective, extending Gilmour's customary sympathy even to the perpetrator.
- "George Meredith---A Study," National Magazine 23 (Dec. 1905): 272-77.
- "Founding a Tent-Home in California," National Magazine 23 (Feb. 1906): 554-57.
- "The Ways of Mirabell and Dousabel" National Magazine 25 (Oct 1906), 93-4
- "Of Pride and the Fall" National Magazine 25 (Dec 1906) 299-300
- "A Little California House: Living Close to God and Nature In Sunland" The West-Coast Magazine (Dec. 1906).
- "Dorobo, or the Japanese Burglar," New York Times, 17 Jul. 1921, p. 44.
Some of Gilmour's letters also appear in The Collected English Letters of Yone Noguchi (1975).
Interest in Gilmour
Gilmour's unconventional life and perspectives have made her the subject of interest among scholars and a Japanese filmmaker. The most extensive discussion of Gilmour's life to date is found in Masayo Duus's biography of Isamu Noguchi. In 2009, Japanese filmmaker began production of LeonieLeonie (film)
Leonie is a 2010 film directed by Hisako Matsui and starring Emily Mortimer and Shido Nakamura. The film is based on the life of Léonie Gilmour, the American lover and editorial assistant of Japanese writer Yone Noguchi and mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer Ailes Gilmour...
, a film based on Gilmour's life. Actress Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
will play the role of Gilmour in the film.