[Drawings of scenes of the Central Utah Relocation Center].

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Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library > [Drawings of scenes of the Central Utah Relocation Center].


15235630

Description

Title
[Drawings of scenes of the Central Utah Relocation Center].
Creator
Mikami, Charles Erabu, 1902-1998, artist
Published / Created
[circa 1943]
Publication Place
Utah
Abstract

Two watercolor drawings made in and around the Central Utah Relocation Center, an American concentration camp near Delta, Utah. The first is an untitled landscape view of the Topaz Valley, the site of the camp; it measures 28 x 39 cm and is signed at the lower left corner "S. Mikami." The second is a scene within the camp and features residential cabins, pathways, and unidentified figures at either sunrise or sunset. It is signed at the lower right with Japanese characters that represent "Suiko" and a red chop mark, measures 27 x 38 cm, and is inscribed in pencil on the reverse in an unidentified hand: "Delta, Utah / Japanese / Relocation / Camp / 19."

Description
Charles Erabu "Suiko" Mikami was born in Hiroshima, Japan, on January 30, 1902. He studied sumi-e brush painting before immigrating to the Seattle, Washington, in 1919, where he worked as a produce broker while continuing to paint and write poetry in his free time. At the beginning of World War II, the United States government incarcerated Mikami with his wife and children at the Tule Lake Internment Center in California; they were later transferred to the Central Utah Relocation Center near Topaz Mountain and Delta, Utah, where he became involved with the Topaz Art School. After the war, Mikami settled in Morgan Hill, California, and became a strawberry farmer. In 1977, the Japanese Government awarded him the Order of Sacred Treasure, 5th Class for his civic service and for his contribution to United States-Japan friendship and cultural exchange. Mikami died on September 16, 1998.
The United States declared war on Japan in 1941 following an attack by Japan on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Under authority granted by Executive Order 9066, issued in February 1942, the federal government incarcerated over 120,000 people of Japanese descent in American concentration camps.
Title devised by cataloger.
Provenance
Purchased from William Reese Company (PBA Galleries sale, San Francisco, 2013 July 11, lot 253) on the Arthur Corbitt Hoskins Memorial Fund, 2013.
Extent
2 drawings : 29 x 38 cm and smaller.
Extent of Digitization
This object has been completely digitized.
Language
No linguistic content

Collection Information

Repository
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Call Number
WA MSS S-3059
Container / Volume
Box (Oversize)

Subjects, Formats, And Genres

Genre
Pictorial works
Drawings (visual works) United States 20th century
Watercolors (paintings) United States 20th century
Material
watercolor on paper ;
Resource Type
still image
Subject (Geographic)
United States.
United States
Sevier Desert (Utah)
Subject (Name)
Mikami, Charles Erabu, 1902-1998.
Central Utah Relocation Center
Subject (Topic)
Artists
Concentration camps
Japanese Americans
Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
Subjects
Mikami, Charles Erabu, 1902-1998
Central Utah Relocation Center > Pictorial works
Artists > United States
Concentration camps > United States > Pictorial works
Japanese Americans > Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945 > Pictorial works
Sevier Desert (Utah) > Pictorial works
United States > 20th century

Access And Usage Rights

Access
Public
Rights
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.
Citation
Charles Erabu Mikami, Drawings of Scenes of the Central Utah Relocation Center. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Identifiers

Catalog Record
99125149163408651
Object ID (OID)
15235630

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