Japanese Communities:
Since the immigration of the Japanese to the U.S., the formation of Japanese communities has continued to take place across the country. Today, such communities include: “Little Tokyo” in Los Angeles, and Japantown or Nihonmachi in San Francisco and San Jose. These communities which was once home to great numbers of Japanese Issei and Nissei, has now taken on more of a historical and cultural role within the Japanese American community. It is events such as Nissei Week and the Cherry Blossom Festival that keep these communities stay active and will help continue the traditions once implemented by the issei generation.

Famous Japanese Americans:

Artists- Henry Sugimoto (painter), Isamu Noguchi (artist)
Actors/Performers: East West Players, Pat Morita (Karate Kid), George Takei (Start Trek series)
Athletes: Tommy Kono (Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting- 1952, 1956), Kristi Yamaguchi (Olympic gold medalist in figure skating-1992), Bryan Clay (Olympic gold medalist in decathlon- 2008).

Politicians: Daniel Inouye (served as Senator of Hawaii), George Ariyoshi (served as Governor of Hawaii)

--
Henry Sugimoto, "Self Portrait"

Self portrait of Henry Sugimoto. Artist has depicted himself in ¾ profile, at left, with a blank canvas in front of him on an easel, at right. A potbelly stove is visible between the two in the background. Sugimoto wears a black beret and a red jacket with collar up over a white shirt. He gazes out directly at viewer.

History
The stove in the background and general atmosphere of the room suggest that this portrait may have been done in camp. The extremely naturalistic rendering of the face and clothing differs from Sugimoto's camp period work; however, it might have been used for the self-portrait, where exceptionally close study of the subject was possible, and may not be indicative of a style shift (Sugimoto's portrait of his wife, done at the Fresno Assembly Center, is similar in style). The signature is followed by a blotted out area which may be a location or date. (KE)

Inscription
Signed in medium, bottom left: H. Sugimoto. Written on back: Self Portrait/ Painted this portrait 1931/ 1931 / (In Japanese) Pari nite / Henry Sugimoto.

painting
H: 21.75 in, W: 18 in, D: .75 in
canvas
oil

Paris, France, 1931

(92.97.106)

Gift of Madeleine Sugimoto and Naomi Tagawa, Japanese American National Museum

Henry Sugimoto Collection

To see other collections:
Japanese American National Museum Collections Online

Copyright is held by the Japanese American National Museum. Short-term educational use with limited circulation is permitted. For all other uses, please contact the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (hnrc@janm.org)