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Catalog Data

Creator:
Tokita, Kamekichi, 1897-1948  Search this
Subject:
Callahan, Kenneth  Search this
Tokita, Shokichi  Search this
Tokita, Elsie  Search this
Art Institute of Seattle  Search this
Seattle Art Museum  Search this
Hotel Cadillac (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Henry Art Gallery  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Minidoka Relocation Center  Search this
Group of Twelve (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Type:
Photograph albums
Photographs
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1934-1985 (Box 1; 5 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1944 (Box 1; 8 folders) Series 3: Diaries and Writings, 1923-circa 1950 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet) Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1928-1950 (Box 1; 3 folders) Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1910-1940 (Box 1-3; 0.5 linear feet) Series 6: Scrapbook, 1929-1933 (Box 2-3; 0.2 linear feet) Series 7: Artwork, circa 1910-1940s (Box 2-3; 0.1 linear feet) Series 8: Photograph Album, circa 1900-1930 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The personal papers of Seattle area painter Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) measure 1.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 2010 with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1910 to 1948. The papers include biographical materials, including documents about the closing of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp in Idaho; correspondence; three diaries written in Japanese documenting Tokita's war time experiences and forced relocation to Minidoka, two earlier notebooks, also written in Japanese, and scattered notes; a few personal business records; printed materials; one scrapbook; sketches; and one family photograph album.
Citation:
Kamekichi Tokita Papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk 1900-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
A portion of the collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reel 4883 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2021 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
Funding:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Lichtenstein Endowment and the Terra Endowment.
Use Note:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Related Materials:
A watercolor painting on paper by Kamekichi Tokita, Untitled (Still Life), 9 x 12 in. was transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012.
Biography Note:
Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) was a Japanese American painter and businessman who emigrated from Japan in 1919 and settled in Seattle, Washington. Tokita was a member of the Seattle area progressive artists' collective known as the "Group of Twelve" and widely exhibited his artwork throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Language Note:
Collection is in English and Japanese.
Provenance:
The Kamekichi Tokita papers were donated by his son, Shokichi Tokita in 1990. He donated a third and final diary in 2017. They were collected as part of the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American project in Seattle, Washington.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the papers of Kamekichi Tokita in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2022, and total 2,234 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans  Search this
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Art, American -- Northwestern States  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Northwestern States  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945 -- Diaries  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10444
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213849
AAA_collcode_tokikame
Theme:
Asian American
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213849