Striking Exhibit at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

“Witness to Wartime: The Painted Diary of Takuichi Fujii" debuts at the Delray Beach museum May 6

Still Life with Newspaper “24,000 Japs Lost” by Takuichi Fujii. Courtesy of the Collection of Sandy and Terry Kita
Still Life with Newspaper “24,000 Japs Lost” by Takuichi Fujii. Courtesy of the Collection of Sandy and Terry Kita

The meditative surrounds of the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach will set the scene for “Witness to Wartime: The Painted Diary of Takuichi Fujii,” an exhibition of the artist’s paintings inspired by his experiences during World War II. In 1941, at 50 years old, Takuichi bore witness to the beginning of the war between the United States and Japan and was one of the 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the Pacific Coast to be forced into incarceration camps. During this time, Takuichi began an illustrated diary and carried on until the closing of the Minidoka camp in 1945, creating more than 250 ink drawings.

Rock Island Dam by Takuichi Fujii. Courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum Collection
Rock Island Dam by Takuichi Fujii. Courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum Collection

The striking collection features detailed views of the camps, daily routines and pastimes, portraits, and self-portraits, plus more than 130 watercolors that expand upon the diary. The exhibition will be on view at the Morikami May 6 to October 6, with curator Barbara Johns leading a presentation entitled “Takuichi Fujii: The Artist and the Person” May 5 in honor of the opening.

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