During the first years of the 20th century, Japanese artists flocked to the United States, where they contributed to establishing American modernism, challenged the West’s notions of a Japanese aesthetic, survived economic booms and busts, and flourished in a nation that was at times hostile and at other times welcoming.

Of the hundreds of Japanese artists that came, some arrived as trained artists, hoping to capitalize on American interest in Japanese arts and crafts. For others, the United States was a mere stepping-stone to studying in Paris. And a few leaped from cleaning hotels and picking grapes by day while taking drawing classes at night, to becoming professional artists. All helped to define modern art in America.

Theirs was not exclusively a Japanese, an American, or even an Asian-American story. Rather, they were part of a creative, multinational diaspora. Nevertheless, settling on either the east or west coasts affected not only their artistic point of view, but also their position in the art world. Whereas New York offered a porous and accepting international community, residing in California’s insular, ethnic enclaves presented limitations that artists had to overcome until they were ultimately incarcerated during World War II.

Art Across Borders: Japanese Artists In The United States Before World War II