Explore videos, articles, and related exhibitions that explore the life and work of J. T. Sata and his contemporaries in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Japan.
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J. T. Sata: Immigrant Modernist
By Dennis Reed
Sata longed to be an artist. When he left Japan, he brought with him a small sketchbook filled with lovely depictions that he made of Kagoshima, likely as a keepsake of his homeland or as a reminder of his aspirations. Yet, it was in another medium that he realized his most important accomplishments.
This essay was originally published in an exhibition booklet, available at the JANM Store. The booklet features additional photographs and camp artwork by the artist and an essay by Timothy K. Asamen.
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Masashi Shimotsusa (1885–1959): The Samurai Photographer of San Diego
By Tim Asamen
A contemporary of J. T. Sata, Masashi Shimotsusa emigrated to San Diego, California from Kagoshima Prefecture where he became a successful artistic photographer.
Related Videos
J. T. Sata: A Japanese Immigrant in Search of Western Art
Kagoshima 9066 Westridge, co-written by Frank Sata and Naomi Hirahara, traces the life of Sata’s father, J. T. Sata, through his photographs, sketches, paintings, and sculptures. In this program, presented virtually on October 10, 2020, Frank Sata, Bryan Takeda, Naomi Hirahara, and staff from the Arcadia Public Library and JANM came together to discuss J.T. Sata’s life, legacy, and story.
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Related Exhibitions
Making Waves Japanese American Photography, 1920–1940
This exhibition, named one the 10 best exhibitions for 2016 by the LA Times, was curated by Dennis Reed and presented at JANM in 2016. It featured 103 striking prints from the 1920s and ’30s, including several by J. T. Sata.
Wakaji Matsumoto—An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917–1944
This online exhibition, curated by Dennis Reed, highlights rare photographs by Issei artist Wakaji Matsumoto of the Japanese American community in Los Angeles prior to World War II and of urban life in Hiroshima prior to the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.
Tanaka Photo Studio: Family, Tradition, Business, and Community Before World War II
This online exhibition highlights the work of Issei photographer Chikashi Tanaka (1888–1977). Tanaka Photo Studio operated in the heart of Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo from the time he first came to the city in 1912 until his incarceration at the Gila River concentration camp in 1942.