HIDEO DATE (1907-2005)

Hideo Date was born in Osaka, Japan on January 5, 1907 and was the third son of Imasuke and Yusa Date. Shortly after his birth, Date’s family began to immigrate one by one to Fresno, California where his father ran a hardware store and saved money for his families travel expenses. In 1923, Date finally joined his father, mother, and brothers, becoming an “Issei” or Japanese American immigrant. He attempted to contribute to the family’s earnings by working in the orchards of central California, but this effort proved futile and Date’s father was forced to file for bankruptcy and relocate the family to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California in 1925.

Racial restrictions had forced many Japanese American families to move into communities such as Little Tokyo that would support businesses, schools, and churches created for and run by its residents. More importantly for Date, Little Tokyo and Los Angeles in general represented a complex intersection “where Asia, New York, Europe, and Hollywood converged, overlapped, and melded in a way that is only scantily understood” (Higa 7-8). After Date’s interest in drawing was sparked in high school art classes, he earned a scholarship to Otis Art Institute. He left the following year and returned to Japan to study Oriental art within its traditional setting, specifically, the Kawabata Painting School.

After studying in Japan for a year, Date had greatly improved his technical skill and returned to Los Angeles longing to learn a new intellectual dialogue about art to accompany his vastly growing skill. Date’s former high school art teacher had introduced him to the work of Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973) and suggested that Date study with Macdonald-Wright at the Los Angeles Art Students League.

Macdonald-Wright, arguably the most important California artist, had strong connections to the art worlds in both Paris and New York. He showed great interest in all forms of art and had been introduced to Asian art by historian Henri Focillon (Higa 12). With his interest sparked, Macdonald-Wright was by this time attempting to combine his Synchromist color theory with these new artistic styles. Date was therefore greatly welcomed by Macdonald-Wright because of his shared interest and traditional training. Higa states that “although direct influence may be impossible to pinpoint, it is highly likely that Macdonald-Wright learned just as much from his Japanese student as he taught him” (Higa 14).

During the 1930s Date became an established artist, participating in the annual exhibitions of Japanese Artists of Los Angeles, the Exhibition of Young Painters at the College Art Association, and the Foundation of Western Art. While this represented a great success for Date, the racial difficulties of the era remained ever present in his life. Though Date was a successful artist and his two brothers had college degrees, it was nearly impossible to find work within their fields of expertise and money was a constant issue. The family opened a flower shop where Date would work during the day and continued taking night classes at the Art Students League. In 1937, Macdonald-Wright took over the southern California Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project and commissioned Date to paint a mural for a school in Terminal Island, thus allowing him to be paid for his work. Terminal Island was the home of many Japanese American fishing families and with World War II rapidly becoming a reality, this population soon found themselves suspect to great suspicion. In 1942, all Japanese Americans on Terminal Island were directed to leave and Date’s mural disappeared forever.

During the early twentieth century, racism held a constant place within the lives of Japanese Americans, even within the first days Date had entered the country. He recalled viewing a sign on the first train to Fresno that read “Japs, Keep Moving,” which he could read, but not understand. However, nothing compared to the mass hysteria that was created after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. World War II would result in the incarceration of one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese Americans, including Date who was sent to the Santa Anita Race Track Assembly Center in April 1942, and then to Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming (Higa 18).

Date’s friend and fellow artist Benji Okubo (1904-1975) was also incarcerated at Heart Mountain and the two joined together to create an art students league at the concentration camp. The two taught painting, drawing, and silkscreen methods to fellow Japanese American inmates and organized exhibitions for their students’ work. While the United States government supported such endeavors as a way to busy idle hands, supplies were difficult to come by within the camp. Thus, Date turned to drawing on paper during these years. He was also commissioned to paint a mural on a wall of the mess hall.

In 1945, Date left Heart Mountain and moved to New York City and attempted to restart his artistic career. Work did not come easily and as soon as Date had saved enough money, he returned to Los Angeles to gather his previous works together which friends had stored during his incarceration. In 1947, the Art Center School held a solo exhibition of Date’s work.

Date once again relocated to New York City with his brother Albert and through his wife, met Yuriko Tamaki, whom Date married during the same year. Date longed to travel and gain additional inspiration for his work, but was unable to venture outside the United States because of racial restrictions. Finally, following the passage of the Walter-McCarran Act of 1952, Japanese Americans were given the chance for naturalization. In 1955, Date became a naturalized citizen and thus gained the ability to travel freely, specifically to Italy and Paris. He formed a strong spiritual connection to Paris and continually traveled between New York City and Paris for the rest of his life.

Though he continued to create art, it is clear that World War II and the resulting incarceration of the Japanese American artistic community resulted in a profound change for the generation. Date would not hold a solo exhibition for over fifty years and the melding of different cultures that was intertwined within his work struggled to renew its previous fervor. Still, the complexity that caused many to marvel at his art remained throughout his career. The day following his ninety-eighth birthday, Date died at his home in Queens, New York in 2005.