Archives West Finding Aid
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Clarence T. Arai photographs, approximately 1949-1951
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Arai, Clarence Takeya, 1901-1963
- Title
- Clarence T. Arai photographs
- Dates
- approximately 1949-1951 (inclusive)19491951
- Quantity
- 59 photographic prints (4 boxes) ; 16" x 20"
- Collection Number
- PH0893
- Summary
- Photographs by a Japanese American lawyer and photographer who was active in the Seattle Japanese American community
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Clarence Takeya Arai (1901-1963) was an active member of Seattle's Japanese American community, best known for his instrumental role in the formation of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Arai also founded the first Japanese American Boy Scout troop in 1920, and in 1924, he became the first Japanese American to graduate from the University of Washington Law School. In 1928, he was elected president of the Seattle Progressive Citizens League. As president, he and League vice president George Ishihara traveled the west coast campaigning for a national organization, which led to the founding convention of the JACL in Seattle in August 1930. Arai was active in local politics and served as vice president of the 37th Legislative District Republican Club and as a state delegate to the Republican convention. In 1934, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the state legislature.
At the onset of World War II, with anti-Japanese sentiment increasing in the U.S., the JACL sought to demonstrate Japanese American loyalty to the U.S. by forming the Emergency Defense Council, with Arai as chairman. In 1942, Arai and his family were sent to Camp Harmony in Puyallup and subsequently interned at Minidoka Relocation Center in Hunt, Idaho. Arai's health suffered during the war years and he had a mild stroke while at Minidoka. After the war, Arai retired from law practice and devoted his time to photography. His photos were exhibited all over the country and internationally, and he was honored by the Photographic Society of America. Arai also served as a judge for the Seattle Times Amateur Snapshot Contest and as a member of the Seattle Public Library board.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of photographs, most mounted on board for exhibition and titled and signed by Arai on the mounts. Many of the mounts have notations, stickers and/or stamps on the verso documenting the various venues and shows at which the photographs were exhibited. The photographs are undated; the information of the mounts indicates their inclusion in exhibits spanning 1949 through 1963, mostly in 1950 and 1951. Also includes one photograph by Leon Kotzebue, Colonel Inf. U.S. Army, inscribed on verso to Clarence Arai, with the inscription dated 1951. The photographs depict people and landscapes, often dramatically lit, generally intended to evoke a mood or state of mind.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Gift of Lillian Ogawa (Clarence Arai's sister); received in 2007.
Processing Note
Processed by Claire Imamura, 2010.
Collection accessioned as PH2010-008.
The photographs were relocated from the Clarence T. Arai Papers, Accession No. 5542-001 in the repository, in 2010.
Separated Materials
Material Described Separately:Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Clarence Arai PhotographsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/1 | 1 |
Across The Bar(ship sailing on
water) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic
print
Verso is covered in exhibition and photography club stamps,
including a large gold sticker with totem pole from the Pacific National
Exhibition in 1951.
Written on verso is a list of places where the photo was
exhibited: Atlanta Dixie Salon (1950), Milwaukee Salon (1950), Northwest Salon,
Puyallup, Washington (1950), Chicago Salon (1950), Manitoba, Canada (1951),
Boston Massachusetts (1951), Boston, Massachusetts (1951), Toronto, Canada
(1951), San Diego California (1951), Calgary, Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
|
1950? |
1/2 | 2 |
As Shadows Fall(two men walking in
street) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso has stamps and stickers from photo exhibitions, including
the Seattle International Exhibition of Photography in 1955.
|
undated |
1/3 | 3 |
Coming Thru(boat with
passengers)
Verso has stamps and stickers from photography clubs and
exhibitions and a written list of 14 places in the United States and Canada
where the photo was exhibited between 1950 and 1952.
|
1950? |
1/4 | 4 |
Contemplating(man walking in
street) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Photo was published in the
Seattle Sunday Timeson April 15,
1952 according to label on verso. Written on verso is a list of places where
the photo was exhibited between 1951 and 1952: Puyallup, WA, Chicago, IL,
Boston, MA, Rochester, NY, Seattle, WA, Cincinnati, OH, and Memphis, TN.
|
1951? |
1/5 | 5 |
Crossing The Bar(ship sailing on
water) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic
print
Photograph has stamps from photography clubs and exhibitions on
verso, and a written list of places where the photo was exhibited between 1949
and 1951: Northwest Salon, Pasadena, California, Great Falls Salon, San Diego,
California, Toronto, Canada, Louisville, Kentucky.
|
1949? |
1/6 | 6 |
Dancing Shadows(two people walking
through snow) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic print
on Opal G. paper
Verso is covered in stamps from photographic exhibitions,
including a sticker from the First Florida International Salon of Photography
in 1955. Also written on verso is that the photo was exhibited in Detroit, MI
(1951), and Habana [sic], Cuba (1953).
|
1951? |
1/7 | 7 |
Days Gone By(man sharpening
knife) : Chlorobromide photographic print
|
undated |
1/8 | 8 |
Hold Fast(boat towing
water-skier) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic
print
Verso is covered with stickers from photography clubs. Note on
verso indicates that the photo was also exhibited at the Northwest Salon in
Puyallup, Washington in 1951.
|
1951? |
1/9 | 9a |
Idling Farm(house and road in a
field) : Chlorobromide-toned selenite photographic
print
Warm-toned print.
|
1950? |
1/10 | 9b |
Idling Farm(house and road in a
field) : Chlorobromide-toned selenite photographic
print
Neutral-toned print.
Verso has stamps and stickers from photography clubs and
exhibitions, including a purple exhibited sticker from the Northwest
Photographic Salon at the Western Washington Fair in 1950.
|
1950? |
1/11 | 9c |
Idling Farm(house and road in a
field)
Unmounted.
|
1950? |
1/12 | 10 |
Meandering Thru(person walking in
street) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso has stamps from photographic exhibitions.
|
undated |
2/1 | 11 |
Posing for Myself(self-portrait of
photographer) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Photo was exhibited at the California State Fair, International
Photographic Salon in Des Moines, IA, and the Seattle Center Northwest Council
of Camera Clubs in 1963.
|
undated |
2/2 | 12 |
Quiet Crossing(bridge with
buildings in background) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso is covered in stamps from photography exhibitions,
including a gold sticker from the Second Santa Barbara International Exhibition
of Nature Photography in 1953.
|
undated |
2/3 | 13 |
Quiet Detour(man walking in
street) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso has stamps and stickers from photography clubs and
exhibitions, including the Des Moines International exhibition in January 1951.
Also written on verso is a list of 23 places throughout Canada and the United
States where the photo was exhibited between 1950 and 1951.
|
1950? |
2/4 | 14a |
Retreat(windmill beside
pond) : Chlorobromide photographic print
|
undated |
2/5 | 14b |
Retreat
Unmounted, warm-toned photo.
|
undated |
2/6 | 15 |
Sanctuary(deer) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso has stamps from International Salon of Photographic Art in
Pittsburgh and the International Photographic Salon in Des Moines.
|
undated |
2/7 | 16 |
Startled(deer) : Chlorobromide photographic print
|
undated |
2/8 | 17 |
Sunlit Alley
: Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso is covered in stickers from camera clubs from around the
Pacific Northwest.
|
undated |
2/9 | 18 |
Thrills Unlimited(boat with three
passengers on water) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic
print
Verso has stamps and stickers from photography clubs and
exhibitions, including a gold sticker from the 4th Great Falls Salon of
Photography in 1950.
|
1950? |
2/10 | 19 |
Trail Blazers(two people walking
through snow) : Blue-toned chlorobromide photographic
print
Verso is covered in stickers from photo exhibitions throughout
the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, Richmond, VA, and Des Moines, IA.
|
1951? |
2/11 | 20 |
Tranquility(windmill and boat
beside pond) : Chlorobromide photographic print
Verso is covered in stamps from photography clubs and
exhibitions.
|
undated |
2/12 | 21 | undated |
Duplicate PrintsReturn to Top
Twenty-seven of the duplicate prints have notations, stamps and stickers from photograph exhibitions on verso.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
3 | Eight duplicates of item 3
Coming Thru(boat with
passengers) |
1950? |
3 | Six duplicates of item 4
Contemplating(man walking in
street) |
1951? |
3 | Two duplicates of item 5
Crossing The Bar(ship sailing on
water) |
1949? |
4 | One duplicate of item 6
Dancing Shadows(two people walking
through snow) |
1951? |
4 | One duplicate of item 8
Hold Fast(boat towing
water-skier) |
1951? |
4 | Three duplicates of item 9
Idling Farm(house and road in a
field) |
1950? |
4 | One duplicate of item 10
Meandering Thru(person walking in
street) |
undated |
4 | One duplicate of item 12
Quiet Crossing(bridge with
buildings in background) |
undated |
4 | Four duplicates of item 13
Quiet Detour(man walking in
street) |
1950? |
4 | One duplicate of item 14
Retreat(windmill beside
pond) |
undated |
4 | Two duplicates of item 15
Sanctuary(deer) |
undated |
4 | Two duplicates of item 16
Startled(deer) |
undated |
4 | One duplicate of item 18
Thrills Unlimited(boat with three
passengers on water) |
1950? |
4 | One duplicate of item 20
Tranquility(windmill and boat
beside pond) |
undated |
Leon Kotzebue PhotographReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
2/13 | 22 |
The Cliff Dweller(tree on rocks by
the water)
Written on verso: With high regard/To Clarence Arai/A Scholar,
Gentlemen and/a hell of a fine printmaker/Leon L. Kozebue/Colonel Inf. US
Army/1951.
|
1951? |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Arai, Clarence Takeya, 1901-1963--Photographs
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Kotzebue, Leon (photographer)