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Kyo Koike photograph collection, approximately 1920-1940

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Koike, Kyo, 1878-1947
Title
Kyo Koike photograph collection
Dates
approximately 1920-1940 (inclusive)
Quantity
26 boxes, including approximately 600 photographic prints and approximately 1,100 nitrate negatives
Collection Number
PH0262
Summary
Photographs of landscapes (mostly in Washington State), animals, family and friends by a Japanese-American Pictorialist photographer
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

Selections from the collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collection website. Permission is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English and Japanese
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid and processing the collection was partially provided through the Friends of the UW Libraries
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Biographical Note

Dr. Kyo Koike was born on February 11, 1878, in the Shimane Prefecture of Japan. He came from a long line of doctors in his family, and soon followed in their footsteps, graduating from medical school and starting his medical practice in Japan before immigrating to the United States. He arrived in Seattle on December 19, 1916, and soon settled into his adopted city. Dr. Koike opened his medical and surgical practice in Seattle's Nihonmachi (Japantown), while continuing to pursue his love of photography, in particular the style known as Pictorialism.

In 1924 Dr. Koike and a group of other photographers founded the Seattle Camera Club as a means of connecting immigrant Japanese and American Pictorialist photographers through club activities, exhibitions, etc. He was one of the editors of the club's journal Notan, which was published in both English and Japanese. Unfortunately the club disbanded in 1929 due to the financial pressures on members brought on by the Depression.

Koike's photography blended both Eastern and Western styles; he discussed his view of these styles in American Photography's January 1928 issue: "The Japanese idea of composition in pictures is somewhat different from that of Americans. You will frequently find a peculiar atmosphere in their pictures that is due, no doubt, to the influence of ancient Japanese literature and art. From the literary standpoint most Japanese poems contain but a very few words and instead of stating facts and explaining the whole story, such a poem leaves much to the imagination of the reader and you will find a similar tendency in the pictorial art of Japan".

Dr. Koike was the most successful of the Seattle Camera Club members; he won many awards and his photographs were exhibited in the salons of Europe, Japan, the United States, and South America. By 1929, he was the most exhibited Pictorial photographer in the world and had articles about photography published in national magazines, including Photo-Era and Camera-Craft . The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain also honored Dr. Koike and his work with a membership, making him the only Japanese member at that time. He was also a distinguished haiku poet, and in 1934 became a prominent member of the Rainier Ginsha, a Seattle haiku poetry society founded by poet Kyou Kawajiri that same year. He would later edit a collection of poetry published by the Rainier Ginsha in 1938.

Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 9, 1941, Dr. Koike turned in his camera in to the Seattle Police Department to be in compliance with a federal order for "enemy aliens" to turn in their cameras and radios because they could potentially be used for spying. Koike's close friend and fellow photographer, Iwao Matsushita, had been arrested by the FBI on December 7 as a "dangerous alien" and sent to Fort Missoula in Montana. Matsushita's wife, Hanaye, was evacuated to Camp Harmony in Puyallup, Washington, and Koike (although he was not required to go to internment at that time) volunteered to go along with her. They were both eventually placed in the Minidoka War Relocation Center in southern Idaho, where Koike remained until August 1945. He returned to Seattle and re-opened his medical practice where he worked until he died while picking ferns on Mt. Rainier at the age of 70 on March 31, 1947.

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Content Description

The collection includes albums of photographic prints and exhibition certificates, awards, and ribbons representing Koike's work. The collection also includes medals and trophies awarded to Dr. Koike for his photographs as well as holiday greeting cards from fellow photographers and Seattle Camera Club members.

The couple often seen in Koike's photos in the mountains are most likely Iwao and Hanaye Matsushita, who were close friends and climbed with him.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format .

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Copyright to J. Walter Collinge photographs is held by Brad Bayley, Santa Barbara Vintage Photography until 2036.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in the following series.

  • Albums A-N
  • Enlarged original photographs from Albums
  • Modern prints used in exhibition
  • Christmas and holiday cards received by Dr. Koike from fellow photographers and friends.
  • Dr. Koike's album of pressed wildflowers
  • Modern Prints with Negative Numbers
  • Dr. Koike, family and friends
  • Photographs of Mount Rainier used in the book Study of Mountain Photography
  • Mt. Rainier from Everywhere
  • Photos not in Koike albums (with titles)
  • Photos not in Koike albums (without titles)
  • Negatives
  • Medals
  • Trophies
  • Seattle Camera Club Shipping Box

Acquisition Information

Donor: Iwao Matsushita, 1970, 1975.

Donor of case: Patrick Suyama via David Martin.

Processing Note

Processed by Don Romero, 2012. Processing completed 2013.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2008 (Last modified: 7/3/2025)

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