Kyo Koike

Dr. Kyo Koike (February 11, 1878 - March 31, 1947) was a Japanese-American poet, physician and photographer.

Kyo Koike
Koike Kyo
BornFebruary 11, 1878
Shimane Prefecture of Japan
DiedMarch 31, 1947
Seattle
Thousand Thunders (4557923267)
Called a Home (4669580541)
Crooked by Mountain Weather (4557923877)
At the Mercy of Summer Breeze (4558554848)

Photography

Koike arrived in Seattle in 1916 at the age of 38, and established a medical clinic in the downtown area near Main Street and 5th Avenue.[1]

Although he was a respected professional surgeon, his first love was photography. He was a participant in the first Frederick & Nelson art salon, noted for his pictorialist style, and innovative combination of an Eastern and Western aesthetic.

He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and was designated a Fellow in 1928. He was also Director of the Associated Camera Clubs of America.

His solo exhibitions included the Kodak Park Camera Club, Rochester, NY, 1926, the Portage Camera Club, Akron, Ohio, 1927, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts & Sciences in 1928, and The Art Institute of Seattle in 1929.

Koike was the originator of the Seattle Camera Club. Given his thriving practice in the Japanese community in Seattle, his professional income allowed him not only to concentrate on his photography but to underwrite many of the expenses of forming the club. He was the editor of the club's newsletter Notan. He left all of his photographs and extensive records of the Seattle Camera Club to fellow club member Iwao Matsushita upon his death.[2]

Poetry

Koike was also a noted poet, under the pen name Banjin. He was a member of the Rainier Ginsha, a Seattle Haiku poetry society formed in 1934 by poet Kyou Kawajiri.

Internment during World War II

During Internment of Japanese Americans in World War II all of his photographic equipment was confiscated by the U.S. government, and he was taken to the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho. While being detained he formed a new poetry society called Minidoka Ginsha. By 1945, the group consisted of over 158 poets. Koike became ill in the camps and died in 1947, shortly after his release.[3][1][4][5]

References
  1. Densho Encyclopedia. "Kyo Koike". Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  2. Upchurch, Michael. "What became of the members and the work of the Seattle Camera Club?". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  3. Seattle Camera Club. "Kyo Koike". Archived from the original on 2017-02-24. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  4. "Kyo Koike papers, 1902-1941". Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  5. Bromberg, Nicolette. "Preserving a Legacy of Light and Shadow: Iwao Matsushita, Kyo Koike, and the Seattle Camera Club". Archived from the original on 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
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