An American Artist in Tokyo: Frances Blakemore, 1906-1997

Northwest artist Frances Blakemore had a lifelong love affair with Japan. She first went to Japan in 1935 and spent most of her adult life in Tokyo. Her experience with Japan encompassed the entire period from pre–World War II militarism to postwar modernization.

Arriving in Tokyo in 1935 to teach art and English, she became fascinated with Japanese life and chronicled her experiences both in art and writing. She spent most of the war years in Honolulu, where she designed propaganda leaflets that were dropped by the millions on the Japanese islands. In 1954, she married American attorney Thomas Blakemore and achieved prominence as an artist and gallery owner in Tokyo.

Illustrated with photographs and striking color reproductions of her work, this book introduces the adventures of a remarkable American artist and provides a new perspective on U.S.–Japanese cultural relations.