"I always think I would like to write an artistic letter without disgracing my conscience. To me, because a letter is a type of literature, it is art. In fact, it is a special type of art."
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The Life of Shiro Miyazaki:
An Itinerant Artist of the 1930s Through His Letters by Shu Miyazaki Trafford Publishing
book review by Sheila M. Trask
Fifteen years and thousands of miles separated Shu Miyazaki from his older brother. Shu knew little of Shiro, the young man left to his studies in Japan when the rest of the Miyazaki family settled in Seattle, Washington in 1920. Collecting Shiro's letters allowed Shu to reconnect with his brother, a multi-talented itinerant artist working in the 1930s.
A visual artist by vocation–he created wood-block and linoleum prints, as well as paintings–Shiro proves himself a wordsmith as well in his letters. Writing to fellow artists George Tsutakawa and Dr. William (Bill) S. Gamble, Shiro's unique voice is clear. When he writes of the desert, for example, it reads like a poem. "A desert is nature in the nude." The letters to George retain the elegance of the original Japanese as translated by Shu.
Letters to Bill, written in English, fare less well as poetry. Shu leaves the letters intact, and the beginning English speaker's misspellings and awkward phrases interrupt the flow. Similarly, sparsely distributed illustrations cause the reader to stop and search for the art pieces mentioned in the letters. Shu hopes to capture more of Shiro's work in a second volume, which would be welcome, as several pieces discussed in the letters are not reproduced here.
Presented chronologically, Shiro's letters illustrate his struggle to pay for food and rent while still creating art. Art is clearly his calling, and sometimes new paint colors trump dinner. Like many others, Shiro had to make tough choices in the harsh economy of the 1930s. With these letters, Shu Miyazaki has pulled together a portrait not only of a person, but also a moment in time.