English version
by Masayo Dousu (2006)
I discovered this artist at an exhibition in Hiroshima this summer, and heard from a friend that Isamu’s mother was an American, Leonie Gilmour. A graduate of Bryn Mawr, she was three years behind Umeko Tsuda in school. After graduating, she worked correcting the English writing of poet Yone Noguchi. When she found herself pregnant, Yone returned to Japan without offering her any support.
The first volume (the Japanese comes in 2 volumes) tells how Leonie brought her 2-year-oldson to Japan and raised him on her own while teaching English. From his boyhood, Isamu was often bullied for being different from other children. In Japan, he didn’t quite fit in and became a loner. Nevertheless, his relationship with his mother fostered a love of literature including Greek mythology. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to a carpenter and learned to carve intricate latticework. He found he loved this carving and sculpting.
Isamu came to America in 1918 at the age of 13 to attend a unique school in Indiana. When this school folded, he was left homeless for a time, but was taken in and sent to school by benefactor, Edward Rumely. Briefly attending Columbia Univ Continue reading
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