untitled (Tule Lake), Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani

Created during Mirikitani’s incarceration at Tule Lake in the 1940s, this is one of the few works from that period painted in the Nihonga style. Using meticulous brushstrokes in a horizontal format, Mirikitani depicts Castle Rock Mountain, rows of barracks, and the distant, snow-covered Mount Shasta. The careful arrangement and brushwork demonstrate his mastery of the traditional stylistic and spatial compositions characteristic of Nihonga. The inscription in the upper right reads: “Painted by Mirikitani Mitsunobu at Tule Lake.”