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Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family Papers
Summary
- Collection ID:
- FSA.A1994.02
- Creators:
-
Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family
- Dates:
-
1907-1976
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
9 Linear feet
- Repository:
The Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family Papers (1906-1976) document the professional and personal lives of a Japanese-American family in Boston during the twentieth century. The patriarch, Yatsuhashi Harumichi (1886-1982), was an influential Asian art dealer and the papers also document the professional experiences of Asian art dealers in the United States during the early and mid 20th century. Mr. Yatsuhashi worked at the antiquities firm of Yamanaka & Company before starting his own Asian antiquities shop in 1945. Included in the papers, portions in Japanese, are correspondence; catalogues relating to the Alien Property Custodian's 1944 liquidation of Yamanaka & Company's New York branch's holdings; photographs depicting art objects and shop interiors, the Yatsuhashi family, Yamanaka & Company, and extended family, friends, and colleagues; and items belonging to Mr. Yatsuhashi's wife, Shigeki, and some of their children.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family Papers (1906-1976) document the professional and personal lives of a Japanese-American family in Boston during the twentieth century. The patriarch, Yatsuhashi Harumichi (1886-1982), was an influential Asian art dealer and the papers also document the professional experiences of Asian art dealers in the United States during the early and mid 20th century. Mr. Yatsuhashi worked at the antiquities firm of Yamanaka & Company before starting his own Asian antiquities shop in 1945. Included in the papers, portions in Japanese, are correspondence; catalogues relating to the Alien Property Custodian's 1944 liquidation of Yamanaka & Company's New York branch's holdings; photographs depicting art objects and shop interiors, the Yatsuhashi family; Yamanaka & Company, and extended family, friends, and colleagues; and items belonging to Mr. Yatsuhashi's wife, Shigeki, and some of their children.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection has been organized into four series.
Series 1: Yatsuhashi Harumichi papers, 1912-1965, undated
— Subseries 1.1: Biographical information, undated
— Subseries 1.2: Correspondence, 1940-1980
— Subseries 1.3: Diary, 1912
— Subseries 1.4: Address book, undated
— Subseries 1.5: Printed materials, 1919-1965, undated
Series 2: Business Correspondence, Boston Art and Book Shop, 1960s
Series 3: Other family members, 1937, 1966, undated
— Subseries 3.1: Yatsuhashi Shigeki
— Subseries 3.2: Yatsuhashi S.
— Subseries 3.3: Yatsuhashi Masao
— Subseries 3.4: Yatsuhashi Sumiko
Series 4: Photographs, 1907-1976, undated
— Subseries 4.1:Still prints and portraits
— Subseries 4.2: Photo albums
Biography
Biography
Asian art dealer and merchant Yatsuhashi Harumichi (1886- 1982) was born in Tano, Japan, on December 15, 1886. Upon completion of his studies in Osaka, Mr. Yatsuhashi secured employment in the Osaka office of the prestigious Asian antiquities firm, Yamanaka & Company. (For more information about Yamanaka & Company, please see: Lawton, T. (1995). Yamanaka Sadajiro: Advocate for Asian art. Orientations, 26 (1), 80-93.) In 1907 he joined Yamanka & Company's branch office in Boston, Massachusetts, as its general manager and treasurer of the company's Asian division. Located at 424 Boylston Street, the store was a center for Chinese art, as well as for Japanese assorted goods.
In 1913 Yatsuhashi married Shigeki. They produced two sons (Michio and Masao) and two daughters (Sumiko and Kukiye). (Harumichi Yatsuhashi, Oriental art authority and Brookline resident. (1982 December 3). The Boston Globe, obituaries.)
Following the United States' entrance into World War II, the Alien Property Custodian seized the Yamanaka shops in New York, Boston, and Chicago. The holdings were sold at auction in May and June, 1944. In 1945, Yatsuhashi Harumichi and his son Michio opened their own Asian art dealership at 420 Boylston Street in Boston.
Yatsuhashi Harumichi fostered exchange between his native and adopted homeland. He was a member and officer (president in 1931) of the Japan Society of Boston since 1921, an avid supporter of the Boston Marathon, and a founder of the Boston-Kyoto Sister City Foundation. (Boston Globe, 1982 December 4. )
Michio Yatsuhashi, who helped his father open the Yatsuhashi antique shop, died prematurely as a result of cancer in 1981. One year later, Mr. Yatsuhashi died in Boston at the age of 96. He was survived by his daughters, Sumiko and Kikuye and one son, Masao.
1886 December 15
Yatsuhashi Harumichi born in Japan
1905
Yatsuhashi Harumichi graduates college in Osaka, Japan
1905
Yatsuhashi Harumichi joins the antiquities firm of Yamanaka & Co.
1907
Yatsuhashi Harumichi joins the Boston branch of Yamanaka & Co.
1913
Yatsuhashi Harumichi and Shigeki marry
[ca. 1918 - 1919]
Masao Yatsuhashi (son) born
1944
Yamanaka & Company New York, Boston, and Chicago shops are seized by the Alien Property Custodian and its holdings are sold at auction
1945
Yatsuhashi Harumichi and son Michio open an Asian antiquities shop in Boston
1961
Yatsuhashi Shigeki dies
1981
Michio Yatsuhashi dies
1982 December 1
Yatsuhashi Harumichi dies at Massachusetts General Hospital at the age of 96
Administration
Author
Linda M. Machado
Provenance
The Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family Papers were donated to the Archives by James Arthur Marinaccio in 1994. 2022 addition was purchased by the Archives.
Provenance
Gift of James Arthur Marinaccio, 1994
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Colleen Hennessey and volunteer Suzuki Kiyoko in 1997. Additional arrangement and description by Linda Machado in 2002 and Lisa Fthenakis in 2022.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Use
No restrictions on use.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Yatsuhashi Harumichi Family Papers. FSA.A1994.02 National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Gift of James Arthur Marinaccio, 1994.
Keywords
Repository Contact
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
National Museum of Asian Art Archives
Washington, D.C. 20013
AVRreference@si.edu
