Poet, physician, and photographer (b. 1878, d. 1947)
Kyo Koike
小池 恭
Born
February 11, 1878
Shimane Prefecture of Japan
Died
March 31, 1947
Seattle
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Dr. Kyo Koike (小池 恭, Koike Kyō, February 11, 1878 – March 31, 1947) was a Japanese-American poet, physician and photographer.
Photography
Koike arrived in Seattle in 1916 at the age of 38, and established a medical clinic in the downtown area near Main Street and 5th Avenue.[1]
Although he was a respected professional surgeon, his first love was photography. He was a participant in the first Frederick & Nelson art salon, noted for his pictorialist style, and innovative combination of an Eastern and Western aesthetic.
Koike was the originator of the Seattle Camera Club. Given his thriving practice in the Japanese community in Seattle, his professional income allowed him not only to concentrate on his photography but to underwrite many of the expenses of forming the club. He was the editor of the club's newsletter Notan. He left all of his photographs and extensive records of the Seattle Camera Club to fellow club member Iwao Matsushita upon his death.[2]
Poetry
Koike was also a noted poet, under the pen name Banjin (晩人). He was a member of the Rainier Ginsha, a Seattle Haiku poetry society formed in 1934 by poet Kyōu Kawajiri.
Internment during World War II
During Internment of Japanese Americans in World War II all of his photographic equipment was confiscated by the U.S. government, and he was taken to the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho. While being detained he formed a new poetry society called Minidoka Ginsha. By 1945, the group consisted of over 158 poets. Koike became ill in the camps and died in 1947, shortly after his release.[3][1][4][5]
References
^ abDensho Encyclopedia. "Kyo Koike". Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
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