Bumpei Akaji
Encyclopedia
Bumpei Akaji was an American sculptor. He was born in Lawai
Lawai, Hawaii
Lāwai is a census-designated place in Kauai County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The population was 1,984 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lāwai is located at ....

, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 1921. In 1943 he joined the United States Army and was sent to Italy with the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was inspired by the artwork in Florence and received a discharge in Italy. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and at the Academia de Belle Arti, Brera, in Milan on a Fulbright Scholarship
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...

. In 1950, he returned to Honolulu and in 1951 received a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

. Along with Satoru Abe
Satoru Abe
Satoru Abe is an American sculptor and painter. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1926. He attended President William McKinley High School, where he took art lessons from Shirley Ximena Hopper Russell...

, Edmund Chung, Tetsuo Ochikubo
Tetsuo Ochikubo
Tetsuo Ochikubo , also known as Bob Ochikubo, was a Japanese-American painter and printmaker who was born in Waipahu, Hawaii, Honolulu county, Hawaii. He served in the United States Army as an infantryman in Europe during World War II...

, Jerry T. Okimoto
Jerry T. Okimoto
Jerry T. Okimoto was a Japanese-American painter and sculptor who was born in Waianae, Hawaii. He is best known for his minimalist works consisting of several solid colored, geometrically shaped pieces of stretched canvas fitted together to form a single work...

, James Park, and Tadashi Sato
Tadashi Sato
Tadashi Sato was an American artist. He was born in Kaupakalua on the Hawaiian island of Maui. His father had been a pineapple laborer, merchant, and calligrapher, and Tadashi’s grandfather was a sumi-e artist....

, Bumpei Akaji was a member of the Metcalf Chateau
Metcalf Chateau
The Metcalf Chateau was a group of seven Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu. It flourished after World War II, and its members were Satoru Abe , Bumpei Akaji , Edmund Chung, Tetsuo Ochikubo , Jerry T...

, a group of seven Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu.

Akaji learned welding from a local mechanic and is now best known for his large-scale welded copper and brass sculptures, which are both organic and abstract in nature. The welded and/or pounded surfaces of his sculptures are often warm and sensual and over time develop a unique patina. He died in 2002. The The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
The now defunct Contemporary Museum, Honolulu was the only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The Contemporary Museum had two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Spalding House, and downtown Honolulu at First Hawaiian Center.-Collection:Artists...

 and the Hawaii State Art Museum
Hawaii State Art Museum
The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...

 are among the public collections holding work by Bumpei Akaji. His sculptures in public places include:
  • Untitled sculpture, Leilehua High School
    Leilehua High School
    Leilehua High School is a public, co-educational, college preparatory high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education, nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, and fully accredited by the...

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1976
  • Na Mana Nu Oli, Bishop Trust Company, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1969
  • Koaie, Anuenue Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1972
  • Ke Mau Nei Ke Ea O Kauai I Puhi Aina Malu, Kauai Community College
    Kauai Community College
    Kauai Community College is a public, co-educational commuter college in Līhue, Hawaii on the island of Kauai. It is one of ten branches of the University of Hawaii system anchored by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and...

    , Lihue, Hawaii, 1977
  • Untitled sculpture, Hana High and Elementary School
    Hana High and Elementary School
    Hana High and Elementary School is a public school in Hana, Hawaii. It was established in 1912 and serves kindergarten through twelfth grade.The campus boasts an untitled 1977 copper and bronze sculpture by Bumpei Akaji.-References:*...

    , Hana, Hawaii, 1977
  • Pule Oo, Molokai Public Library, Kaunakakai, Hawaii
    Kaunakakai, Hawaii
    Kaunakakai is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. It is the largest town on the island of Molokai. The population was 2,726 at the 2000 census. It is "twinned" with Embo in Scotland...

    , 1973
  • Reflections 1989, Kauai High School
    Kauai High School
    Kauai High School is a public high school located in Lihue, Hawaii. It is named after the island Kauai, which is also known as the Garden Isle....

    , Lihue, Hawaii, 1989
  • Makaa eIke Aku i ke Awawa Uluwehi i na Kuahiwi o Manoa (Glowing Eyes Looking at the Lush Valley in the Mountains of Manoa, 1979) and VVV (1995), University of Hawaii at Manoa
    University of Hawaii at Manoa
    The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1995
  • Moanalua, Moanalua High School
    Moanalua High School
    Moanalua High School is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1972 and graduated its first class in 1975, Moanalua High School is located in suburban Salt Lake near Moanalua in the...

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1976
  • Pupu Ao Ewa, Ewa Beach Community School, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1972
  • Gushing Waters, Waipahu Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1978
  • Wilia i uka, wilia i kai, Pope Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1977
  • Hana Hihi-u O Na Makani Ika-ika O Hono Kaa, Honakaa School, Honokaa, Hawaii, 1975
  • Hoolana, University of Hawaii at Hilo
    University of Hawaii at Hilo
    The University of Hawaii at Hilo, UHH, or UH Hilo is one of the ten branches of the University of Hawaii system anchored by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii...

    , Hilo, Hawaii, 1984
  • Maui Snares the Sun, Maui Memorial Hospital, Wailuku, Hawaii
    Wailuku, Hawaii
    Wailuku is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 12,296 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Maui County.Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Īao Valley...

    , 1981
  • The Sun God, Wailuku State Office Building, Wailuku, Hawaii
    Wailuku, Hawaii
    Wailuku is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 12,296 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Maui County.Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Īao Valley...

    , 1970
  • The Eternal Flame, Hawaii State Capitol Mall
    Hawaii State Capitol
    The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state...

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1974
  • Birds Aloft, Ala Moana Center
    Ala Moana Center
    Ala Moana Center in Honolulu is the largest shopping mall in Hawaii, the fifteenth largest shopping mall in the United States, and the largest open-air shopping center in the world....

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1966
  • Wai Hoola a Lono, Koloa Public School & Library, Koloa, Hawaii
    Koloa, Hawaii
    Kōloa is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2000 census. Kōloa is often incorrectly translated as native duck, which is the correct translation for the similar-looking koloa . Kōloa has no known translation...

    , 1973
  • Brothers in Valor Memorial, Fort DeRusey, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1996
  • Untitled copper sculpture, President William McKinley High School
    President William McKinley High School
    President William McKinley High School, more commonly referred to as McKinley High School, is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through twelve...

    , Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

    , 1963

Footnotes

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