Marie Okuma Johnston, Artist in Residence, Minidoka NHS
As Artist in Residence for Minidoka National Historic Site, Marie Okuma Johnston developed Minidoka themed Hanafuda Cards, now on display at the site. These beautiful pieces of art capture the imagery and symbolism throughout the daily lives in concentration camps by featuring artifacts, foliage, vegetation, gardens and animals. Learn more from Marie’s Artist Statement and Biography below!
To purchase hanafuda cards which feature images of all the camps in one set and guidebook: https://okumajohnston.com/shop/hanafudaset
To purchase an editioned (out of 50) archival print of the cards: https://okumajohnston.com/shop/japanese-american-incarceration-hanafuda-art-print
Marie Okuma Johnston
Artist Statement
Funded by a grant from the Kip Tokuda Memorial Washington Civil Liberties Public Education Program, the Japanese American Incarceration Hanafuda Cards were developed in 2021-2023 to be donated to schools, universities, community centers, museums and national historic sites. Each donation will include a pack of ten cards that can host between 20-40 players, a list of rules, presentation material, and videos to showcase how to play the game.
The origin of Hanafuda cards were from the banning of popular Western and Portuguese playing cards in 1633. In order to work around government bans, a card game was established with consistent imagery to avoid the usage of numbers but allow for the establishment of consistent playing rules. The original imagery was decorated with plants and animals that were symbolic and popular during the Edo Period- resulting in their representation throughout pottery and textiles during this era.
The Japanese American Incarceration Hanafuda cards were designed with the idea of encompassing the imagery and symbolism throughout the daily lives in the Concentration Camps by featuring artifacts, foliage, vegetation, gardens, and animals seen throughout the camps. Within records and oral histories of the incarceration, Hanafuda has come up repeatedly as an important part of daily life for the Issei but over time, like the Japanese language, began to fade as the Issei held fear of needing to demonstrate their American identity.
Today, in the Minidoka National Historic Site Visitor Center, is a set of new designs created with the mindset of preservation- representing the flora and fauna present during the incarceration. this set was created from wood scraps that once stood at Minidoka. This set was created as part of MNHS's Artist-in-Residence program.
Artist Biography:
Marie Okuma Johnston (she/they) is a mixed media artist who creates in order to unpack her experiences navigating a world where she’s neither quite American or Japanese. She incorporates Japanese imagery into her artwork, tying in her love for Shinto/Buddhist folklore and customs together with modern society. Her artwork is done in bright storybook or cartoonish formats to create a familiar and comfortable feeling for the viewer while challenging them with uncomfortable subject matters around capitalism, modern day events, and systemic injustices. Within each collection, pieces are connected through their layers of storytelling but can vary on how loud or quiet they are to reflect the continuous shifts within our mental states as we navigate a complex and challenging world.
Marie was born in Kitakyushu, Japan and moved to Spokane, Washington at a young age. Three years later, she began spending her summers back in Kitakyushu, Japan. Marie got her B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and minored in Music Performance (Cello) at Western Washington University and got her M.A. in Student Development Administration in Higher Education at Seattle University. She began exploring her artistic interests through her community leadership with the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee and has since transitioned into her full-time art practice.