Bumpei Akaji (1921–2002) was an American Hawaiian sculptor of Japanese descent. He was known for welding large

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

sculptures which can be seen all over Hawaii as part of Hawaii's Art in Public Places program.

Biography

Bumpei Akaji was born in 1921, in Lawai, on the Hawaiian island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

. In 1943 he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was sent to Italy with the 100th Battalion of the

442nd Regimental Combat Team The 442nd Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment including the 100th Infantry Battalion is best known as the most decorated unit in U.S. military history, and as a fighting unit composed almost ent ...

. He was inspired by the

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

and

mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

he saw in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

.Papanikolas, Theresa and Stephen Salel, Stephen, ''Abstract Expressionism, Looking East from the Far West'', Honolulu Museum of Art, 2017, , pp. 28–29 After discharge from the army, he stayed in Italy to study at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze () is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. Michelangelo, Benvenuto Cellini and ...

in Florence and at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

in Milan, on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. In 1950, he returned to Honolulu, and in 1951, was the first to receive a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. Akaji was a member of the

Metcalf Chateau The Metcalf Chateau, also known as The Group of Seven, was a group of Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu. The name is derived from a house slated for demolition on Metcalf Street in Honolulu, in which they exhibited in 1954. The exhib ...

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

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. In 1959 he created his first commission, which displayed at the

Ala Moana Center The Ala Moana Center, commonly known simply as Ala Moana, is a large open-air shopping mall in the Ala Moana, Honolulu, Ala Moana neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. Owned by Brookfield Properties, Ala Moana is the List of largest shopping malls i ...

. 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, as typified by ''Cyparissus''. The welded and/or pounded surfaces of his sculptures are often warm and sensual and over time develop a unique patina. He died in October 27, 2002, in Honolulu at the age of 81.

Works

The

Hawaii State Art Museum The Capitol Modern Museum, formerly (until 2023) named the Hawaii State Art Museum, is a small art gallery located on the second floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Long known as HiSAM, the m ...

and the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

are among the public collections holding Akaji's work. Many of his works were commissioned by the state as part of Hawaii's Art in Public Places program, which designates 1% of construction funds in new public buildings to acquiring art. His sculptures in public places include: * Untitled sculpture,

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 State ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, 1976 * ''Na Mana Nu Oli'', Bishop Trust Company,

, 1969 * ''Koaie'', Anuenue Elementary School,

, 1972 * ''Nani Kaua`i: Ke Mau Nei Ke Ea O Kauai I Puhi Aina Malu'' (Beautiful Kaua`i: The spirit of Kaua`i thrives in the peaceful land of Puhi),

Kauai Community College Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the List of islands of the United States by area, 21st-largest ...

Lihue, Hawaii Līhue () is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Līhue is the second-largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, following Kapaa. As of the 2010 census, th ...

, 1977 * Untitled sculpture,

Hana High and Elementary School Hāna High and Elementary School is a public school in Hana, Hawaii. A part of the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), it was established in 1912 and serves kindergarten through twelfth grade. The campus boasts an untitled 1977 copper and bro ...

Hana, Hawaii Hāna is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,526 at the 2020 census. Hāna is located at the eastern end of the island of Maui and is one of the most isolated communities in the state. It i ...

, 1977 * ''Pule Oo'', Molokai Public Library,

Kaunakakai, Hawaii Kaunakakai () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. It is the largest town on the island of Molokai. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. It has the largest port on the island and the longest pier ...

, 1973 * ''Reflections 1989'',

Kauai High School Kauai High School is a public high school in Lihue, Hawaii. It is named after the island Kauai and is part of the Hawaii Department of Education. Kauaʻi High School serves students from ninth through twelfth grades. It was the first public high ...

, 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),

, 1995 * ''Moanalua'',

Moanalua High School Moanalua High School (also known as MoHS) is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, located in Honolulu CDP, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii. Serving grades nine through twelve ...

, 1976 * ''Pupu Ao Ewa'', Ewa Beach Community School,

, 1972 * ''Gushing Waters'', Waipahu Elementary School,

, 1978 * ''Wilia i uka, wilia i kai'',

Pope Elementary School The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, 1977 * ''Hana Hihi-u O Na Makani Ika-ika O Hono Kaa'', Honakaa School, Honokaa, Hawaii, 1975 * ''Hoolana'',

University of Hawaii at Hilo A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

, 1984 * ''Maui Snares the Sun'',

Maui Memorial Hospital Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

Wailuku, Hawaii Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui Island, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In th ...

, 1981 * ''The Sun God'', Wailuku State Office Building,

, 1970 * ''The Eternal Flame'', Hawaii State Capitol Mall,

, 1974 * ''Birds Aloft'',

, 1966 * ''Wai Hoola a Lono'', Koloa Public School & Library, Koloa, Hawaii, 1973 * ''Brothers in Valor Memorial'',

Fort DeRussy Military Reservation Fort DeRussy is a United States military reservation in the Waikiki area of Honolulu, Hawaii, under the jurisdiction of the United States Army. Unfenced and largely open to public traffic, the installation consists mainly of landscaped greensp ...

, 1996 * Untitled copper sculpture,

President William McKinley High School President William McKinley High School, more commonly referred to as McKinley High School, is a comprehensive public high school in the Honolulu District of the Hawaii State Department of Education. It serves grades nine through twelve. McKinl ...

, 1963

References

* Hartwell, Patricia L. (editor), ''Retrospective 1967–1987'',

Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987, p. 133

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akaji, Bumpei 1921 births 2002 deaths American modern sculptors United States Army personnel of World War II American artists of Japanese descent United States Army soldiers American military personnel of Japanese descent University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni People from Kauai Sculptors from Hawaii 20th-century American sculptors American male sculptors American expatriates in Italy 20th-century American male artists