Star-Bulletin file photo
Tadashi Sato's "Aquarius" graces the center
of the state Capitol atrium floor.

Former warriors
came back to Hawaii
and created beauty

Plucked from plantations,
islanders were exposed
to Europe's art legacy

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

Coming home from the battlefields of World War II, not all of Hawaii's GIs went into business and politics. Some picked up paint brushes and chisels to bring new life to Hawaii.

Thanks both to the GI Bill and the experience of seeing masterpieces in the museums of Europe, a generation of islanders became excited about the arts.

"These folks were plucked from plantations and when in Europe were exposed to a new world," said Arnold Hiura, a former newspaper editor who created the Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "From Bento to Mixed Plate: The AJA Experience in Multicultural Hawaii."

"In some ways, the war stereotyped the AJA experience," Hiura said. "It is not that everyone came home strictly like Dan Inouye (who went to law school and became a successful politician)."

Returning to Hawaii were war veterans Bumpei Akaji and Satoru Abe who quickly became known for their dramatic bronze sculptures. Tadashi Sato, another veteran, created the multihued mosaic "Aquarius" at the state Capitol.

Other artists perfecting their crafts in postwar Hawaii were John Young and Reuben Tam, who painted landscapes of his native Kauai even though he moved to the mainland.

Former state Rep. David Hagino has a long-term project to celebrate the artists of Hawaii who came back after the war.

"I thought it could be called "the Art of the Warrior,' " he said.

"My thesis was that they saw the horror of war and came back and went to create beauty."

Laura Ruby, University of Hawaii art professor and a practicing artist, said the entire group was helped by the early formation of the Hawaii Foundation on Culture and the Arts, which supported and encouraged local postwar artists.

About this Series The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is counting down to year 2000 with this special series. Each installment will chronicle important eras in Hawaii's history, featuring a timeline of that particular period. Next installment: October 25. Series Archive Project Editor: Lucy Young-Oda Chief Photographer:Dean Sensui