Kimigayo in Los Angeles, 7-26-2016

2016-kimigayo-in-LA-by-Jeremy-Sutton-24-800×400.jpg

Kimigayo in Los Angeles, 7-26-2016, 2016, pigment ink and acrylic on canvas, 40″ x 20″

This painting depicts a historic moment when the Japanese musician Atsushi, also known as Exile Atsushi, sang the Japanese national anthem, the Kimigayo (one of the world’s oldest and shortest national anthems) at the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball stadium on their annual Japan Night celebration, July 26, 2016. This was a particularly poignant moment given the history of WWII and the internment of Americans of Japanese descent on the West Coast.