Okakura Kakuzo

Okakura Kakuzo was born in Yokohama in 1862, just as Japan was opening its doors to the West. As a teen, he became a student at the newly-organized Tokyo University where he served as interpreter and guide for countless intellectual Americans tourng his country. His incredible journey took him from Yokohama to New York, Paris, Bombay, and Boston, where his life intertwined with such luminaries as Rabindranath Tagore, John Singer Sargent, Henry James, John La Farge, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Ezra Pound, and Henri Matisse. He eventually came to Boston in 1904 to accept the position of Asian Arts director at the Museum of Fine Arts. He wrote three books - all in English. He was the spiritual advisor for Isabella Stewart Gardner and his writings influenced the work of such notable American artists as Frank Lloyd Wright and Georgia O'Keeffe.