Consulate of Japan

Watercolors from the series San Francisco after the Earthquake
The watercolors in this series begin on April 25, exactly a week after the earthquake and three days after the fires subsided. Binding holes across the top show that the pages were once part of a sketchbook. This group includes several locations of special significance to Asian Americans living in San Francisco at that time., The subject of the first painting is an imposing two-story building set atop a hill. Lights glow in the building’s tall narrow windows as people stand in a line that extends from the porch down the front path and along the sidewalk.
Painted just a week after the earthquake, this scene likely shows Obata’s countrymen in search of assistance from the Consulate’s staff. It is one of several views in the series focusing on local sites of particular significance to Japanese immigrants.