Wounded knee

Shinkichi was a machine gunner in Company M, Third Battalion of the 442nd RCT, which was the heavy weapons unit. He was hit on his left thigh on July 9, 1944 during an attack on Castellina, Italy. Flown to Rome, more than 50 pieces of stone were removed and he was in a cast for six months. He was transferred to Marseilles, France, and given limited duty. In 1945, he requested and was granted Special Services as an artist to sketch displaced persons from the German concentration camps. This reminded him of his days at Poston. Many of Shinkichi’s art reflect the horrors of war such as "Wounded Knee" (1953), "Scorched Earth" (1955), and "Nagasaki" (1957).

This sculpture which he painted in the colors black and red, was a political "statement" to oppose the United States and its oppression of the Indians. However, the very thin warrior, a clear outline of metal in space, also suggested Tajiri itself.