Signs of Home

"The wartime diary of Tokita is . . . a fascinating primary document, filled with uncertainties and ambivalence that make some of the received wisdom about the internment camps feel a little too pat. Even though the reader knows, in general terms, how the story came out, the suspense in this eyewitness account is considerable."

"Examines Tokita’s art in the context of his life and the historic events that he lived through, integrating it all into a deeply moving human story."

"Barbara Johns examines Tokita's art in the context of his life and the historic events that he lived through, integrating it all into a deeply moving human story."

"To see history unfold through Tokita's words and images is to gain a whole new perspective on that conflict [Japanese internment during World War II] and the nature of all immigrants to America who suddenly find themselves identified as the enemy."

"A fascinating book that accomplishes more than one purpose. The first part is a biography of Tokita . . . the second is Tokita's diary from 1941-44. . . . Signs of Home includes plenty of examples that prove his status as an important regional artist."

". . . one of the more beautiful and soulful books you might lay your hands on . . ."

"If 'painting Seattle' feels like the welcome restoration of a long-lost chapter in local art history, the wartime diary is a thornier business . . . filled with uncertainties and ambivalence that make some of the received wisdom about the internment camps feel a little too pat."

"Johns has produced an intricate and moving portrait of Tokita and a beautiful and unusual book."

"There was a spirit in Kamekichi Tokita that scarcely vacillated in spite of the crises he confronted in his days and his diary. Tokita's art, his diary, his family, and his moral strengths are his legacies."