Born in Tottori, Japan, Kadowaki moved to Seattle in 1909 as a tailor for the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. The details after his arrival in the U.S. are unknown, but he exhibited at the Salons of America in 1934 and 1936, the exhibition of Japanese Art, sponsored by New York Shimpo in 1935 and 1936, and the Exhibition of the Paintings by New York Chinese- Japanese Artists in 1937, and the 31st exhibition of the Municipal Art in 1938. At the WPA, he painted still lifes and landscapes. He was a member of the Japanese Catholic Church  of New York, and in 1927 invented an electric light fixture called the “Lighting Apparatus,” which was patented by the Philadelphia Patent Office. After the outbreak of war between Japan and the U.S. Kadowaki signed a statement of allegiance to the U.S. issued by the Committee of the Japanese Artists Resident in New York City.

References: New York Shimpo; Nichibei Jiho, http://www.ancestry.com.

The subject of this entry was featured in one of our digital exhibits, “Japanese Artists During the Prewar Period in New York City- Artistic Trace from the 1910s to the 1940s –”.