Born in Okayama, Japan. Sunami came to the U.S. in 1905 and studied at Fokko Tadama School of Painting in Seattle in 1907. In 1918, he joined the studio of Ella McBride, and in 1920 and 1922, he exhibited his photographs in the Frederick and Nilsson Salon. He displayed at the Society of Independent Artists from 1925 to1931, and  the Salons of America in1925, and the exhibition of Japanese Art, sponsored by New York Shimpo in 1927, 1935. 

After opening a studio on Fifth Avenue and 15th Street in New York City, he photographed Martha Graham. He became the official photographer for the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York in 1930. He passed away in New York City in 1971.

Reference: Martin, David F. and Bromberg, Nicolette. Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial Photography and the Seattle Camera Club, (WA: University Washington Press, 2011); New York Shimpo; Nichibei Jiho.

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 –”.