MASS MoCA_OpenStudios_jp

During my residency at MASS MoCA, I traced how modernization, globalization, and the history of this factory intertwine, using John Manjiro (1827–1898)—the first Japanese person to live in America—as a starting point.

In 1841, a 14-year-old Manjiro was shipwrecked off the coast of Kochi. After surviving on a deserted island, he was rescued by an American whaling ship. The captain recognized his talent and brought him to Fairhaven, Massachusetts. There, he studied English and Western navigation, eventually rising to first mate on a whaling crew.

At the time, Japan was a feudal society isolated from the world for over 200 years. What moved Manjiro in America was its spirit of freedom and equality—the idea that people are judged fairly by their effort, not by their birth. Returning to Japan in 1851, he played a crucial role in the country’s subsequent modernization.

Two years after his return, in 1853, Commodore Perry arrived and pressured Japan to open its borders. One of the main reasons was to secure supply ports for American whaling ships (the waters around Japan were prime whaling areas).

Although Manjiro was the ideal choice for an interpreter, the shogunate suspected him of being an American spy and excluded him from the negotiations. The unequal treaties signed at this time fueled Japan’s desire to stand on equal footing with Western powers, ultimately driving its push toward imperialism and overseas expansion.

The whaling industry that saved Manjiro was an early global energy business. Over time, energy sources shifted from whale oil to petroleum, electricity, and eventually nuclear power. This very building at MASS MoCA was once a factory for Sprague Electric, a company that participated in the Manhattan Project (the development of the atomic bomb).

The Japanese economy recovered by supplying goods and services to the U.S. military during the Korean War. Eventually, Japanese products dominated the global market, putting heavy pressure on the U.S. economy. This led to the Plaza Accord in 1985, but it was too late—Sprague Electric closed that same year. Its former site was later reborn as the MASS MoCA we know today.