Gaadon Maasu kun
- Gallery: Room 94
- Maker: H Yoko
- Culture: Showa Era
- Made in: Hiroshima-shi
- Date: 26 February 1946
- Object type: painting, handkerchief
- Materials: silk
- Museum number: 2012,3012.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a silk handkerchief painted and embroidered with remarkable detail. The piece shows a portrait of Gordon Marsh, a Royal Marine, rendered in ink and light color. The face is softened by delicate brushstrokes, with a thoughtful, young expression.
Notice the embroidered flowers along the edges — a subtle contrast to the more somber subject. The handkerchief was painted in February 1946 in Hiroshima, at a time when the city was still recovering from the aftermath of war.
The artist signed the piece as "H. Yoko," and the work is inscribed with "Gaadon Maasu kun," which translates to "Young Mr. Gordon Marsh." The name uses Chinese characters phonetically, showing how Western names were sometimes adapted locally.
This work reflects the quiet resilience and cross-cultural exchange that emerged in the war's shadow. The painting style suggests training in the traditional Nihonga method, known for its precise composition and controlled brushwork.
See it in person
Gaadon Maasu kun is on display in Room 94 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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