Okakura Kakuzo (Yokohama, 1862 - 1913, Akakura)
Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Seattle, 24 March 1913
Ink on paper
Blue Room
Commentary
Art historian and philosopher Okakura Kakuzō adapted the Japanese legend of Kuzunoha into a libretto for an opera, “The White Fox.” He dedicated it to Isabella who commissioned composer Charles Martin Loeffler to write the music. In this letter, Okakura is rejecting Loeffler’s suggestions to reduce the libretto’s three-acts to two and to realize it as a pantomime. Although Isabella later gave Loeffler carte blanche to edit the text, he never completed the composition, attributing his lack of progess to Okakura’s inflexibility.