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Abstract

Yasu Kōhei (1846-1917), or Juan José de Jesús Yas, was one of the earliest Japanese migrants to Latin America. Initially aspiring to pursue higher education in Mexico, Yasu ultimately established his life in Guatemala, where he became a studio photographer and a devout Catholic. Since his photographic works and personal writings resurfaced from family storage in the late 1970s, Yasu has emerged as a celebrated pioneer of Guatemalan photography and a symbol of the historical and diplomatic connections between Japan and Central America. While his migrant biography has been employed to promote cultural, economic, and social exchange across the Pacific, a focus on his accomplishments obscures the prejudices encountered by early East Asian migrants in the Americas.

This dissertation uses the concept of transcultural visuality to elucidate the multifaceted layers of power, meaning, and agency that shaped Yasu's journeys and photographic endeavors. It further examines contemporary interpretations of his life and œuvre through archiving and exhibiting practices that connect disparate global sites. The first two parts of this dissertation describe Yasu Kōhei’s Japanese upbringing, trans-oceanic journeys, and photography within their historical contexts. The chapters of the third part consider how institutions and curatorial efforts have highlighted aspects of Yasu’s biography and photographic legacy that illustrate particular historiographic narratives. The individual chapters follow Yasu's life and the biography of the objects he left behind in chronological order, exploring sites of transcultural convergence and analyzing distinct textual and visual materials to illuminate tensions between cultural imaginaries and senses of belonging.