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"The Cats of Mirikitani"
Make Art Not War - A film by Linda Hattendorf

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About the Film
"Make art not war" was Jimmy Mirikitani's motto.

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani was born in Sacramento in June 1920 and raised in Hiroshima. At the age of 18, he returned to the U.S. to pursue a career in art. His life is filled with the kinds of experiences that test the human spirit and make truly great stories.

"The Cats of Mirikitani" is a powerful documentary that reveals Jimmy Mirikitani's story of  loss on so many levels; yet film maker Linda Hattendoft carefully shares Jimmy's passion and desire to express his art.  His life is truly a symbol of the resilience of a human spirit that never gave up his dreams and never stopped expression his craft.  

Discover how his experiences  included being  separated from his family and sent to the Tule Lake internment camp, just south of the Oregon-California border; studying art at Columbia University in New York; becoming a live-in cook on Park Avenue; and yet somehow by the late 1980's, he was homeless and living in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, selling his artwork to survive.

"Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani met filmmaker Linda Hattendorf in Soho in 2001. She helped him apply for Social Security, SSI, and housing benefits, and in 2002 he moved into an assisted-living retirement center run by Village Care of New York."

Remembering Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani
1920-2012

..."Mirikitani’s art reflects his long and eventful life, as well as the world around him. Images of Tule Lake, Japanese landscapes, and playful cats pepper his drawings and paintings, revealing the artist’s sensibilities regarding humor, loss and love of life. His paintings echo not only a diversity of places, but also a rich and often tragic history that is both personal and social. His motto: “Make art, not war.”
~ Quote from article 'Cats of Mirikitani' Star Dies at 92,  
The Raafu Shimpo, Japanese Daily News, Los Angeles
​posted on 11/12/2012 ​
The Cats of Mirikitani Trailer
Ref: YouTube Published on Jan 19, 2015 
Michael Plaster Editing Reel -Thank you Luca Ceccarelli and Boril Radykov
Reviews
  • Variety:  Ronnie Scheib, Review. April 2006
    "What begins as a straightforward documentary on an elderly homeless artist in New York City winds up as an indictment of U.S. internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII in Linda Hattendorf's startlingly timely The Cats of Mirikitani."
    Link to article by Ronnie Scheib
  • Reviews
Read more about how Jimmy Mirikitani ends up on the streets and how he never gave up his art. 
Read the entire Synopsis posted on the web site "The Cats of Mirikitani"
  • Facebook Page ​(​Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani ​- "The Cats of Mirikitani")
  • Book: The Cat Who Chose to Dream by Loriene Honda, Ph.D. includes art of ​Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani ​
  • ​Radio Interview:  Insight with Beth Ruyak about the book​ The Cat Who Chose to Dream Interview starts about 15 minutes into the interview - Please Scroll down to hear the additonal 5 interviews about the book and about Jimmy Mirikitani ​
Let's Talk: The Cats of Mirikitani, Make Art Not War
Documentary Directory | The Cats of Mirikitani, "Make Art Not War" | The Cat who Chose to Dream, Illustrated by Jimmy Mirikitani 
Asian American History Resources