George Masa (c. 1881 – June 21, 1933), born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, was a businessman and professional

large-format Large format refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120- and 220-roll film), and much larger than the frame o ...

photographer. He lived and worked in the United States.

Creating a new life in America

Masa arrived in the United States in 1901. In 1915, he settled in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, where he lived the next 18 years until his death. After initially working for the

Grove Park Inn The Omni Grove Park is a historical resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina. It has been visited by various presidents of the United States and many other notable ...

as a bellhop and valet, Masa left the inn to take a position as a photographer in February 1919. Eventually, he founded Plateau Studio (a business he later sold, which is still in operation today). His customers included some of the town's most affluent citizens such as the Vanderbilt, Grove, and

Seely Seely is a variation of the English and Anglo-Irish Sealy surname, and may refer to: * Brad Seely (born 1956), American football coach * Charles Seely (politician, born 1803) (1803–1887), British politician * Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet (183 ...

families.

The Great Smoky Mountains

Masa came to love the mountains of

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

and worked tirelessly for their preservation, often at his own expense. Using his photographic equipment and an odometer he crafted from an old bicycle, Masa meticulously catalogued a significant number of peaks, the distances between them, and the names given to them by the local settlers and the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

. He was a friend of

Horace Kephart Horace Sowers Kephart (September 8, 1862 – April 2, 1931) was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of ''Our Southern Highlanders'' (a memoir about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina) ...

, and the two of them worked together to ensure that a large portion of the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

would be established as a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

. Masa also scouted and marked the entire North Carolina portion of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

Death and legacy

Masa died in 1933 from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. He had desired to be buried next to his good friend Kephart near

Bryson City, North Carolina Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina in the United States. The population was 1558 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Swain County. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded a ...

.A hike with a bit of history
", ''The Smoky Mountain News'', July 13, 2005 However with no surviving family or estate, his burial was organized by his local hiking club, and they did not have the necessary funds to do so. Instead, he was buried in Asheville's Riverside Cemetery. One year after Masa's death, the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, whi ...

was officially established. In 1961, Masa Knob, a peak of 5,685 feet in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was named in Masa's honor. It stands, appropriately, adjacent to

Mount Kephart Mount Kephart is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The Appalachian Trail crosses the mountain's south slope, making it a destination for thru-hikers. The Jumpoff, a cliff on the northea ...

Documentaries

Interest in Masa's life was revived by documentary film-makers more than 60 years after his death. Bonesteel Films released a 90-minute documentary about George Masa in 2003. Also, the fourth episode of

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

's documentary about " The National Parks: America's Best Idea" features George Masa (entitled "Going Home" covering the period between 1920 and 1933), which was initially broadcast on September 30, 2009.Ken Burns
PBS, "The National Parks,"
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People Behind the National Parks, George Masa
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Notes

References

* Duncan, Dayton and Ken Burns. (2009). ''The National Parks: America's Best Idea.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ; . Two useful biographical vignettes of Masa are William A. Hart's "George Masa: The Best Mountaineer," in Robert S. Brunk (Editor), ''May We All Remember Well," Volume I, pages 249–75 and Jim Casada, "George Masa: Musings on a Man of Myster," ''Smoky Mountain Living," Fall, 2001, pages 67–70.

External links

* Ken Burns
PBS, "The National Parks,"
�
People Behind the National Parks, George Masa
* Paul Bonesteel, Bonesteel Films
"The Mystery of George Masa"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masa, George 1880s births 1933 deaths Japanese mountain climbers Japanese photographers Japanese geographers Nature photographers Pioneers of photography Great Smoky Mountains National Park Artists from Asheville, North Carolina People from Osaka Japanese emigrants to the United States 20th-century geographers