On June 21, 1933, businessman, naturalist and photographer George Masa died.
He was born in Japan on April 6, 1885. He was adopted by a relative at age three and was raised being called Shoji Endo. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 and lived on the west coast for several years. He lived in New Orleans briefly before moving in 1915to Asheville, where he landed a job at the Grove Park Inn. By that time, he had changed his name to Masaharu Iizuka, with Masaharu being another way to read the name Shoji in Japanese. The name George is an Americanized version of Shoji. George eventually Americanized his name further by choosing Masa as a surname that was easily pronounced.
In Asheville, Masa joined the Carolina Mountain Club and was exposed to the area’s spectacular scenic beauty. Though it is unclear how he learned photography, he became quite skilled as a lensman. He went to work for a photography studio and eventually became its proprietor.
Masa is best known for extensively photographing and mapping the Blue Ridge Mountains, often in concert with his friend, naturalist and author Horace Kephart. Together the pair tirelessly promoted the region and its people, and they were instrumental in the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Masa presented a book of his photographs of the region to Grace Coolidge, wife of President Calvin Coolidge, who was a frequent visitor to the area and helped spur the founding of the park.
Many of Masa’s photographs, maps and other personal papers are now held by the Buncombe County Public Library, UNC-Asheville and Western North Carolina University.
Image photographed by George Massa.