The Pearl of Great Price

1958 – St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Laramie, Wyoming

This window is the companion to another widow, “Martha and Mary,” on the south wall of the cathedral and is the same size as that other window. To give some consistency to the pair of windows, Rowan and Irene used similarly colored faceted glass in the background of both windows. That, however, is where the similarity ends. This window honors a holy man from Japan who later came with his family to America, and the window pays homage to the man and the culture of his homeland. The clothing here is Japanese, the writing at the top of the window is Japanese, and the face is clearly that of a man of Asian descent. Rather than using carefully painted lines to create flowing robes, Rowan dresses this man in a robe of geometric glass shapes that has characteristics of Japanese robes. The other thing of note in this window is the pearl. This bright piece of glass outshines everything else in the window, clearly making it a treasure to reach for.

Iconography

This window is named after a story from Matthew’s Gospel, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;  on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46). The Japanese man in the window reaching for the pearl is Father Luke Yakota, who has an amazing story of his own. Luke Tadazumi Yokota was born in Japan in 1887 and was baptized in the Episcopal church there in 1905. In 1911 he moved to Southern California, where he settled down and raised a family of three children. In 1942 the family was forcibly relocated, with many other Japanese Americans, to Heart Mountain Detention Center in Wyoming. He was soon appointed Lay Reader for the Missionary District of Wyoming and was very instrumental in the Episcopal Church’s work to provide support to the detainees at Heart Mountain. He was ordained a Deacon in January 1945 and served as vicar of the Church of the Atonement at Heart Mountain Relocation Center until it closed. Ordained a priest in 1946 at Laramie Cathedral, Father Yakota continued to serve the Japanese American community until his death in 1956. The Bishop and clergy of the area recognized his lifelong sacrifice for the work of the Church and commissioned Rowan and Irene to make this window in 1958. The inscription reads, “To Luke Yokota, merchant, priest and saint, who found one pearl of great price. By his bishop and fellow clergy. Born in Japan buried in Lander.”

Year Completed

1958

Artists

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Fabricator

Rowan LeCompte

Irene Matz LeCompte

Location In Building

West Side of Rear Entrance