>[!NOTE]+ Meta Author:: [[Liliana Morais]] [[Silvia Sasoaka]] Reference:: https://garlandmag.com/loop/the-spirit-of-japanese-mingei-in-brazil/ Date:: [[2021-10-13]] Tags:: #Japan #Brazil #ceramics #warp/talk WeftLinks:: The importance of Japanese culture in uplifting crafts in other countries ### Notes ![[Mingei in Brazil.pdf]] #### Introduction The Japanese folk craft movement called Mingei is one of the most influential forces in modern craft. But it not only inspired many Japanese craftspersons to adopt its humble approach, it also influenced a generation around the world to make work in its spirit. After the Second World War, there was a substantial migration of Japanese to Latin America, particularly Brazil. Liliana Morais reflects on this example of the adaption of a quintessentially Japanese style on the other side of the world. She is joined by Silvia Sasoaka. Liliana Morais began her academic career as an archaeologist in Portugal. This led to an interest in ceramics and a move to Brazil, where became involved in the Japanese community of Cunha, focusing on their ceramics. She curated _From Japan to Brazil: the Voyage of Oriental Ceramics_ and published _Cunha Ceramics: 40 years of Japanese Ceramics in Brazil_ She was awarded an MA in Japanese culture and then a PHD in Sociology at Tokyo Metropolitan University. She is currently based in Japan where she teaches in various universities. I particularly recommend *Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts Historical and Political Trajectories from the Meiji Period until Today* which features the role of the Japanese aristocracy in revival of traditions as well as the relationship between mingei and the nomin bijutsu, the peasant art movement. Of course, you can also ready her story Kôgei between Japan and Brazil: The ceramics of Shoko Suzuki in the current issue of Garland. She is joined today by Silvia Sasaoka, who you may recall wrote the charming story for our Japanese issue, From Brazil to Japan: In search of the unknown craftsperson. Sasaoka is herself of Japanese descent, born in Sao Paulo, and is one of the most active figures in the Brazilian craft scene, focusing particularly on bamboo and lace. She is co-founder of Instituto Botucatu. With the transplantation of mingei from Japan to the other side of the world, we face a particular change. As a movement, mingei seems to be frame within a specifically Japanese identity, particularly Zen Buddhism. What happens when it surfaces in a different context, detached from its roots in Japanese soil. #### Summary Liliana began by contrasting the higher status of craft in Japan as [[kogei]] compared to the word [[artesanato - Portuguese for craft]] in Brazil. She then told the story of Japanese migrants who moved to Brazil from 1908. They were not only involved in the burgeoning coffee industry but also the artistic scene through the painters in the Seibi group. By the late 1950s, they began to establish porcelain factories. She also mentioned the Portuguese architect Alberto Cidraes who invited Mieko Ukeseki to a region called Cunha in the Paraíba Valley between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. They found a site of abundant natural materials to develop a workshop. A noborigama (climbing kiln) hub was created. Local apprentices developed a unique hybrid Japanese-Brazilian form. It includes the local production of clay pans by Dona Dita. As a sign of the scale of this community, the Bunkyo Kogei exhibition featured 350 artists. Local Brazilian reference came through, such as the Brazilian wasp that is called the "potters wasp". Their work was proudly displayed during the visit of the Japanese imperial family in 1997. Originally there was a "kogei" association but leading ceramicist Shoko Suzuki changed it to "craft" as an international and respected word. Silvia spoke about the Japanese [Yuba](scottfssmithstudio.com/yama-yuba-farm) community in Mirandopolis that embraced the mingei spirit in the production of getemono - "made by the people, for the people". They were inspired by Tolstoy and Rousseau and established by Kinsaku, who was an exponent of the tea ceremony. It reached a peak of 300 during World War 2, but now is 65. In discussion we heard about the significant of the solo exhibition of Shoko Suzuki in a Sao Paulo contemporary art gallery. The Japanese ceramic community elevated ceramics as a medium of exhibition and helped recover some lost traditions such as the pan-makers. Overall, these talks showed how the Japanese reverence for crafts as kogei could improve the value of crafts in other countries, especially settler-colonies that saw manual labour as fit mostly for slaves and indigenous. <div style="display: block; position: relative; width: 100%; height: 0px; --aspect-ratio:9/16; padding-bottom: calc(var(--aspect-ratio) * 100%);"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.be/embed/qVwexBmfUFU" allow="fullscreen" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; height: 100%; width: 100%;"></iframe></div> See - [Kôgei between Japan and Brazil: The ceramics of Shoko Suzuki | Garland Magazine](https://garlandmag.com/article/kogei-between-japan-and-brazil-the-ceramics-of-shoko-suzuki/) - [From Brazil to Japan: In search of the unknown craftsperson | Garland Magazine](https://garlandmag.com/article/from-brazil-to-japan/)