Asia: The Land, the People, the Gods

It all began on a cold January morning in 1984, when I arrived in New Delhi to take up a post at our Embassy. It was the third in my career, after Brussels and Buenos Aires. The impact was immense, so immense in fact that, faced with it, I decided to "throw myself" into the country instead of taking refuge in the ease of criticizing a reality that eluded me.

India “deconstructed” and reconstructed me, to the point that I decided my career and life would henceforth revolve around the East. But not the East about which the West creates preconceived and prejudiced stereotypes. An almost impossible mission, given the density of these civilizations and my unpreparedness to coexist in absolute relativity, and without judgment, with an “exotic” otherness. But it was an irresistible challenge for an adventure that turned out to be very profound. I was lucky, and I had a mentor, Professor José Leal Ferreira, a Brazilian diplomat compulsorily retired during the AI-5 era, who was then a professor of Portuguese Language and Brazilian Civilization at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, a man of profound knowledge and enormous generosity, to whom I pay homage here.

From India, I followed my itinerary through Asia and ended up serving for almost 16 years in eleven posts on the continent: I went to China, Japan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Taiwan (which is not a country for the Brazilian government), Mumbai (India, again), Jordan/Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Myanmar. Outside of   that, I only served, by invitation, at our Embassy in Washington: it was an irrefutable "hiatus" in my career.

This choice certainly seemed unusual to most of my colleagues. But I took it on as a "mission." Which one? To bring Asia to Brazil. An extremely ambitious project, and certainly beyond my strength and abilities, but fundamental, in my view, insofar as the continent asserts itself as the main engine of geoeconomics and, almost consequently, of geopolitics in this century.

Like a Scheherazade, almost "sphinx-like," Asia has layers of ancient civilizations and cultures that make it nearly undecipherable. The gap is always deeper: one topic leads to another, which opens up to so many others, and so on. But it fascinates, especially in contemporary times, where it reigns globalized and globalizing...

The “contamination” of cultures, or rather, the insemination of “foreign” cultural references into the daily life of today's urban individual, whether in the West or the East, forces us to revise values ​​and perceptions, if not assimilating them—sushi in steakhouses, yoga in gyms, on this side of the world, or Louis Vuitton bags in Japan or China, and McDonald's throughout Asia, for example—at least seeking to know them and, for the most generous and intellectually motivated, to understand them. And mass migrations rewrite the human cartography on a planetary scale. We are no longer islands, or rather, the islands are now 

integrated into the global continent. Welcome all to the reconstituted Pangaea.

It was this certainty that propelled my project. And the collection is this: the pursuit of understanding these civilizations, stimulating the dissemination of knowledge through these works. That was the sole reason, I assure you. It includes more than 2,500 books, CDs, and DVDs about Asia. A necessary project, I am convinced. We Brazilians are in great need of this "bath of universalism" that broadens our horizons beyond the recognized West. Let us retrace the route of the navigators!

In this endeavor, art was the path I found to try to understand very complex "multirealities." However, ART, in its holistic sense, without distinction between the so-called noble arts—"fine arts"—and the "lesser" arts (applied arts), since in the Asian continent there is no hierarchy between them. The Asian perceives the world and inserts himself into it as a whole. Nor are there temporal boundaries: the contemporary coexists with the ancestral, demonstrating that the arts have no "expiration date." If only Confucius were Chinese...

I dedicate a lifetime's effort to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum and, through it, to all those who are willing to pursue this path. We Brazilians have a great quality, in my view: our generous and cordial character, which allows us—at least for now, and I hope it continues—to look with less Manichean resistance at the other side of the mirror, the other side of the world.

Fausto Godoy
Curator and donor of the collection

The exhibition "Asia: The Land, The Men, The Gods" is renewed with the aim of reaching increasingly larger audiences and further democratizing access to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum's collection.

This new edition includes a tribute to the 130 years of Brazil/Japan relations and displays previously unseen works, recently donated to the MON by Maria Ligaya, widow of the late diplomat Edmundo Fujita.

The largest art museum in Latin America, the MON has seen its collection quintuple in size in recent years. In this trajectory, the importance of the Asian art collection, donated to the MON by diplomat Fausto Godoy, is immense. The arrival of approximately three thousand works of art, years ago, coincided with the moment of redefinition of the MON's collection reference framework, which began to emphasize Asian, African, and Latin American art, making it more plural.

Disputed by other institutions in Brazil and collectors abroad, the Asian collection that belongs to the MON - and the people of Paraná - allows for countless readings and approaches, like the one we present with this show.

The world has changed, and museums, as an instrument of reading and interpretation, have also changed. The MON's proposal is to facilitate dialogues between cultures and territories through art. Not by chance, the Museum presents here, side by side, diverse cultures that, at the same time, converse and demonstrate their singularity, allowing us an interesting view of the world.

The visitor certainly perceives the transdisciplinarity between works, collections, and exhibitions. The strength of the ensemble presented by the Museum instigates and proves that knowledge, multiple and transversal, crosses cultures, territories, and epochs.

Juliana Vellozo Almeida Vosnika
CEO of the Oscar Niemeyer Museum

Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Japan began with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation, which the two empires, at the time, signed on November 5, 1895. According to its text, the objective was "to establish diplomatic relations and define the terms of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the two countries".

Since then, the friendship between the two peoples has gained momentum, with the exception of a brief hiatus in 1942, during World War II, when the two governments adopted antagonistic positions on the battlefield and broke off relations. With their reestablishment in 1952, they gained renewed impetus.

Contacts between the two peoples, however, are older. The first ones were forged through the Portuguese navigators who arrived in Japan in 1543 and founded the port city of Nagasaki. From then on, and until 1638, trade between the two countries was carried out through the stops of ships in Brazilian ports, which history recorded as the "Nanban trade". Many Japanese products were commercialized here during this period.

However, these contacts were interrupted between the 17th and 19th centuries, due to the isolation policy called sakoku (鎖国 - "closed country"), decreed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, which then governed the empire and sought to maintain its stability in the face of the threat it felt from external influences, especially the conversion of the population by Catholic missionaries. Christianity was then banned and fought.

From 1603, the country entered a period of isolation, limiting its trade to the Chinese, Dutch, and Koreans, and even then in ports specifically destined for this purpose. Nevertheless, trade continued, for a short period, through the Portuguese colony of Macau.

However, from 1868, after the so-called "Meiji Restoration", when the emperor regained power from the Shogunate, the country began a process of accelerated industrialization, which would drive the resumption of its relations with various nations and lead it to become the fourth largest economic power on the planet in this century.

It was in this scenario that Brazil and Japan formally established their relations, signing the Treaty of Friendship in 1895. In 1897, diplomatic missions were opened in the capitals of each nation. And, in June 1908, the ship Kasato Maru arrived at the port of Santos, bringing 790 Japanese immigrants.

This was the first of many others that arrived in our country bringing more immigrants. Between 1908 and 1941, more than 190,000 of them arrived here seeking opportunities; it should be remembered that at that time Japan was facing serious economic and overpopulation problems, and Brazil lacked labor for its crops.

Initially, these immigrants were destined for coffee plantations in the state of São Paulo, especially to overcome the crisis left by the exodus of former slaves from their former masters' lands and the abandonment of Italian immigrants who had been recruited for this task. Later, they dispersed to various regions and sectors of the economy. Today, they occupy prominent positions in our society.

In July 1959, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi became the first Japanese head of government to visit Brazil. His visit was preceded by that of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa in 1958.

In reciprocity, in September 1976, President Ernesto Geisel made a state visit to Japan. Later, the then Crown Prince Akihito visited here, on two occasions - 1967 and 1978. Since then, there have been 12 visits by the highest authorities of Japan to Brazil - reciprocated by eight Brazilian heads of state to that country. This is evident proof of mutual interest.

One of the foundations of our relations is in the economic-commercial area. One of its great moments was the creation of the Japan-Brazil Cooperation Program for the Agricultural Development of the Cerrados (Prodecer), established in 1979, as a result of President Geisel's visit to Japan. Its objective was to transform the Cerrado region into a productive area through technical and financial cooperation between the two countries.

Prodecer implemented colonization and agricultural development initiatives in several states, such as Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, and Goiás, contributing to the increase in grain production and job creation. Its great heir is the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), of which we Brazilians are so proud.

Commercial relations between Brazil and Japan are robust and growing, with a trade exchange of US$ 11 billion in 2024. Brazil exports agricultural and mineral products, such as meat, pulp, and iron ore, while importing transformation goods and technology, such as vehicles and their parts, and electronic equipment.

Japanese investments in Brazil are significant, covering sectors such as automotive and agribusiness, now with a perspective of strengthening through partnerships in decarbonization and bioenergy.

But is in the relations between people that the apanage of our friendship resides: the Nikkei community, on our soil, and the Brazilian community resident in Japan add the human element to the equation, solidifying our partnership.

In a pendular process between the two countries, these communities face challenges and seek solutions for culturally distant universes, despite shared histories.

Brazil is home to the largest community of Japanese descendants outside Japan - about two million. In the opposite direction, according to official data from the Japanese authorities, documented Brazilians number 286,557 people, constituting the third largest community of foreigners in that country, behind only Koreans and Chinese. However, the report indicates that the total number of Brazilians, including those without documentation, may exceed 500,000, an estimate considered conservative.

These situations often do not occur, obviously, without personal and collective challenges, since the physical similarities between Japanese and their descendants on our soil do not correspond, in most cases, to a univocal perception of very distinct civilizations: this is the radiography of the adventure of sharing the planet!

However, the solidity of our friendship and the result of the integration of individuals and families in both universes is the best example of the harmonious consolidation of these bonds, which should be followed by all countries and cultures for the good of humanity!

Fausto Godoy
Ambassador
Donor and Curator of the Asian Collection of the Museu Oscar Niemeyer

Kabuki is one of the four traditional forms of Japanese theatre, the others being noh, kyogen, and bunraku (puppet theatre). It developed during the more than 250 years of peace during the Edo period (1600–1868).

Kabuki combines music, drama, and dance, often using period costumes. Its types of performances include historical plays (jidaimono) and contemporary plays (sewamono). One of its main characteristics is that all the actors are men, including those who play the female roles (onagatas). Kabuki developed with the support of the Japanese middle classes, in contrast to the traditions of Nohtheatre, a form of entertainment primarily for the upper classes. 

Very popular among the urban population, over time kabuki developed into a defined art form of importance, focused on preserving tradition, with some plays even using the same costumes for several centuries. The main location of kabuki theater in Japan – Kabukiza – is in Tokyo.

In 1974, Folha de S.Paulo highlighted Edmundo Sussumu Fujita as the "young Nissei who broke the barrier of Itamaraty" after being approved at the prestigious Rio Branco Institute of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A Japanese-Brazilian born in São Paulo, son of Yoshiro Fujita, from Assai (Paraná), and Chiyoko Yamamuro, from Registro (São Paulo), he chose a diplomatic career, breaking with family traditions and expectations.

Throughout 40 years of service, Edmundo and his wife, Maria Ligaya, lived 25 years in geopolitical centers such as London, Tokyo, Moscow, New York, Jakarta, and Seoul. Asia, however, was always his great passion: the cradle of ancient civilizations, now transformed into a modern and thriving region without renouncing its millenary traditions.

In these experiences, they built bridges between cultures and, spontaneously, became accidental collectors. The collection brings together sculptures, porcelain, paintings, lacquerware, furniture, clothing, and other objects acquired at fairs, flea markets, and antique shops in Asia, especially Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. Each piece holds personal and collective memories, translating diplomacy as a practice of cultural exchange.

Inspired by the example of Ambassador Fausto Godoy - who donated his valuable collection to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) -, Edmundo and Maria Ligaya now share this set of objects as instruments of learning, memory, and approximation between Brazil and Asia.

Maria Ligaya