YAMA: A Nikkei Community in Brazil (Embrace the ordinary and nurture a spirit of gratitude)
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Yama Project is a documentary of a Japanese farming and arts community in Brazil known as Comunidade Yuba. The farm is located in a rural agricultural region in the western part of São Paulo state. Ranging in age from fourth-generation newborns to first-generation Nikkei immigrants now in their 90s, the farm of seventy members is home to several related families. Known for its annual theatrical Christmas performance and modern dance troupe, Comunidade Yuba warmly welcomes visitors throughout the year.
Photographer Scott Smith of Charlottesville, Virginia and writer Janet Ikeda of Lexington, Virginia made their first exploratory trip together to the Yuba Farm in December 2002.
Ikeda and Smith plan to produce a unique portrait of Yama through an anthology of image, voice and text. The outcome of the first trip culminated in an exhibition by Smith at the McGuffey Arts Center in Charlottesville, VA. Ikeda and Smith plan to hold a more extensive exhibition in the U.S. and abroad, and to produce a book of photographs, haiku and an essay about Yama.
More information about YAMA project >>
Read the article about YAMA: A Nikkei Community in Brazil by Janet Ikeda>>
Comunidade Yuba Homepage (Japanese): http://brasil-ya.com/yuba/index.html
Slides in this album |
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Akiko writing the word "Yama"Akiko Ohara, a ballerina, and her artist husband were invited by Isamu Yuba in 1961 to make the journey from Japan to join the farm. They arrived two weeks before Christmas.
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BackstageIt is the full dress rehearsal for the annual Christmas play. Putting on a gown for her part, it is a chance to cross the threshold into adulthood. |
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Ballet LessonAll children are part of the multigenerational dance troupe. Sisters and brothers, sons and daughters dance alongside mothers, cousins, aunts and grandmothers. |
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Collecting FirewoodSmooth logs of guava trees are collected and brought back to the center of the farm. There will be firewood tonight to stoke the kitchen fires under enormous pots. The rest is used to heat the evening bath. |
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Counting LessonWhen mother goes to work she places her baby in a playpen in the mess hall. Numerous substitute parents throughout the day pick him up to play, change his diaper, wipe his face and instruct him in all it means to be a part of Yama. |
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Guava & Mango HarvestYoung girls and boys form much of the farm’s labor force. At night Chika and the other girls put on their sleek leotards and wipe down the wood floor of the dance studio. クリスマス おどりまくって いたい足 |
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Isamu YazakiThe founder Isamu Yuba asked that people follow his motto of working the land, embracing the ordinary and living daily with the arts. Riding in an open truck bed on the way to work in the fields, another Isamu savors and captures a moment of internal reflection. |
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Katsue’s StudioThis is the studio of Katsue, one of the daughters of founder Isamu Yuba. She hand built it from scavenged materials found around the farm. Here, surrounded by her collections of stones and feathers, she paints and writes children’s books. |
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“Kinchan”Kinsuke Minowa (1909-2003) fell in love with the Yama way of life. He passed away at age ninety-three in January 2003. This was the last photograph ever taken of him. |
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“Kumasan”Many in the community are known by a nickname. Katsuo Takimoto has always been called “Kumasan.” Maintaining an air of private dignity, he has remained a bachelor and lives in a small house on the edge of the guava fields. Kumasan appears in many of the theatrical productions and is … |
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MilkingAfter a midday siesta everyone assembles in the cozinha for the daily coffee hour. There is always a large pot of simmering milk to make café com leite. One bachelor tends to the small herd of dairy cows. |
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Mochi at New Year’sIn Japan the New Year begins with eating pounded sticky rice known as mochi. It is an essential part of the New Year festivities. At Yuba there are plenty of people to take their turn at the pounding. Fresh mochi is quickly consumed with soy sauce and grated ginger. Others … |
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“Mokutō”At Yama there are few expectations of what one should or should not be. There is no absolute rule that all must work the land and practice an art. Everyone is encouraged to find his own particular place in the community. Some contribute to the farm by cooking, others teach … |
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Orchestra RehearsalMany of the instruments have been made on the farm. Like the costumes and set design, performance at Yuba will forever be a proud result of a long tradition of craftsmanship. |
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Pruning Guava TreesInfants crawl on the cool tile floors and wiggle through the soft, warm sand until they can stand erect and chase after playmates. The elderly work until they can no longer walk. |
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Shiitake Mushroom TentLandscapes formed from constellations of diverse materials can be found throughout the farm. |
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String Instrument WorkshopHe moves his workshop to whatever shed is available for storing his tools. In 2000 there was one child playing the violin. Now there are fifteen in the orchestra. |
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Takayama with TractorAs a young college student from an agricultural college in Japan, Teruo Takayama visited Brazil in the 1970s. He married a member of the farm, had two children, and ended up never leaving. His primary responsibility is caring for the organic vegetable garden. |
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Teatro YubaThe annual Christmas performance attracts a large crowd of friends, neighbors and relatives. All performances are free and open to the public. With extra benches set up outside, the theater can accommodate an audience of a thousand. Although rustic from the outside, inside there is a thirty-foot stage, lighting booth, … |
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Woman in Straw HatAya has her share of daily work interrupted by twelve grandchildren who run in and out of her house. Her passion is writing haiku. … |
YAMA: A Nikkei Community in Brazil (Embrace the ordinary and nurture a spirit of gratitude)
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