Director Matsubayashi Yoju’s documentary “Okinawa Saudade” follows Yumi, a performer of Ryukyu Buyo, Okinawa’s classical dance, and Everton, who teaches Eisa in Brazil. The two travel to Okinawa on an exchange trip to learn about the island’s history and culture. The film is screening in the Nippon Cinema Now selection at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival.
The project grew from Matsubayashi’s time in Brazil in 2016, when he learned about the wartime relocation of Japanese Brazilians from Santos. Okinawans made up about 60% of those forced to leave, a history he explored in his 2020 documentary “Okinawa/Santos.” Through that film, he came to know Urizunkai, the Brazilian Okinawan community, and learned about its training and scholarship exchanges with Okinawa.
Research at Bunkyo, a cultural facility in São Paulo, gave Matsubayashi access to extensive records about Japanese immigrants. He was struck by how many documents Okinawans had preserved, noting that their records approached the volume of material for immigrants from the other 46 prefectures.
Matsubayashi says the community’s welcome changed his relationship with the subject. Although he is not from Okinawa, people he interviewed embraced him under the Okinawan saying “Ichariba choodee,” which describes people as brothers and sisters. He says the connections made while producing “Okinawa/Santos” enabled him to make the new film, with community members helping arrange its production.
The exchange visit took shape around developments in 2024. Matsubayashi had heard that Brazil would formally apologize to victims of the forced relocation and that Okinawan Brazilians might receive scholarships for an exchange program. Brazil’s Amnesty Commission issued an apology that July for the postwar persecution of Japanese immigrants.
The documentary approaches the search for identity through dance. Matsubayashi distinguishes traditional Eisa from Creative Eisa, which began in Brazil about 45 years ago. Traditional Eisa uses the sanshin and combines singing with dancing, while Creative Eisa does not require the instrument. He argues that the Brazilian form can also be understood as a tradition.
Matsubayashi describes the film as a first-person account shared by Yumi, Everton and himself, with all three asking questions about who they are. He says its focus on dance brings more emotion and a more subjective perspective than “Okinawa/Santos,” which was built around interviews and testimony.
The director also says financing Japanese documentaries has become difficult. In the past, he used income from television work for NHK to fund later films, but says the broadcaster is facing budget pressures. He adds that an Okinawa Prefecture grant was essential to completing post-production on “Okinawa Saudade.”
Sources: Variety.