Uncho

Following the abolishment of slavery, the migration of Japanese to South America began largely in Brazil. From there, Japanese communities grew in many of the surrounding countries. While the Japanese communities in South America are mostly urban, the community in Paraguay has remained largely rural and agrarian. This community has, in many ways, established a parallel society with its own schools, religious institutions, and infrastructure. Nagaoka seeks to challenge that separation. His work simultaneously explores notions of otherness and sameness and complicates our perception of Paraguayan society. Nagaoka states that his work documents this community as they “undergo a generational transition - a meditation of cultural delineations, historical frameworks, and the effects of rapid globalization.”