#tomoo handa

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Tomoo Handa. Paisagem. Landscape, 1951.

Томоо Анда. Пейзаж, 1951.

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Tomoo Handa. A margem do rio. The Riverbank, 1952.

Томоо Анда. Берег реки, 1952.

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Tomoo Handa. Paisagem de Diamantina. Landscape of Diamantina, 1977.

Томоо Анда. Пейзаж города Диамантина, 1977.

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Tomoo Handa. Cafezal. Coffee plants, 1952.

Томоо Анда. Кофе, 1952.

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"Handa and Takaoka emerged as artists in the artistic scene in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro while people of Japanese descent confronted repression and violence during the Estado Novo (1937–45) and World War II."

Tomoo Handa and Yoshiya Takaoka were leading artists in the Japanese Brazilian immigrant community. This article argues for their art’s contributions to the history of Brazilian modern art and, as a result, a revision of its historiography. Handa and Takaoka emerged as artists in the artistic scene in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro while people of Japanese descent confronted repression and violence during the Estado Novo (1937–45) and World War II. These historical conditions affected their ability to gather in groups and the subjects they represented. Through an analysis of their portraits, genre scenes, and landscapes, I consider the representation of the ordinary to understand the artists’ experiences and their sense of place making and life in the diaspora as immigrants to Brazil. [Mariola V. Alvarez in "The Ordinary World of Tomoo Handa and Yoshiya Takaoka: Painting Diaspora in Japanese Brazilian Art"]

Handa Tomoo (1906 - 1996)

The artist Tomoo Handa (1906–96) was part of a great wave of Japanese immigration to Brazil in 1917. He started the Grupo Seibi, a group of Japanese-Brazilian artists living in São Paulo, in 1935. Handa was also involved with the Quinze and Guanabara groups in Rio de Janeiro.  [The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston ICAA.]

Takaoka Yoshiya (1909 - 1978)

Takaoka was an active member of several significant art groups, including the Grupo Seibi, composed of Japanese-descended artists in São Paulo, and the Grupo 15, also known as the "Grupo do Jacaré," which included artists like Tomoo Handa, Flavio-Shiró, and Geraldo de Barros. He was also part of the Grupo Guanabara from 1950 to 1959. In São Paulo, he attended the Escola Profissional Masculina do Brás from 1926 to 1929, and in 1931, he joined the Grupo Santa Helena, one of the leading art movements of the time. In 1934, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he refined his painting skills under Bruno Lechowski and studied at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (Enba). There, he became a member of the Núcleo Bernardelli, alongside artists like José Pancetti, Edson Motta, and Milton Dacosta. [Blombo "Yoshiya Takaoka"]

Takaoka especially seemed to have had many opportunities during a time in history where most people did not; I would wonder about the depth and truth of his relationships in life.

Sources:

Mariola V. Alvarez; The Ordinary World of Tomoo Handa and Yoshiya Takaoka: Painting Diaspora in Japanese Brazilian Art. Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture 1 April 2025; 7 (2): 55–76. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/lavc.2025.7.2.55

Blombo website "Yoshiya Takaoka"

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston ICAA website