The Magical World of Ningyos

One of the largest collections of Asian art in Latin America, which belongs to the collection of the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) thanks to a generous donation of three thousand works made by Professor Fausto Godoy, is presented here in a very captivating selection.

'The Magical World of Ningyos' brings to the public the admirable Japanese dolls that, in that country, go beyond child play. Much more than toys, they are objects of strong symbolism, revealing Japanese customs and culture.

Organized by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, the exhibition fulfills the museum's most noble and important mission of disseminating knowledge and democratizing art and culture.

By presenting this important symbolic and aesthetic dimension of Japanese culture, MON invites reflection on the cultural manifestations of different regions and countries and what connects us as individuals and as a society.

Juliana Vellozo Almeida Vosnika
Director-President of the Oscar Niemeyer Museum

The Ningyos hold a place in Japanese society very different from that of dolls in the West. For us, they are toys, whereas in Japan, they are objects filled with millenary meanings, evoking a magical and ritualistic atmosphere. They are very valuable, fragile, and kept as family treasures. The dolls presented here belong to the exceptional Asian collection donated by ambassador Fausto Godoy to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum and form a significant set.

The exhibition opens with the Gosho-Ningyos, chubby, adorable boys with friendly faces. They are given as auspicious gifts, wishing health, success, or protection, and their name means 'coming from the palace.' Most of the pieces belong to the Hina Matsuri (Girls' Day), celebrated in Japan on March 3rd, and whose original objective was to ensure a good marriage for girls. The altar represents an imperial court from the Heian period (794-1192). There are 15 figures arranged on a seven-step red staircase, following a strict order: the imperial couple, three court ladies, five musicians, two guards, three heralds, and, on the last two steps, offerings or accessories. It is also customary to give Kyobinas to girls on this day; they are delicate dolls symbolizing beauty.

The Gogatsu-no-Sekku (Boys' Day) is celebrated near the end of May. During this celebration, the Musha-Ningyos, impressive figures wearing full armor with energetic and proud faces, are displayed. They represent the samurais, whose qualities of courage, honor, and loyalty parents wish for their male children.

Magical and enchanted, the sophisticated world of the Ningyos represents the love of parents for their children, the eternal desire for boys and girls to succeed and be happy.

Denise Mattar
Curator

Ningyo, the human form

As soon as I arrived in Tokyo in 2001, I became interested in some dolls that were sold at the city's antique fairs, sometimes outdoors. Ningyo means “human form”: nin (human, people) and gyo (form). In Japan, these dolls have a broader function than a mere toy. They are a celebration of childhood and the crucible of parents' hope for a harmonious and successful life for their children.

They are not meant for play and are not part of the children's playful universe. Rather, they are fetishes loaded with symbolism. They are displayed for about 15 days on specific dates – Girls' Day and Boys' Day – and then collected, carefully stored in boxes, and passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes they are discarded forever, especially those that did not fulfill their purpose, as it is believed that they have accumulated negative energy.

Some are offered when visiting a newborn and represent emperors and empresses, beautiful young people, samurais, characters from Noh, benevolent entities, healthy babies, that is, a whole range of individualities that reveal the deepest ideals of the Japanese (sub)conscious collective.

The objects presented here have spanned the last 200 years of Japan and show a little-explored but extremely rich aspect of the Japanese soul and culture.

Fausto Godoy