Portrait of Ponce and wife Okiyo Udagawa in the gallery of the NHCP-Museo ni Mariano Ponce
Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar and Mariano Ponce -- (Triumvirate) in Spain
Ponce with Faustino Lichauco (left) and an unknown companion in a photo studio in Japan (Source: SAHTA)
The First Philippine Republic in Malolos, Bulacan
Embedded Files
Mariano Ponce in Yokohama
Mariano Ponce in Yokohama
Title: Ponce in Kimono
Length: 50 minutes
Director: Norman Zafra
Language: Filipino, English, Japanese
Locations: Japan, Philippines, New Zealand (Yokohama, Baliwag, Auckland)
Website: www.poncedocu.com
Logline: A filmmaker travels to Yokohama to trace the steps of his town’s local hero.
Synopsis: Ponce in Kimono tells the story of Mariano Ponce’s life as a foreign envoy of the First Philippine Republic. Sent as an emissary to Japan to garner support for the Philippine independence, Ponce navigated a foreign culture while building alliances with fellow Asian revolutionaries. The documentary features the city of Yokohama as Ponce’s main stopover during his 20-year itinerary abroad. It combines interviews, archival research, and Ponce’s letters during the revolution to illuminate what it means to cry for freedom and to establish, for the first time, our place in Asia and the world.
Read the director's statement here.
If you are interested to host a screening, click here.
Ponce in Kimono (including this website) is independent and non-commercial in nature and reliant on the support and creative contributions of a few history-loving individuals. If you wish to privately screen the film in your community, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Philippine history in Yokohama
The film Ponce in Kimono chooses to represent the story of Ponce in Japan during the early years of the First Philippine Republic, a relatively underexplored topic of research in the academy and even popular media. From Spain, Ponce stayed for a few months in Hong Kong before moving to Japan. He arrived in Yokohama in 1898 more than a month after the declaration of the Philippine independence.
The film features Yokohama as Ponce's main stop over during his 20-year itinerary overseas. He lived in Yokohama between 1898 to 1901 while serving as an envoy of the First Philippine Republic. During this period, Ponce and his fellow propagandists began shifting the movement from Europe to Asia, both physically and intellectually. Many revolutionaries, including Ponce, felt gravitated by Japan's 'Asia for Asians' concept. Japan was also a rising superpower in Asia before the end of the 19th century.
Ponce's mission was to seek support and recognition of the Philippine independence and to purchase arms and ammunitions for the revolution. The film not only explores the challenges that Ponce experienced while fulfilling his role in Yokohama but also traces his personal life in Japan. In Yokohama, he met his Japanese wife Okiyo Udagawa who supported him very much in his diplomatic mission. The film explores Ponce's personal life including his marriage with Okiyo.
Located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama has a rich and diverse history. It was largely undeveloped and served mainly as a fishing and agricultural area during the Edo Period (1603-1868). When Ponce arrived in Yokohama in 1898, he saw a city that was quickly transforming from a small village into a significant port city of Japan. It eventually became a hub for international commerce, attracting overseas traders, and foreigners, particularly from Britain, the United States, and other Western nations.
There were a few Filipinos in Japan during Ponce's time. But I learned that he was welcomed in Yokohama by a fellow Filipino, Jose Anacleto Ramos, from Cavite. Ramos was known as an active supporter of the Propaganda Movement and was in exile in Japan under the local name Jose Ishikawa.
Contrary to the traditional Japanese society that Ponce saw before the end of the 19th century, the modern Yokohama today is a vibrant city, mixing the cultures of both the West and the East.
There are more than 9,000 Filipinos who live in Yokohama today.
Note: For a list of books, journal articles, and other publications that informed the conceptualization of this project, click the bibliography button below.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse