Michael Porter: Makoto, thanks for coming on the show and taking time to talk to us about your new book “Silence and Beauty.”
Makoto Fujimura: Thanks for inviting me.
Sure, maybe before we get started on your new book … maybe you could tell the audience a little bit about the Fujimura Foundation and what it is about?
Right, so I have founded several organizations all under one nonprofit, which is International Arts Movement, and that’s been going on for twenty-five years. I began the Fujimura Institute as a part of that, and that was an effort to bring what we call “culture-care conversation” into the academia. We had several projects under that collaborative project and then, quite recently, I joined Fuller Seminary as the Director of the Brehm Center. The idea was to combine what I am doing as an artist and the leadership that brings, through International Arts Movement and Fujimura Institute to partner with Brehm Center. So we will be hosting a Culture-Care Summit on February 12th in Pasadena. We do multiple projects; the upcoming Fujimura Institute project is on “Silence and Beauty.” We are going to be in Nagasaki where Shusaku Endo walked about to write, “Silence.” There is a museum dedicated to him doing an exhibit with a collaborative performance as well in the symposium there. So, there are ways of speaking into culture this way, and the Brehm Center, as a center of theology, worship, and culture is dedicated to such an integration as well.
Wow, that sounds like some pretty exciting and interesting activities.
Right.
Thank you for doing such things to bring awareness. Now to the book, maybe for those that aren’t as familiar with Endo’s novel, “Silence” and obviously haven’t seen the movie, since it is not out yet, perhaps you could tell the audience at a high-level overview of the subject matter it represents?
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