Pavilhão Japonês

This guide to Pavilhão Japonês traces the building from a 1954 gift from Japan's government and immigrant community for São Paulo's four-hundredth anniversary, modeled by architect Sutemi Horiguchi on Kyoto's Katsura Imperial Villa and shipped across the Pacific board by board. It follows what happened when termites worked through the cypress beams for years, and the volunteer effort — this time carpenters flown in from Nakatsugawa, Japan — that has saved the pavilion more than once. Watch the koi drift beneath the roofline while you listen.