The centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil

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Japan & Brazil

The centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil

Brazilians and Japanese are celebrating 100 years since the arrival of the first Japanese boat in Brazil. Today, 1.5 million people of Japanese origin live in Brazil, most of them in the State of São Paulo

   On June 18^th 1908 the Japanese ship “Kasato Maru” dropped anchor at the port of Santos, bringing dozens of families to work in the coffee plantations in the State of São Paulo.  That was the first group of Japanese immigrants to arrive inBrazil in search of work. In the following decades a growing number of Japanese came to Brazillooking for new opportunities. At that time Japan was going through a serious economic and social crisis. The Japanese colony in Brazil is now one of the largest in the world. There are about 1.5 million Japanese and descendents living in Brazil – 80% in the State of São Paulo, 12% in Paraná and the rest in other States.

Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in SP

The city of São Paulo is home to about 326,000 people of Japanese origin. The famous neighborhood of Liberdade is a good example of how Japanese culture has influenced the State capital. Whoever walks the streets of this neighborhood feels as if they were in Japan. Japanese writing covers the facades of local bars and restaurants, and even Japanese architecture is in evidence in many buildings.

The influence of Japanese culture in Brazil

   The strong influence of Japanese culture can be seen outside the State of São Paulo. Millions of Brazilians certainly know the meaning of a lot of Japanese words, such as samurai, karate, judo, kimono and “nisseis” and “sanseis” (children and grandchildren of Japanese who were born on the American continent).  Another well-known word is “geisha,” who are women who use art (dance, music or theater) to entertain customers at tea houses or other places of business. Typical dishes such as sushi (made with rice, vegetables, eggs and fish) and sashimi (made with fish) have also been successful in Brazil, as well as sake, a drink made from rice.

Japan

The land of the rising sun

Located in the Asian continent, Japan is a rich country offering its population a good quality of life

In the Japanese language, Japan means “land of the rising sun.” In this country, rice is the staple food, used in sweet and savory dishes.  Japan has a population of 127 million and is one of the richest countries in the world. The political system is parliamentarianism, the currency is the yen, and the predominant religion is Buddhism (80% of the population).  About 88 million people have Internet access and life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, at almost 82. However, nature has not been kind to the country. Earthquakes are common in many regions of Japan. Tokyo, the capital, has a population of about 8.5 million people, but the most unforgettable city for Brazilians is Yokohama, where Brazil won its fifth World Cup in 2002.

Matéria publicada na edição de junho da Revista Magananews

Foto 1 – Ituverava-SP promove festival para comemorar os 100 anos da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil – crédito “Shigow”

Foto 2 - (batata, pronta para a venda - década de 30) – crédito - Acervo do Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil

Vocabulary

1 boat – aqui = navio (ship)

2 to drop anchor – ancorar

3 growing - crescente

4 writing – letreiros / luminárias

5 facade - fachada

6 customer – freguês

7 tea houses – casas de chá

8 rice – arroz

9 sake - saquê

10 rising sun – sol nascente

11 staple food – ingrediente principal

12 savory dishes – pratos salgados

13 currency – moeda

14 earthquake - terremoto