Homeland

When you visit Liberdade district in South-Western Brazil, you start to think you are in Tokyo, Japan. You can see stores, restaurants, and a lot of  advertising written in Japanese. Even the people speak Japanese. Liberdade is a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. This large Japanese population in São Paulo was a result of a mass migration of Japanese refugees who arrived in the ship Kasato Maru in 1908. São Paulo became the home of many Japanese families.

Fast forward 110 years later and we, Brazilians, have now  adopted some Japanese words into daily use: arigatô, konnichiwa, sayounara, hai, gomennasai, nihonjin. Also, we, Brazilians, have even adopted the ancient martial art of Judo. So, during the Judo fights you quickly  learn how to say the numbers in Japanese: Ichi, Ni, San,Shi,Go,Roku,Shichinana, Ku, Jyu. It is important to remember that Judo is not meant to be harmful, instead it focuses on spiritual growth. At least this is what I learned from my fellow Japanese-Brazilian compatriots.

The Japanese that made Brazil their home revolutionised agricultural techniques, they grew  a variety of vegetables, rice and greens, which some was introduced to the rest of the country. In fact, many steakhouses in Brazil, have in their menus Japanese food. For example, Ramen, Sushi, Sukiyaki and Sashimi. During free street fairs it is easy to find Japanese families working in fruit and vegetable stands. Many Brazilians believe that the produce stands are the best fruits and greens because of the quality of their products. The Japanese-Brazilian people are hard-working and to be honest they are also great university students. Trust me, I studied with many Japanese-Brazilians.

Finally, I want to say that these two different cultures have mixed, the Brazilian and Japanese. From now on, they are no longer only Japanese, they are also Brazilians! In June 2019, it will be 111 years that the Japanese immigrated to Brazil. The Liberdade neighborhood will surely prepare parties to celebrate this important date.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about the Japanese-Brazilian fusion in São Paulo.

Sayounara!