Japanese-Brazilians: the intimate relationship between two very different cultures

"The 50-year-old businesswoman Andrea Terumi Nakagaito walks briskly through Liberdade, a neighborhood in Sao Paulo. There, elderly women carefully select vegetables, while sushi and chopsticks reign supreme. The most authentic taverns hold onto a customer's sake bottle until their next visit. And, when you look up, a gigantic mural of Mount Fuji appears. Welcome to the most Japanese corner of Brazil."

"Three of Terumi Nakagaito's four grandparents arrived from the Land of the Rising Sun at the beginning of the 20th century. They came here through organized immigration programs: most came to work on coffee plantations in the interior of Sao Paulo. However, some were sent to settle remote corners of the Amazon. The Japanese-Brazilians are descendants of impoverished pioneers who embarked for the unknown with the dream of prospering."

"With the abolition of slavery in 1888, Brazil turned to the world in search of labor, in order to continue the process of nation-building. At the same time, Brazilian authorities attempted to whiten the population, in line with the racist and misguided science of the era. For decades, the Japanese community remained extremely closed, the most enigmatic among newcomers. Then, Japan's defeat in World War II brought about a seismic shift. It shattered any dreams of returning."

Liberdade in Sao Paulo displays strong Japanese cultural markers, including shops, cuisine, taverns keeping customers' sake bottles, and a mural of Mount Fuji. Many Japanese-Brazilians descend from early 20th-century immigrants who arrived through organized programs to work on coffee plantations or settle the Amazon. The community numbers between one and two million, blending gregariousness with shyness and samba with calligraphy. After abolition in 1888, Brazil sought foreign labor and pursued racial whitening policies. The Japanese community initially remained closed. Japan's defeat in World War II ended hopes of return, intensified mistrust, and led to wartime internments alongside other Axis-origin groups.

Read at english.elpais.com