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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1054/

Japanese immigration with an Okinawan face (Spanish)

(Spanish) Japanese immigration to Peru was symbolically Japanese, but humanly Okinawan. Meaning, the Japanese symbolism of the emperor came from the Meiji State, from the state of Showa… the cults and the image of Japan as an exotic country… the reverence, the silence, a biotype. But in the daily life of human beings, the Okinawan arrived. What arrived to Peru wasn’t Japanese but Okinawa in everyday life. And that is shown by the number of human beings and by the number of habits that came to Peru. I am convinced that when they voted for Fujimori in the 90’s, they didn’t vote… They voted for the Japanese, in a symbolic way of speaking. However, humanly speaking, they voted for an Okinawan. The Okinawan is the good-natured person, the friend. The Okinawan was the woman that worked at the shops. Men too, gave credits, guaranteed, loans. Why? Because as a culture, the Okinawan are very, very expressive people: very expressive. So expressive, that they can’t handle them and they end up fighting with the other person because they can’t hide their emotions. They don’t have that handle of silence that the Japanese culture has. Okinawan people are very funny. They cry, shout, dance… everything ends in a dance, in friendships. And that is not Japanese, no way. Even here to make business between Japanese in the Japanese community is different to do businesses with a Japanese descendant than an Okinawan descendant.


immigration Okinawans Peru

Date: February 26, 2008

Location: Lima, Peru

Interviewer: Harumi Nako

Contributed by: Asociación Peruano Japonesa (APJ)

Interviewee Bio

Doris Moromisato Miasato (1962) was born in Chambala, an agricultural zone of Lima, Peru. She graduated with a degree in Law and Political Science at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

She has published the collection of poems Morada donde la luna perdió su palidez [Home were the moon lost its paleness] (1988), Chambala era un camino [Chambala was the path] (1999), Diario de la mujer es ponja [Diary of a Jap woman] (2004), Paisaje Terrestre [Terrestrial Path] (2007), as well as the story book Okinawa, un siglo en el Perú [Okinawa. A century in Peru] (2006). Her poems, stories, essays, and features have also been included in several anthologies and have been translated into several languages.

She is an ecologist, feminist and Buddhist. In 2006, the Okinawa Municipality nominated her as an Ambassador of Good Will. Nowadays, she is columnist for the Discover Nikkei Website, and since 2005 she has managed the organization of book fairs as Cultural Director of Cámara Peruana del Libro. (February 26, 2008)

Venancio Shinki
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Venancio Shinki

Closing the Japanese school and deportation (Spanish)

(b. 1932-2016) Peruvian painter

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Alfredo Kato
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Alfredo Kato

Japanese vs. Peruvian identity (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Alfredo Kato
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Alfredo Kato

Escaping to a small village in the mountains during the World War II (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Alfredo Kato
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Alfredo Kato

Post-war experiences in Lima (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Emi Kasamatsu
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Emi Kasamatsu

Treatment of Japanese Paraguayans during World War II (Spanish)

Nisei Paraguayan, Researcher

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Bill Hashizume
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Bill Hashizume

Yobiyose system in Canada

(b. 1922) Canadian Nisei who was unable to return to Canada from Japan until 1952

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Bill Hashizume
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Bill Hashizume

Reason to come back to Canada in 1954

(b. 1922) Canadian Nisei who was unable to return to Canada from Japan until 1952

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Masako Iino
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Masako Iino

Impressions from interviews with Issei women (Japanese)

Tsuda College President, researcher of Nikkei history

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Roberto Hirose
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Roberto Hirose

The various realities of Nikkei in Latin America (Spanish)

(b. 1950) Nisei Chilean, Businessman

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Kazuomi Takagi
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Kazuomi Takagi

Tango makes him to stay in Argentina (Spanish)

(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist

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Kazuomi Takagi
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Kazuomi Takagi

Leaving to Argentina (Spanish)

(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist

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Ryoko Hokama
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Ryoko Hokama

Initial struggles with the language barrier (Japanese)

(b. 1917) Okinawan, Issei Argentinean

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Luis Yamada
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Luis Yamada

Decision to settle in Argentina after WWII (Spanish)

(b. 1929) Nisei Argentinean

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Luis Yamada
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Luis Yamada

Returning Argentina after the war (Spanish)

(b. 1929) Nisei Argentinean

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Venancio Shinki
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Venancio Shinki

Hiding out to avoid the concentration camps (Spanish)

(b. 1932-2016) Peruvian painter

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