Interviews

1. Moved to Japan as my dekasegi father called on me (Japanese)

2. Facing hardships in Japan (Japanese)

3. The difference between Nikkei community in Oizumi and Brazil (Japanese)

4. Change in community after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese)

5. Accepted by Japanese society as I learned more Japanese (Japanese)

6. From being a dekasegi to a long-term resident (Japanese)

7. Challenges of Brazilian community in Japan (Japanese)

8. Change of identity (Japanese)

9. The term Nikkei (Japanese)

10. My daughter’s identity (Japanese)

11. Starting my own business as a graphic designer after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese)

12. On becoming a Japanese national (Japanese)

13. Letting people know I am from Brazil (Japanese)

14. Oizumi-machi is my hometown (Japanese)

Paulo Issamu Hirano

(b. 1979) Sansei Nikkei Brazilian who lives in Oizumi-machi in Gunma prefecture. He runs his own design studio.

Starting my own business as a graphic designer after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese)

(Japanese) It had a big impact on Oizumi-machi. The collapse of Lehman Brothers especially had a big one, with many people losing jobs and Brazilian stores losing sales.

But there was a positive side, too. As I mentioned earlier, there were more people who wanted to study Japanese and Brazilian businesses in need to get more Japanese customers, so personally I saw a chance there. As I decided to do graphic design in a place where there were few people fluent in Japanese, I asked myself what my strength was. Becoming a graphic designer with Japanese skills was the only thing that came to mind, so it might have been the perfect timing.

I started my business in June, 2009, and it was just around the time when Brazilian business owners were struggling, with an increasing demand for Japanese menus and guides, so using my strength, or what I was good at, I was able to start my work right away. It wasn’t always easy, but it was good that such circumstances triggered a move and made a big change eventually.

Brazilians graphic design Gunma Prefecture Japan Nikkei in Japan Oizumi

Date: October 18, 2016

Location: Gunma, Japan

Interviewer: Shigeru Kojima

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Paulo Issamu Hirano was born in São Paulo in January, 1979. As a Sansei whose grandparents are from Kumamoto Prefecture, he grew up in the Monte Kemel region near Liberdade. In 1989, he moved to Japan as his father, who had come as a dekasegi, called on him. Ever since, he has lived in Oizumi-machi in Gunma Prefecture. At first he was having a hard time with the language, but he made more friends as he learned Japanese. Currently he supports the Brazilian community as a graphic designer with his Japanese skills. In 2009, he started his own business and runs a design studio now. He publishes free magazines that introduce Oizumi-machi. He dedicates his life to making Oizumi-machi a Brazil town. (August, 2017)

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