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)

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

On becoming a Japanese national (Japanese)

(Japanese) Actually, I feel like I should and can become a Japanese national any time. It’s just that I need to get all materials, and this might sound a bit rude, but in my current job, I don’t have any problems being Brazilian - I’ve never had such problems - so I’ve remained Brazilian to this day.

So, since I know that I’m not going back to Brazil, with my home here, since I’m going to live my life in Japan with everyone here, maybe I should become a national as soon as possible. But I think I’ll do that when I need to, at the right time.

And I believe that nothing about me will change even if I become a national. I mean, I am still from Brazil and I’ll probably want to stick to my name Paulo.

Brazilians citizenship identity Japanese Nikkei in Japan

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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Discover Nikkei Updates

DISCOVER NIKKEI PROGRAM

July 12 • Burnaby, British Columbia
Join us for a book talk, reception, and panel discussion on Japanese Canadian history. The panel discussion will also be live-streamed via Zoom!

NIKKEI CHRONICLES #14