In the year 660 BC, the first Emperor of Japan appears on the scene with the name of Jimmu, which means "Divine Warrior" and establishes himself on the plains of Yamato with the name of Kammu Yamato Iware No Hiko, who would become the descendant of the Goddess. of the Sun, Amaterasu.
Several conjectures were woven into the veracity of that descent today. According to Whitney Hall, the hegemony of the Yamato dynasty established certain hierarchical structures; Above all was the Chief of the lineage of the Sun who are the descendants of Emperor Jimmu and around him they constituted a group of related families that were called uji or clan. The success, the power of the Yamato Dynasty consisted of the balance between the members of the lineage of the Sun, the uji , their offspring and their vassals. Paramount Chief Yamato created a power structure in such a way that his lineage would not be displaced from its pacifying position of uniting the community with authority so that the unification of Japan could be consolidated.
It is important to observe the essential features of the form of political organization instituted by the State of Yamato. It remained through the centuries as a distinctive and unique seal among the Japanese.
Where is the Yamato Damashi that gave so much importance to the Japanese community established abroad, especially in the first period of the colony in the Americas?
It is important to investigate the era in which Japanese immigration took place in the Americas and particularly in Paraguay. Each immigrant who emigrated to other countries carried with them photographs of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, considered descendants of the goddess of the Sun and the Yamato Dynasty. The ancient Japanese culture consolidated the identity of its inhabitants as children of that “country of the gods.” A mystique in which every Japanese was idealized and considered a distinction, for which it was worth fighting, suffering, managing to overcome difficulties for a noble and just cause. One of the examples of this mystique were the kamikaze suicide pilots, soldiers of a divine Emperor. A heroism done in the aesthetics of death and patriotism to the extreme as occurred at the end of the Second World War, which consisted of offering his life in defense of the country.
Japanese immigrants to the Americas had a series of difficulties until they achieved a desired settlement in the new lands. There was racial discrimination, confinements, social exclusion, poverty, acculturation problems and others; in some countries these lasted for years and years due to their very different ethnicities.
What is it in essence that you remained steadfast and in the struggle for existence to overcome these difficulties? It was precisely the Yamato Damshi with which immigrants were able to sustain their ideals and dreams of spending the night forever in these lands, overcoming any form of difficulties that plagued their existence. The Yamato Damashi was the support and is the pride of the national being. It was not allowed, therefore, to faint in the face of any circumstances that hindered their lives. That is, being stoic, knowing how to endure with the gaman which is silently enduring pain and anguish, gambare persevere and move forward even when the situation is unsustainable, meiyo honor chugi loyalty. These last characteristic virtues of the Japanese people were also mentioned by Senator Daniel Inoue of Hawaii to whom his Japanese grandmother had instilled this discipline since he was a child.
The Yamato Nadeshiko is the same value applicable to women. Nadeshiko is the name of a small flower. Immigrant women have often been heard talking about the imminent obstacles they encountered in the early days of settlement. “We Japanese women act with the Yamato Nadeshiko and everything will be fine.” They were determined and brave like a samurai woman and how they tried to encourage each other. They were the true breadwinners of the family and encouragement of the head of the household, brave in adversity, sweet and sensitive to the weakest, and whose conduct should not cause hají shame to the community and the entire family and especially as a Japanese woman. .
This spirit of Yamato was fundamental to the life of the colony and this was not only valid in Paraguay but also in all the Japanese colonies in the Americas before and after the Second World War.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Akiko Yamanaka was recently in Paraguay on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Paraguay. The representative of Japan mentioned in her speech that with the Yamato damashii that each of the Immigrants were able to reach what it is today to lead a happy and prosperous life in the lands of Paraguay.
Dear readers, let us revive the Yamato Damashii in each of our hearts as a very particular and peculiar virtue of the Japanese people and as a source of ancient tradition of Japanese culture.
© 2007 Emi Kasamatsu
