The elementary school in the settlement, which I introduced in the group photo last time, was completed just a few years after the first residents arrived ( The Story of the Japanese Settlement (1) – Wherever you look, there are more Japanese people than you). It was a magnificent building at the time, and became a symbol of the settlement, along with the hospital that was built opposite.

Immigration history books say that the school offered "the same education as in Japanese elementary schools."

In fact, most of the classes were taught by Japanese teachers in Japanese using textbooks imported from Japan. Although they had invited Brazilians to teach Portuguese several times, they had never had one.

As graduate KM said with a wry smile, "Looking back, it seems really strange, considering I came to Brazil," he was made to memorize Japanese geography and learned Japanese history as "national history."

The academic department is not the only thing that is Japanese. The reason why graduates can still sing Japanese songs such as "Usagi Oishika no Yama ♪" is not only because their parents sang them at home, but also because there was singing class at school. Apparently, there was also a military-style march during gymnastics class.

Of course there were sports days and school plays, too. The auditorium with a stage and the grounds with a track were well-maintained.

The sports day held throughout the settlement was a major event. The scene must have been similar to the sports days seen in elementary schools in prewar Japan, where the whole community enjoyed it like a festival.

In school festivals, girls performed Japanese dances such as the "Tea Picking Dance." Boys even performed a play called "The Three Brave Warriors." That was the era in Japan.

There was also a library where book-loving children could devour Japanese magazines such as King and Shonen Club after class.

In Japanese elementary schools, there was a portrait of the emperor called Goshinei, which was reverently taken out of a special storage place and displayed on special occasions such as the National Foundation Day and Tencho Day. Also, on special occasions, the Imperial Rescript on Education was read aloud and students recited it by heart. It is not known how it was bestowed, but the "elementary schools" in Japanese settlements also had portraits of the emperor. There are graduates who can still recite the Imperial Rescript on Education by heart. Incidentally, athletic meets were held on Tencho Day.

Seeing the state of the schools in the settlements, it seems as if the Japanese immigrants were trying to create a Japanese enclave in Brazil. However, in reality, there were no such unrealistic plans. It seems that the Japanese immigrants, who were enthusiastic about education, could not wait for the opening of public schools, so built schools on their own, and when they did build them, the Brazilian government and state governments were not willing to send teachers, so they just started offering Japanese education.

This was a time when education was gaining popularity in Japan. There must have been many parents who could not accept that their children would not go to school just because they came to a foreign country. This was especially true for immigrants who intended to return to Japan at some point, and there were many of them in settlements developed with the assumption that they would settle there. In these cases, Japanese-style education would have been an ideal option.

But the idea of ​​providing a home-grown education to children in a foreign country was too conspicuous for the Brazilian and state governments to ignore.

When the school was established in the Japanese colony, the nationalist movement was gaining momentum in Brazil. The country was so vast, and the rivalry between the states was so intense that it was even at war with each other, so it took a great deal of effort to create a unified "Brazilian" people. In such a situation, it was not possible to overlook the fact that immigrants could receive an education in their native language and in the style of their native country.

The plan to turn immigrants into "Brazilians" gradually took shape through laws such as the ban on foreign language education for children (i.e. only Portuguese), and was strengthened as the shadow of war grew darker. Elementary schools in the settlements were forced to abandon Japanese-style education in Japanese only a few years after they opened. The lifespan of the "ordinary elementary schools" in the Japanese settlements in Brazil came to an end surprisingly quickly.

KM attended the elementary school in the area where he immigrated for six years, which was still a "normal elementary school." Due to the short duration of the school itself, not many students received Japanese-style education throughout their entire curriculum.

The box where KM keeps his important documents contains neatly stored certificates of completion from his six years of elementary school, report cards, and certificates for perfect attendance, diligent attendance, and outstanding grades.

Of the six-year curriculum, the first four years are "ordinary courses" and the remaining two years are "advanced courses." Even though I had heard that it was "the same education as a regular elementary school in Japan," I was still surprised to see "one year of ordinary courses" written on the completion certificate.

When I asked KM, who had excellent grades for six years of elementary school, to talk about his memories of school, he always seemed a little embarrassed and refused to tell me boring stories, but once he started talking, he told me one amusing story after another. It seems that even in a difficult time for Japanese immigrants, the elementary school students had a fun and irreplaceable school life.

Former classmates from the settlement elementary school, now over 80 years old, still meet every month in São Paulo.

© 2007 Shigeo Nakamura