At the XV Pan-American Nikkei Conference (Copani) to be held in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay in the third week of this month, the Japanese American National Museum, through the Discover Nikkei Project, will be in charge of the table (workshop ) that will address – in its second session – the topic “Multiraciality and multiethnicity in Nikkei Communities.” This second topic raises, in principle, the questions: what is Nikkei? and who is Nikkei? Then, starting from the observation that many Nikkei today have a mixed racial heritage with only partial roots in Japan, the following questions are added: Does this mean that Nikkei communities are expanding? Or will the Nikkei disappear in the future? How do we connect the identity, culture and tradition of the Nikkei? What makes us Nikkei? In this session, panelists will present the topic of multiracial and multiethnic identity from Nikkei perspectives. ¹

Introduction

To try to answer such complex questions, let us first ask ourselves other more primary questions related to the Nikkei in Peru: was there and is there a Nikkei community in Peru? How and on what basis was it formed? , to then arrive at the questions raised for this work table.

1. How was the Nikkei community formed in Peru?

The organization. Firstly, we can affirm that there was and is a Nikkei community in Peru, at least with an institutional base that at times has totaled around 60 organizations, clubs and associations during the last 3 decades of the last century. It has been and is, likewise, a geographically dispersed community, mainly along the Peruvian coast, and in the mountains and jungle. Its concentration, however, increased over time – due to internal migration – in the provinces of Lima and Callao, to the point that more than 90% ² of the population of Japanese origin resides in these places, especially in the different districts of metropolitan Lima today.

The first indications of the constitution of this community are found in the circumstances and places of emigration from Japan, in the ports of departure and during trips by ship. During the period of indentured immigration in Peru (1899-1923), Japanese immigrants undertook travel and were geographically and occupationally distributed in Peru, according to the place of origin (the Japanese prefecture), which allowed concentration of families, relatives and countrymen in different parts of the country, at the same time as their social and cultural reproduction.

Such events constituted the bases for the early construction of a larger Nikkei social organization: the kenjinkai and sonjinkai (representative clubs of prefectures, provinces and smaller towns in Japan) and branches of the Central Japanese Society (current Japanese Peruvian Association), created in 1917, in Peruvian provinces and departments that had a significant number of families of Japanese origin. However, the first formal Japanese or Nikkei organizations in Peru were unions (by trade), such as that of hairdressers, created in 1907 and which was the first representative organization of the Japanese in the country.

Families and immigration of Japanese women. Japanese families and women arrived in Peru for the first time as part of the second contingent of immigrants in 1903. For Peruvian landowners and Japanese immigration companies, the presence of women and the consequent formation of Japanese families or the entry of complete families would allow greater discipline and productivity at work during the period of indentured immigration (1899-1923). However, until the end of this period, only 2,145 women and 226 children were admitted, compared to the majority figure of 15,887 adult men.

It is only since the second decade of the 20th century that Japanese women began to arrive under the modality of “marriage by photographs”, in addition to complete families and wives and children of married people already established in the country. As in other countries on the American continent, single men were asked to look for wives through Japanese agencies or through relatives and friends in their own towns of origin. This practice, however, was limited to those who had managed to accumulate a small fortune or, at least, some economic stability, due to the cost involved in bringing wives from Japan. The union with Peruvian women, on the other hand, had already begun, especially in those Peruvian provinces where the Japanese population was less concentrated.

The disparity in Japanese male/female figures, which was notable in the Issei generation, disappeared with the birth of new generations. Results from the 1966 and 1989 Nikkei population censuses show near numerical parity between genders. Despite this parity and the supposed endogamy in this population, racial mixing is currently increasingly evident among the Nikkei and, although this process began with the immigrant generation, in the last two decades in which the numerically predominant generation is that of the sansei (third generation or grandchildren of immigrants), mixed unions and the consequent racial mixing seem to have multiplied.

Japanese or Nikkei culture. The presence of families, especially Japanese mothers and then Nikkei, added to the prefectural clubs (kenjinkai, sonjinkai) and other Nikkei organizations, allowed the recreation and transmission of customs, customs, beliefs, religions, etc. from different regions of Japan from which the immigrants came, as well as from the Japanese languages ​​and the Ryu Kyu islands and their dialects (especially in their domestic uses). To all this - once the massive migratory process of Japanese people had culminated - new sources and elements of the culture of the country of origin were added, via exchanges and also through international fashions that periodically spread Japanese cultural elements or expressions. The Japanese or Nikkei culture brought by immigrants, then, was not unique or uniform; miscegenation or mixing and innovation with the incorporation of new elements have always been present.

2. What and who is Nikkei? What makes us Nikkei?

Before trying to give answers to such questions, by presenting certain cases or experiences we want to suggest that, on a real level, it is difficult to give a single answer.

The Nikkei census of 1989. The questions in the subtitle were also raised, and from the beginning, in a study that we undertook two decades ago, in the preparation stage of the second national Nikkei census in Peru in 1989 ³ . And, indeed, defining who were Nikkei and how they would be incorporated into that register was a key aspect.

As it is a study formulated, organized and executed by a team of professionals and university and higher education students, the approaches were also carried out from a technical level ⁴ . The starting point was a definition of the population to be censused that considered that all of them had their origin as their main common characteristic. It was for this reason that we began to use the expressions: “of Japanese origin” (and sometimes “Nikkei” as a synonym, after explicit definition) and “population”, to avoid more complex concepts such as “community”. The category “population of Japanese origin” would involve Japanese immigrants and all their descendants in Peru.

The “how” to locate this population was, at the same time, a task that would help us to effectively locate the families and individuals that would be censused, but at the same time it became a kind of experiment that allowed us to know the limits quantitative data of what the Nikkei community and its ties or lack thereof would be. The application of the concept of social networks - which were also observed in previous and subsequent studies on the population of Japanese origin and other migrations, especially Asian ones in Latin America - helped us locate 28% of the population of Japanese origin . The latter, after a first group, representing 32% of the census population, was located through the cross-registration of associates of the Nikkei organizations.

That 28% was made up of relatives, friends and acquaintances of the first group detected and who, at the same time, provided new data for the location of other Nikkei and so on until the networks were exhausted. This 28%, in addition to not belonging to any Nikkei organization, also did not participate in internal communication channels, such as Nikkei newspapers and other media. The remaining 40% of those registered were located exclusively through notices in newspapers and other national registries, in addition to data provided by non-Nikkei sources in districts and smaller towns in Lima and other provinces of the country.

The Dekasegi phenomenon. Parallel to the 1989 census, the Dekasegi phenomenon began in Peru, or the emigration of Japanese descendants to work temporarily in factories and other jobs in Japan. This open job opportunity for the Nikkei was the most effective way to bring together those who considered themselves Nikkei and those linked to them via marriage.

In the more than two decades that this process has lasted, various sources have issued figures for emigrants: between 50 and 70 thousand, when in the aforementioned census and in its statistical projection for subsequent years, the results for the total Nikkei population were : 45,644 (1989) and 61,000 (2009). That is to say, comparing both figures: if the Nikkei emigrants were real, the Nikkei would have almost disappeared in Peru at certain times.

The explanation regarding this multiplication of Nikkei dekasegi would be found, rather, in the fact that thousands of non-Nikkei Peruvians (and without real kinship with Nikkei) emigrated to Japan – as has been evidenced from various sources (testimonials and news journalists, among others) – with falsified documents that accredited them as such, like the adults fraudulently adopted by some local Nikkei. To this would be added the emigrants under the relatively recent practice of false marriages with Nikkei men and women, and through a kind of “sale of identity” as in adoptions.

Japanese culture in figures. In the 1989 census – based on previous studies and because of the opportunity to conduct a massive survey – we also introduced questions related to aspects of Japanese culture that could be measurable. Thus, we ask about religious and daily life aspects such as language, food and other practices. As a result, we found that more than 92% declared themselves Catholic, while in 30% of the homes Buddhist-rooted funeral practices and rituals persisted, in a clear example – at the same time – of religious assimilation in relation to the national environment and also of a partial mixture of practices in this regard.

On the other hand, the consumption of Japanese food (70% of households) and the use of the Japanese language (51%) would also indicate persistence, although other variables indicated that such uses were also partial, due to their low frequency and intensity: once a week, in relation to food, and only some words and expressions of domestic use, in relation to language. Therefore, there was a more frequent consumption of local foods on the one hand and the use of the Spanish language as the main language on the other.

The question we asked ourselves before and after these results was and is: how Japanese is this population? Or what Japanese persists in this population? . And we keep asking ourselves, what is Nikkei? And what makes us Nikkei?

3. How do we connect the identity, culture and tradition of the Nikkei?

Prior to this subtitle, two other questions were raised in the proposal of this working group: are Nikkei communities expanding? , compared to another that would imply a contrary perspective: will the Nikkei disappear? Such questions would suggest the tacit consideration of the coexistence of levels or instances: the internal and the external or the environment. If not, to what and where would the Nikkei be expanding? And why would the Nikkei disappear? Would it be due to absorption or assimilation of an external instance or the environment? We will try to answer these questions – as in the previous section – with some approaches that may suggest some answers.

Dinner with friends 1949

Is there a common identity, culture and tradition among the Nikkei?

The Nikkei of each country and of all countries, in general, share a history and culture with varied roots not originating in a single and unchanging Japan. The origins, circumstances and moments of departure have been multiple, as have the cultural variants, in language and dialects, foods, religious practices, etc. of the Japanese migrants themselves and of the Nikkei in general. Personal, family and group stories – or memories thereof – have generally remained frozen at the time of emigration and transmitted in this way; In cultural aspects, would the same have happened?

In the specific case of Peru, and fundamentally through the official entity of the Nikkei (Central Japanese Society and then the Peruvian Japanese Association), a kind of “nationalization” or centralization of what is Japanese or Nikkei has been observed over the years, made visible through their approaches (formal and informal), activities and their actions in general, even though officially the different origins and cultures would be represented in all of them.

However, seen from the outside, it is not always easy to distinguish between what would be a Japanese culture and a Nikkei culture (as some authors maintain it exists). On some occasions, the activities of the Peruvian Japanese Cultural Center (the official headquarters of the association) seem to represent the official culture of current Japan, while on others they seem to express the provincial cultures of Japan and some more could be properly identified as Nikkei or even only Peruvian. . Such difficulty in establishing the limits between one instance and another (internal - external, interior - environment) is due, perhaps, to the fact that in the real world these limits are less defined and because in much of what is related to identification and identity there is a strong emotional and more specifically sentimental component.

Are Nikkei communities expanding? Will the Nikkei disappear?
Such an emotional component in relation to the topic of identity, mentioned in the previous paragraph, would be reflected, for example, in the fact that some of the questions posed for this working group would represent two opposing perspectives that, indeed, are heard with some frequency among individuals and representatives of Nikkei organizations in Peru as well as those in other countries (although also among scholars and analysts of these communities and their history). The first question in this subtitle would represent the broader and even optimistic perspective (are the Nikkei communities expanding?) versus the other, contrary in perspective and emotional component (will the Nikkei disappear?).

On the other hand, and as we mentioned above, such questions imply the tacit consideration of the coexistence of levels or instances: the internal and the external or the environment, well, if not, to what and where would the Nikkei be expanding? And why would the Nikkei disappear? Would it be due to absorption or assimilation of an external instance or the environment?

Perhaps either of the processes involved in the questions – or both – could be developing in an inconspicuous way. But, what has been evident in Peru for several decades is another process that in some cases has produced a real impact at the level of the country's culture and also reflected at the international level. These are fundamentally in the field of arts and, in general, represent cultural fusion.

Nikkei cuisine. As an almost collective expression of the Nikkei, the so-called Nikkei cuisine and the influence of this cuisine on Peruvian cuisine is today widely recognized nationally as well as in other countries. Several Nikkei chefs – most of them young – tend to be representatives of Peruvian gastronomy at specialized international events, as well as those officially promoted by the current Peruvian government. Its presence in the media (newspapers and television) is also frequent, just as there are relatively numerous books dedicated to this cuisine and Nikkei chefs.

The origin initially attributed to this cuisine was regional Japanese cuisine based on fish and seafood. However, and coupled with the boom in sushi and Japanese food internationally, the mixture of both is expressed in the creation of especially young chefs. The veterans Humberto Sato (Restaurant Costanera 700) and Toshiro Konishi (Toshiro's) and the young chef Jaime Kasuga (Hanzo) are the most recognized representatives of this cuisine.

José Watanabe, Lima 2007 Photographer Paul Vallejos.

Nikkei art. In addition to the renowned figures José Watanabe (poet, 1945 – 2007) and Tilsa Tsuchiya (painter, 1929 – 1984) and Augusto Higa (narrator), there are numerous plastic artists from different generations whose almost permanent presence is found in the media and in local and international artistic activity. Some of the most recognized are: Venancio Shinki, Eduardo Tokeshi, Carlos Runcie Tanaka, Jaime Higa, Aldo Shiroma, Haroldo Higa, among others.

The cases mentioned (Nikkei cuisine and art) are some of the examples and products of a course different from the ideas of expansion or disappearance of Nikkei identity, culture and tradition in Peru. That is the fusion, mixture, miscegenation, new expression or any other name that also implies belonging to something very specific, which would be the Peruvian identity, culture and tradition.

The Nikkei of both Peru and other countries could also find themselves on that path. The so-called mixed racial heritage, which usually refers to only a part of the Nikkei populations of different countries, seems to have run in parallel – in some countries more than in others – with cultural and identity mixing; the latter perhaps in greater proportion than racial miscegenation. On the other hand, the reinforcement, recognition, dissemination and development of the identity, culture and tradition of the Nikkei collectively, as well as their tangible and intangible values ​​- on the other hand - are among the possibilities of their leaders and institutional representatives. .

GRADES

1. This work has been prepared for the workshop by the Japanese American National Museum - Discover Nikkei Project at the Pan-American Nikkei Conference (Copani), to be held in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay in the third week of September 2009. Unfortunately, the present author will not be able to attend the event, but hopes to have some participation in the debate through this publication on the Discover Nikkei website.

2. According to the last Nikkei census of 1989. In: Morimoto, Amelia. 1991. Population of Japanese origin in Peru: Current profile . Lima: Commemorative Commission of the 90th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration to Peru.

3. The formulation, direction and execution of the 1989 Nikkei census was entrusted to the author of this article by the Commission commemorating the 90th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Peru and the project was carried out (from its planning, execution, to the writing of the final report of the study and its publication) with the support of a team of more than 200 students and young professionals, between 1988 and 1991. The final report was published in book form, mentioned in the previous quote.

4. This emphasis is due to the fact that, both around the census and also in other collective activities, there has been no shortage of discordant opinions about who would or would not be Nikkei, excluding in some cases those of Japanese descent.

© 2009 Amelia Morimoto