Since he was a child, Nicolás Matayoshi Matayoshi (Huancayo, 1949) related to the word as if he were making a toy that he wanted to understand in order to have more fun. The Nikkei writer says that in his hometown, in the mountains of Peru, social life It was not very intense, so devoting himself to literature did not seem feasible. He did not start out as a reader, but rather as a creator of texts, beginning with poems.
“There was no access to literature as such, except for a small collection that arrived from Argentina and one from Mexico for light reading, which could be found in the market,” says Nicolás, who began reading self-help books, science fiction and other “ romantic stories, FBI detective stories and cowboy novels that could be read in half an hour.” These were recreational readings, he says, for a child who enjoyed words. The vocation of being a writer had not yet arrived.
“My sister was in her fourth year of high school and when she read my poems she told me that they were very good, but that in literature there are some rules, something that I didn't know existed.” Worried about her great reading voracity, her father gave her a gift The Christmas collection that helped consolidate his interest in literature: the collection “The Treasure of Youth.” “That saved me,” says the writer and journalist, “since my family had a restaurant that was frequented by many people, including of bad living”.
Memories of Huancayo
Nicolás says, from his home in Huancayo, that the city used to be very quiet, but that after the Second World War it became more cosmopolitan and achieved an economic boom that allowed the growth of many businesses (restaurants, bazaars, clothing stores). , including those from the colony of Japanese migrants who came to this city in the highlands to seek refuge from racist persecution.
“There was a kind of prosperity that lasted until the mid-seventies.” The wine cellars, billiard halls, parcel shops and some hotels made the city develop and brought a lot of customers to these establishments, including intellectuals who met at the restaurant. of the Matayoshis. “My parents’ restaurant was ideal for that. It was a meeting point for local bohemians who came to the city and tried to share a moment of solace.”
Nicolás believes that, as a restless boy, he could have given a casual kick to the writer José María Arguedas and other intellectuals of the time. Years later, other writers were part of his training in letters, such as Antenor Samaniego from Huancayo. While in Lima, to study at the university, he met the Nikkei writer Félix Toshihiko Arakaki, with whom he began to discover another world. “He was part of the radical group of the colony, many did not accept him. He met with a very solid group of writers at the bar Palermo, like Miguel Gutierrez and Oswaldo Reynoso.”
Office and word
Among his first writings, Nicolás Matayoshi recalls that, following the path of Japanese literature, he found the haiku and prepared his first collection of poems with those verses. It was published in mimeograph, with drawings by José Sánchez, back in the eighties, and was called “I love you.” Later, the writer added to his poetic vision the interest in his Andean identity. “I have been very lucky because I have been able to have occupations in literature. Because of my ability to write, I was able to collaborate as a co-author in technical manuals for farmers.” and books on Andean dances.”
The writer recalls his collaboration in a highly successful magazine in the eighties, Minka, known worldwide, and the opportunity he had to work with the community of Chongos Alto, where important historical political events took place, such as massacres on the farms and communities. That was his entry into the literary historical approach. During those years he also compiled data for a documentary about pot makers in Aco. “I was excited by the idea of making films and in that process I got to know other communities like Pucará.”
Matayoshi was able to meet other Nikkei in Cañete, where many Japanese farmers settled. “There they learned to grow pak choi, radishes, green onions and chard. In Pucará they could also grow these crops, which had restaurants as their first customers.” Chinese and Japanese in the area.” Although he did not feel affected by the cultural phenomenon, he does remember that in those years there was racism against the Japanese and their descendants.
Three identities
“There were some generational barriers with the Nisei of the post-war decade, then comes an intermediate generation and my generation,” says the writer, who grew up with few Japanese around him. “In Huancayo there were only four of us, one of them was not “He was a pure Japanese, he was a mestizo, and he suffered abuse. I didn't usually think about that,” says the writer, who began to build his work based on historical accounts. That's how he wrote the book “The Treasures of Catalina Huanca.”
In it he compiles the customs, the way of life of the inhabitants and the folklore of the Junín region, in a format adapted for schools. “It was made from the writings of peasant children who followed the agricultural cycle of this city,” He explains that he would have liked to continue doing this kind of ethnographic research, but that due to terrorism, many of his informants and collaborators were persecuted by the State and by subversive groups.
“They were very dear to me and they fell during those years, regardless of their ideology,” says Nicolás, who considers that his work could seem to be about scattered topics, but that he has focused on his wanka identity. “I have not written much about events outside of the country. from the region. What I have tried to do is to outline my three identities: one Andean, through legends and myths, one Japanese and one Western, because we could not speak now without that identity.”
Andean and Nikkei
For Nicolás Matayoshi, his identity lies between these three aspects, as he wrote in “I am the fabric of a landscape”, a chapter in the book “The empires of the sun: a history of the Japanese in Peru”, by Guillermo Thorndike. “I am the fabric of a landscape” of a landscape to which I arrive as a nosy visitor.” However, the Nikkei writer does not stop questioning his identity.
“I'm starting to doubt that a little, because I thought that the ethical sense of work and honesty were inherent to Japanese culture, but there are so many things we've seen lately that call that into question. So many people who should be in a different situation , but they continue to act and appear “honorable.” The same goes for Andean culture, there are things that leave much to be desired.”
In his memory are Nikkei writers whom he appreciates, such as José Watanabe or Augusto Higa, although his literary identity is far from these writers who devoted themselves, at one time or another, to writing about their origins and the situations of discrimination they faced. As a researcher, his work has led him to know his Andean environment and now he is preparing a book on the Huaylas dance. “It is said that the Huanca man has seven jobs and 14 needs, and I have dedicated myself to everything: journalism, narrative , essay... If there is no one else to do it, I will do it,” says Matayoshi, always at the service of the word.
©2024 Javier Garcia Wong-Kit
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