I was not good at writing, so I hated writing my name on exam papers or questionnaires at school. My name was always outside the lines, and I was always scolded by my teachers. Calligraphy classes were especially tough.
When I was in my second year of high school, my homeroom teacher at Kagoshima Prefectural Sueyoshi High School, where I had transferred, introduced me as a new student. My name, Shigeki, means a big, lush tree. He asked me, "Did your father give you that name?" I didn't know what to say right away, but I answered, "Yes." I was happy to be praised for my name, and I think I'm going to like this school.
In the town where I used to live, I was bullied many times in elementary and junior high school. My father worked at the police station, so the bullying was hidden. Sure enough, the students at Sueyoshi High School were easy to get along with, and I quickly made friends. Most of the people in the town were also quiet. I also began to have a desire to study. My results in the end-of-term exams gradually improved, and I was able to enter the group that would go on to higher education. It was all thanks to Mr. Matsumoto's guidance.
My teacher especially praised my compositions, and sometimes I read them to the class. I felt like I had become popular in class. However, I was not good at math and physics. Mr. Matsumoto had students who were good at those subjects sit with me during self-study time and teach me how to solve the problems I was weak at. During the New Year's holiday in my third year, I studied hard, even though I had a little snack.
My registered domicile is Yoshiri, Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki-gun, Kagoshima Prefecture. I was born in Makurazaki City. My mother Tane told me that my father Shigeru's ancestors came to Kagoshima from Nagano to promote sericulture. My mother's ancestors, the Kakimoto clan, were pilots for ships entering the port of Bonotsu from other countries.
When I asked my father, who was a police officer born into a farming family, "Who named me?" he told me it was the head priest of a nearby temple. Indeed, many of my siblings' names have kanji characters that are difficult to read as they are. My eldest brother is Kouji, my third son is Norito, my eldest daughter is Akemi, my fourth son is Hitoshi, and my fifth son is Seiya. Even if I type Kouji into Word on my computer, the kanji characters that are converted are different. Akemi comes up, though.
In the summer of 1966, we emigrated to Brazil on the Sakura Maru, which departed Kobe. We joined the Maeda Breeding Farm in Ibiuna County, Sao Paulo State, where we were invited by farmers. Every day, we worked in the fields and removed the chicken droppings from the chicken coop. The chicken droppings were picked up by trucks from vegetable and fruit farms. The feed bags with the name of the Cotia Industrial Association written on them were thoroughly washed and became our work clothes.
After that, he went to Sao Paulo and worked for a company. He married someone he met at a Fujii party. His father is from Sagawa-cho, Kochi Prefecture. His mother is Mitsue Osaki Elena from Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. They had five children, their eldest son Shinobu Marco, their second son Take Andre (who died prematurely), their eldest daughter Maki Andreia, their third son Makoto Rodrigo, and their second daughter Aya Mariana. They have three grandchildren. Maki's child is Take Daniel, and Aya's children are Hiro Lucas and Kenzo Kevin. Shinobu and Makoto's grandchildren are also waiting, so I will pray to the Kannon Bodhisattva.
When he was working at a company, he was encouraged by a colleague to obtain Brazilian citizenship. He gave the name Maximiliano to his name Shigeki Matsumura. Because it is a long name, everyone calls him Max. When his children grow up, they will probably hear from their friends that Papaai has abandoned his Japanese roots.
Shinobu and Takeru are applying for Japanese citizenship. Shinobu is traveling around the world with a red Japanese passport. Maki, Makoto, Aya and others are always saying that they want red passports as well. The population keeps decreasing every year, and one day Japan will disappear? I would like to ask them to return to Japanese citizenship, too, because it may be possible.
© 2024 Maximiliano Shigeki Matsumura
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