Emily May was six years old when she arrived in Japan, taken by her mother, who had recently separated from her husband. The girl was enrolled in a Brazilian school and her mother went to work in a food factory for convenience stores.
But since Brazilian schools did not offer high school, after finishing the ninth grade, Emily returned to Brazil, since it would be very difficult to adapt to a Japanese school. She went to live with the family of her mother’s cousin, attended high school, took English and computer classes, and after four years, returned to Japan.
A lot had happened in her absence. Her mother had remarried and now Emily had a little brother, in addition to having to live with her stepfather’s two daughters. He was a Brazilian Nikkei named Takao, who had lived in Japan for 22 years and owned a supermarket selling Brazilian products, as well as a restaurant serving Brazilian food.
Emily started working at the restaurant and that’s when she met Koji, a regular customer who enjoyed the feijoada there. He said it was as good as the one his sister Kaori made in Brazil.
They were both the same age, liked K-pop and dramas, and were learning Japanese to better understand the anime they liked to watch. It didn’t take long for them to decide to get married.
And it was on a Friday, the day before the wedding, that Kaori arrived from Brazil and found Takao’s restaurant all decorated and ready for the party. It was a surprise that Emily’s mother, Takao and Koji’s coworkers had prepared for the newlyweds.
On Saturday afternoon, Koji’s coworkers, including his kacho who had never been to a Brazilian party, some regulars at the restaurant and acquaintances from the neighborhood filled the restaurant premises.
Emily’s mother was in tears when she saw her daughter enter the room, carried by Takao, looking impressive in the blue suit he had made for the occasion. Kaori was also unable to hide her emotions when she remembered how Koji had suffered with the loss of Kaachan, sitting silently for hours in his mother's favorite chair...
But today, thanks to his work in Japan, Koji had become a determined young man, hopeful of forming a healthy and happy family! Kaori thanked God that everything was working out!
On Sunday, the party continued, with everyone wanting to meet Kaori, whom Koji always spoke of with affection and admiration. And when they found out that she was single, there were those who wanted to find a miai1 so that she could stay and live in Japan.
Kaori thanked him somewhat awkwardly, but said that it would be impossible to live in Japan, since she had her job in Brazil and, mainly, because her brothers had not yet completed their studies to become independent. And she still had her father, for whom she worried a lot, because he worked himself to death to support his new wife.
Back in Brazil, Kaori continued working and helping around the house as always.
One day, Koji called her: “Hey Ká, you can’t escape now. There’s a job waiting for you here!”
The proposal was to take care of the accounting for Takao’s business, who in addition to the supermarket and the restaurant now owned a bakery—where he served the best cheese bread in the world!
Kaori first consulted her family, then the owners of the accounting firm where she worked, and they were all unanimous: “Go for it, Kaori! You have what it takes to succeed in Japan!”
Her brothers Kei and Kenji were as excited as if they were going to Japan with their sister, but they were soon warned by their father: “First you have to finish your studies in Brazil and I want you to start Nihongo2 tomorrow, do you understand?”
There was no doubt, she needed to go to work in Japan, help Koji and Emily in whatever way possible (who knows, when a baby is on the way...), help the family that stayed in Brazil, send gifts to her grandmother, etc.
Always trying to be useful by helping others, because seeing other people’s happiness was her desire, it was her joy in life!
God bless your new life, Kaori!
Notes:
1. Opportunity for a meeting where the suitor is presented as a marriage possibility
2. Japanese class
© 2025 Laura Honda-Hasegawa
