Laura Honda-Hasegawa
@laurahhBorn in São Paulo, Brazil in 1947. Worked in the field of education until 2009. Since then, she has dedicated herself exclusively to literature, writing essays, short stories and novels, all from a Nikkei point of view.
She grew up listening to Japanese children's stories told by her mother. As a teenager, she read the monthly issue of Shojo Kurabu, a youth magazine for girls imported from Japan. She watched almost all of Ozu's films, developing a great admiration for Japanese culture all her life.
Updated May 2023
Stories from This Author
Episode 47 (Part 1) "I want to go home, but I can't"
April 18, 2024 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Eiji, the eldest son of two older sisters, was told by his parents to become a doctor in the future. His older sisters were made to do housework and help out at the supermarket run by his parents, but Eiji was always told to focus on his studies instead of helping out. When I was in my third year of high school, my daily routine was to go to a cram school immediately after school, study at home in the …
Episode 46: Who is Rihana in the painting?
Feb. 27, 2024 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
On her 27th birthday, Hana got married to her husband, Eiji, who was three years younger than her and was the younger brother of her classmate. Six months ago, that same classmate came to visit Hana. Her younger brother was going to Japan to work, but it was decided that if he was going to work, it would be better to get married first, so he was looking for a wife. The classmate immediately remembered Hana and came to see …
Episode 45: I'm glad Fujiko is Japanese!
Jan. 16, 2024 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
The Ozaki family was a large one. The eldest and second sons were married and lived together with their families and parents at the family home. Fujiko was born in that house. Her grandfather, who had three grandsons, was a big fan of the Japanese actress Fujiko Yamamoto, so he named his first granddaughter Fujiko. The family hoped that she would become as beautiful and popular as Fujiko Yamamoto. Fujiko grew up to be a cheerful girl. However, in her …
Episode 44 (Part 2) "I'm back home"
June 30, 2023 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Read the first part >> Returning to Brazil for the first time in three years, Paulo went alone to the church he had attended since childhood on Sunday. Paulo's family doesn't go to church, so he thought, "My mom and dad must have gone jogging at Ibirapuera Park and my sisters must still be asleep." It had been a long time since I'd seen a church with its arched doors and stained glass windows, and it brought back memories. I …
Episode 44 (Part 1) "I'm back home"
April 20, 2023 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Paulo had already made up his mind when he was in junior high school: "After graduating from high school, I will enter seminary and become a missionary." Although his parents were not Christians, Paul received a Christian education through the influence of his paternal grandmother. On Sunday mornings, I took a 30-minute bus ride to my grandmother's house, and then went to church with her and my two cousins. The service was divided into an adult service and a children's …
"Bachchan" is a popular word
March 20, 2023 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
When I was still little, my mother would show me pictures and tell me about my grandmother, saying, "Laura's grandmother lives far away." Then, when I was 12 years old, I visited my grandmother's house for the first time. There were my grandparents, four single uncles, two granddaughters who were being looked after by my grandmother, my uncle and aunt and uncle's family and their five children who lived in a house built on the same property, so there were …
Episode 43: Tomomi and Naruto both pursue their dreams
Jan. 30, 2023 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Tomomi is 19 years old and has a Japanese father and a Japanese-Brazilian mother. Tomomi's mother, who came to Japan as a dekasegi (a laborer), first worked at a bakery in Nagoya. Then, the owner of a nearby bicycle repair shop invited her to quit the bakery and work at the bicycle repair shop. Soon after, the two fell in love and started living together. Then, Tomomi was born and their life became fulfilling and stable. Four years ago, Tomomi's …
Episode 42: Bachan comes to Japan!
Dec. 16, 2022 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
My name is Ryoma Leonardo and I'm 11 years old. "Ryuma" was chosen by my Brazilian papaai1, who became a fan of Sakamoto Ryoma after watching the historical drama. Papai thought that just a Japanese name would be fine, but my third generation Japanese mama2 is a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and really wanted to give me the name "Leonardo", so we ended up with this name. Interestingly, everyone calls me "Ryuma" instead of "Leonardo". I love this name …
Episode 41: Yugo and his mother are separated
Oct. 21, 2022 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
When Hugo was four years old, his parents separated and his mother, Eneida, returned alone to her hometown of Porto Seguro. Yugo's father wasn't particularly surprised because he had expected the separation to happen in this way. "Eneida was just dreaming of the life in Sao Paulo that she saw on TV dramas." "What a foolish son to fall in love with Eneida at first sight." "I can't believe you went out to town without taking care of baby Yugo!" …
Episode 40: Four sisters heading for Japan
March 9, 2022 • Laura Honda-Hasegawa
The four Uchiyama sisters were always together. As children, they played house in their grandmother's garden, and as teenagers, they went to the movies, concerts, and trips together. However, as they grew up, they each chose different paths and drifted apart. The eldest daughter, Yuki, passed a job interview at a major bank and went on to build a promising career. The second daughter, Yuri, married a Canadian she met at work and moved to Vancouver. The third daughter, Mari, …
