Emma Nakatani Sánchez
Emma Nakatani Sánchez is a historian who graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and studied life stories and oral history at Sussex University in England. She focuses on the life stories of Japanese immigrants and their families in Mexico, as expressed through documents such as memoirs, autobiographies, personal correspondence, and oral histories. She is currently an Associate Professor in the History Department at the Center for Research and Teaching Economics (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, CIDE).
Updated August 2018
Stories from This Author
Japanese Peanuts, a Legacy of the Nakatani Family
Aug. 31, 2018 • Sergio Hernández Galindo , Emma Nakatani Sánchez
One of the most popular snacks in Mexico is “Japanese peanuts”. This product--which consists of peanuts with a coating made of toasted wheat flour and soy sauce--isn’t originally from Japan. It was actually invented by Yoshigei Nakatani, a Japanese immigrant who arrived in Mexico in 1932. After coming to Mexico, Nakatani was looking for work and a way to prosper, just like the hundreds of thousands of other immigrants from that country who crossed the Pacific. When he left Japan, …
