
@tomeno
I was born and raised in Bastos [small town in the interior of São Paulo state], where hearing and speaking Japanese was commonplace. There was even the “bastosgô,” a mixture of Japanese dialects and Portuguese.
I learned Japanese using the Kumon method so as to motivate my children to study it as well. But I’ve forgotten many “kanjis” and now I can neither write nor read with fluency. My grandson Thomas has started taking “nihongo” lessons, and my other grandchildren are also able to speak a few words, which makes me very happy.
Nikkei Interests

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Nikkei Chronicles #5—Nikkei-go: The Language of Family, Community, and Culture
Bastos' Nikkei-go
Koná goroshono tyomém shensheiga kawashita – would any Nikkei understand this sentence? It is a mix…
Sept. 5, 2016

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Oshogatsu: memories of my childhood
My father came as an immigrant at the age of 16 with the family that adopted him, as he was a minor…
Jan. 5, 2015
en
ja
es
pt

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?
The importance of first and last name
In my hometown, Bastos, which is the most Japanese of Brazil's cities, women up to my age group wer…
Nov. 5, 2014

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?
Names and their implications
The surname DOI in Portuguese means itai, itamu , that is, “it hurts”, “to hurt”. I had a friend wh…
Oct. 22, 2014

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?
My name is Tomeno
Tomeno is my Japanese name. Unusual name. I found another like it only once in my life, a long time…
Oct. 20, 2014

Article
en
ja
es
pt
Nikkei Chronicles #1—ITADAKIMASU! A Taste of Nikkei Culture
Ofukuro no aji: Mrs. Shizuka’s cassava misoshiru
My mother came to Brazil when she was three years old and since childhood learned to eat all that n…
Oct. 8, 2012
New Site Design
See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon!
Learn More
Discover Nikkei Updates
NIKKEI CHRONICLES #14

Nikkei Family 2: Remembering Roots, Leaving Legacies
Baachan, grandpa, tía, irmão… what does Nikkei family mean to you? Submit your story!
SUPPORT THE PROJECT

Discover Nikkei’s 20 for 20 campaign celebrates our first 20 years and jumpstarts our next 20. Learn more and donate!
SHARE YOUR MEMORIES

We are collecting our community’s reflections on the first 20 years of Discover Nikkei. Check out this month’s prompt and send us your response!