Introduction
The Bairro Oriental (Oriental neighborhood) of São Paulo - living within the chaos of its walls, the same question crossed my aching mind. ‘Why did these Japanese people traverse the ocean and build a town for themselves half way cross the planet?’
Ordinarily, I am in charge of the subjects of ‘Japanese language’ and ‘Japanese culture’ at a university in Brazil. When conversing with Brazilian college students, I often come across the stereotypical idea that Japanese people are unsociable and reclusive. Well, I feel like even the Japanese people themselves hurl out remarks about how “Japanese people are quite reclusive and …