Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/897/

Experiences in the farmlands (Japanese)

(Japanese) I went to a farmland called Fasenda Dumont. There, the coffee wasn't growing much. They're on big tress, and you look up, and you can only see a few that were growing. Every time we hit [the branches of the coffee tree] we'd get in trouble for it. so we'd go away, and then come back to slap at it again. That was the only way we could get the coffee. That's kind of how it was. So now I'm in Brazil, there's no coffee, and I have little money. The people in that farmland were mostly Japanese, so we asked for an interpreter from Rio, and we made negotiations with the other fazendeiro (farmers). In the end they conceded, and we were allowed to leave the farmland. So we didn't run away during the night (laughs). [We left] very openly. So, well, when we left we split into two groups and left at different times. I went on to work at a railroad factory for Lins, in Noroeste. Someone else went to work in Santos, waiting for a ship bound for Japan to come around, thinking, "Well, it's sure to arrive someday." But it wouldn't come for quite some time. There were also a few who went to Argentina, and some floated over to Sao Paulo city. We spread apart like so. That's how things went the first time around. It happened to me just like that, too. In my case, the immigration company really hounded me for that. "Your six-month contract isn't over yet, so you have to fulfill your obligations," they would say. And I would defiantly say "No, no, no, no." So then they would threaten that the "The debt will be put on your parent's shoulders," but I just said "Fine, go ahead, go ahead," to just have them take it (laughs).


agriculture Brazil farming immigration migration

Date:

Location: Brazil

Contributed by: Caminho da memória - 遥かなるみちのり. São Paulo, Brazil: Comissão de Elaboração da História dos 80 Anos de Imigração Japonesa no Brasil, 1998. VHS.

Interviewee Bio

Ryoichi Kodama was born in Hiroshima in July of 1895. He immigrated to Brazil in 1908 aboard the Kasato-maru, which carried the very first group of Japanese immigrants to Brazil. Kodama, who was brought over to Brazil under a contract, worked on a farmland called Dumont, along the Mogiana railroads, for 4 years. Thereafter, he would become the first Japanese person to obtain a Brazilian driver’s license, and would make his living as a driver. He held a vast knowledge regarding the Kasato-maru immigration, and was known as the “Living Encyclopedia” in the city of Presidente Prudente. He was also an active member of the Hiroshima Kenjin-kai as well as the local cultural association. (1998)

Bill Hashizume
en
ja
es
pt
Hashizume,Bill

Reason to come back to Canada in 1954

(b. 1922) Canadian Nisei who was unable to return to Canada from Japan until 1952

en
ja
es
pt
Masako Iino
en
ja
es
pt
Iino,Masako

Impressions from interviews with Issei women (Japanese)

Tsuda College President, researcher of Nikkei history

en
ja
es
pt
Masako Iino
en
ja
es
pt
Iino,Masako

The differences between Japanese women who emigrated from Japan and those who did not (Japanese)

Tsuda College President, researcher of Nikkei history

en
ja
es
pt
Masako Iino
en
ja
es
pt
Iino,Masako

Interest in Japanese migration studies (Japanese)

Tsuda College President, researcher of Nikkei history

en
ja
es
pt
Mónica Kogiso
en
ja
es
pt
Kogiso,Mónica

History of her family's immigration (Spanish)

(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.

en
ja
es
pt
Vince Ota
en
ja
es
pt
Ota,Vince

Moving to and living in Japan

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Vince Ota
en
ja
es
pt
Ota,Vince

The reason to stay in Japan after his third year

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Francis Y. Sogi
en
ja
es
pt
Sogi,Francis Y.

Starting work at five years old

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

en
ja
es
pt
Margaret Oda
en
ja
es
pt
Oda,Margaret

Father's role in starting the Wailea Milling Company

(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

en
ja
es
pt
Roberto Hirose
en
ja
es
pt
Hirose,Roberto

From the "middle" Nikkei (Spanish)

(b. 1950) Nisei Chilean, Businessman

en
ja
es
pt
Roberto Hirose
en
ja
es
pt
Hirose,Roberto

Growing up with some Japanese families (Spanish)

(b. 1950) Nisei Chilean, Businessman

en
ja
es
pt
Roberto Hirose
en
ja
es
pt
Hirose,Roberto

The various realities of Nikkei in Latin America (Spanish)

(b. 1950) Nisei Chilean, Businessman

en
ja
es
pt
John Naka
en
ja
es
pt
Naka,John

Avoiding the Japanese military

(1914-2004) Nisei Bonsai master in the United States

en
ja
es
pt
Michie Akama
en
ja
es
pt
Akama,Michie

Reasons for immigrating to Brazil (Japanese)

Issei, Pioneer of women's education in Brazil

en
ja
es
pt
Paula Hoyos Hattori
en
ja
es
pt
Hattori,Paula Hoyos

The arrival of her grandpa (Spanish)

Sansei Argentinean

en
ja
es
pt