A Day in Liberdade: The Nihon Machi of São Paulo
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I first became aware of the Japanese community in Brazil when I attended a judo event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There I was intrigued to see athletes like Sérgio Sano, a judoka who represented the Brazillian National team. Since that day, I added a trip to Brazil to learn about the Nikkei presence in Latin America on my list of things to do. On December 8, 2014, I finally had the opportunity to pay a visit to Bairro da Liberdade, São Paulo’s Japan town. The Japanese community in Brazil has deep historical origins in Liberdade. In a contemporary sense, Liberdade stands out as a very multi-culturally rich, vibrant public place with many kinds of Japanese-Brazillian storefronts, restaurants, community and religious centers, and small businesses including a museum dedicated to the history of Japanese Immigration—Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil. Liberdade is truly a symbol of the resilience of the Nikkei community abroad. The following are a few photos from my brief time in Liberdade. —Thomas Sakai Tsutsumoto Acknowledgements: I would like to personally thank Ms. Luciana Yotsumoto Shimizu Rodrigues for her guidance in Liberdade. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Gui Alves and Rachel Mamiya-Hernandez for their language assistance in preparation for this adventure. Muito obrigado a todos!