Japanese immigration to Brazil was responsible for the consolidation of different colonies spread across the Brazilian territory. The first place of settlement for the Japanese was organized by the federal institutions that spearheaded the “Monções” colonization project. Occupying the regions close to Sorocaba and Iguape, the first Japanese immigrants took part in successful colonization projects.
In 1912, families from the province of Fukushima established partnerships with farmers in northern Paraná. In 1913, a group of Japanese immigrants came to occupy the State of Minas Gerias to participate in gold activities in the region. In a very short period of time, the number of Japanese immigrants already exceeded the number of 10,000 people. Unable to pay for the arrival of more immigrants, the Government of São Paulo banned the entry of new Japanese families.
The northwest region of São Paulo began to stand out as one of the main focuses of Japanese colonization. At the beginning of the 1930s, the Japanese settled in São Paulo surpassed 130 thousand inhabitants. Of the entire Japanese population, more than ninety percent were involved in small and medium-sized agriculture. With World War II, the alignment of the Brazilian government against the Axis countries (Japan, Germany and Italy) prohibited any type of manifestation linked to Japanese culture in Brazil.
In the sixties, the Japanese community consolidated on Brazilian soil already totaled more than four hundred thousand people. Throughout the history of the Japanese presence, this community has managed to fully insert itself into official institutions, the economy and Brazilian culture. From the end of the 1980s onwards, the so extensive and striking phenomenon of Japanese arrivals in Brazil underwent an interesting reversal.
This fact, known as the “Dekassegui Phenomenon” marked the process of going by Brazilians of Japanese descent to work in their country of origin. Conceived as a process resulting from the successive crises of the Brazilian economy, today it receives the attention of the authorities in Japan. Currently, various sectors of entertainment, fashion and Japanese cuisine are part of the customs of Brazilian culture.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/japao/a-colonizacao-japonesa-no-brasil.htm
