Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/809/

Living in a colony (Japanese)

(Japanese) That year, we finished the coffee harvesting and we then moved to the Mombuca colony. I joined this colony, which was right next to a malaria-infested river, and harvested sugarcanes.

*I: How many years did you spend there? Well, I joined during the rainy season, but it soon became dry season. So I built a house and dug a well, but when the rainy season came back, everything became flooded. So I moved up the hill and re-built the house, dug a new well, and settled down there… But then everyone got infected with malaria, and I eventually decided to work back at the farmland colony.

I used to leave early in the morning, on a train that left at 6 o’clock, and would commute to the colony for an hour or so. There, I was planting things and pulling weeds. But one day I suffered a severe injury, and I literally had to drag my legs in order to get to and from work. When I got home, everyone was asleep. They had a fever and were sleeping, so as soon as I got home, I would cook dinner for them to eat, and then I would make my lunch for the following day, and be ready to leave for the station by 6AM again. This was my life for a while.

* “I” indicates an interviewer.


Brazil coffee colonization Mombuca Mombuca Colony

Date:

Location: Brazil

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Interviewee Bio

Masao Kinoshita moved from Santos port and settled in the farmlands during World War I. He worked at a São Paulo coffee plantation with fellow Nikkei immigrants, and also helped carry on the development of the colonies. Facing a tough reality in an unfamiliar land, as well as a strong ambition to focus on education, he twice attempted to escape from the plantation, but failed. He was forced to return to the farmland. He was blessed with the opportunity to attend school in São Paulo a few years later, and moved to the city. While working, he attended school and studied law. Post-World War II, he was a central figure in leading a movement to help the Japanese community in Brazil recognize and accept defeat in the war, in opposition of the Emperor’s League (Shindo Renmei) which spread false propaganda declaring Japanese victory. (June 22, 2007)