The industry in which Japanese people in Uruguay were most often engaged was floriculture, and it seems that until about 40 years ago, it was possible to make a good profit from the floriculture business. The city of Escobar, a suburb of Buenos Aires where I was born and raised, is also known as the "City of Flowers," and floriculture has been thriving since before the war. Escobar is located 50 kilometers north of the capital Buenos Aires, and a railway was laid there from an early stage, making the soil suitable for growing flowers. Around 1940, there were more than 100 floriculture businesses in the suburbs of the capital Buenos Aires, and according to records from that time, they owned a total of 48 hectares of land and rented 325 hectares, and it seems that there was a fierce and competitive atmosphere. In 2019, Escobar celebrated the 90th anniversary of the arrival of Kyuhei Kashu1, the first immigrant to the city and the person who brought floriculture to the city2.
Kashu trained many people before the war, one of whom was Yamamoto Hisao, who entered Argentina in 1929 at the young age of 16. Yamamoto learned how to grow carnations and chrysanthemums under Kuhei, and visited Uruguay on a trip in 1937, but stayed in the country as a gardener. A year later, at the age of 25, he bought five hectares of land and became independent, purchasing carnation seedlings from Argentina and beginning full-scale floriculture. At its peak after the war, it is said that there were nearly 30 greenhouses lined up. He also developed a close friendship with Tsubota Shizuhito, and served as chairman of the Japanese Association of Uruguay for two years from 1977.
The floriculture industry that developed in the suburbs of Montevideo reminds me of my hometown, Escobar, where I was born and raised. The size of the land, the presence of the Japanese Association, Japanese Language School, and baseball team, etc., make it seem like I am looking back at my childhood. The only difference is that two Japanese settlements were established in the 1970s3 . There were also a large number of Japanese immigrants from Paraguay and Bolivia.
Furthermore, many people in Escobar were self-employed petal growers, but there were also many differences of opinion within the management of organizations and cooperatives, resulting in constant factional fighting.4 It is not clear whether similar problems existed in Uruguay, but these disputes within the small Japanese community had a major impact on the organization's finances and business plans, and sometimes left resentment for the next generation, but the community as a whole appears to have developed healthily.
In any case, many of the Japanese communities in Uruguay are individuals who have immigrated from neighboring countries, and thanks to the efforts of their predecessors and the country's development, the educational standards of the second and third generation are high. Many go on to university, and many young people become professionals such as lawyers, accountants, doctors, and engineers, or go to study in Japan or other countries.
These factors may be the same as those of Japanese people in neighboring countries, but anthropologist Gustavo Gentadorado, author of "The Japanese Community in Uruguay," states the following:
"Although Japanese immigrants and their families lived in the suburbs (Paso de la Arena and its surrounding areas), they did not form a Japanese neighborhood. As a result, there was no daily or ongoing contact with other Japanese families. As a result, second-generation Japanese in Uruguay had more opportunities to come into contact with 'foreigners' in everyday society than with Japanese members of the same ethnic group. This is different from the case of second-generation Japanese in Argentina and Brazil. For the second-generation Japanese, this situation meant permanent contact with the majority and powerful Uruguayan society, which was helpful in their process of adapting to local society." 5
Based on this consideration, it makes sense that many of the immigrant men marry local non-Japanese women or second-generation women from neighboring countries. In fact, even looking at the individual testimonies in "Uruguay: The Journey of the Japanese," we can see that a significant proportion of second- and third-generation immigrants marry non-Japanese.
The Paso de la Arena district prospered through flower cultivation until around 1980, but with the decline of industry, the number of Japanese households has gradually decreased to 50, then just over 10. Today, there are still a few second-generation Japanese who continue to run their parents' flower businesses, but most of them are also self-employed or in commerce.
Although the Japanese community is small, thanks to the efforts of the Japanese Association and the cooperation of the Japanese Embassy and JICA, ties with Japan are maintained and Japanese culture is passed down. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese language classes were offered and Japanese drum performances were held, and sports days, year-end parties, Respect for the Aged Day events, and memorial services were regular events for the Japanese Association. Currently, Japanese language classes are being held via Zoom.6
The city of Montevideo also has a magnificent Japanese Garden, which was built in 2001 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Uruguay.7 In 2018, the city also held a Japanese cultural event called the Flower Expo (previously, a magnificent float had been created and exhibited).
Feelings towards Japan continue to exist even in the next generation, and in 2011, the Japanese Association of Uruguay sent donations to the disaster area after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Uruguayan government also sent 4,600 cans of corned beef (equivalent to 2 tons) and $500,000 in donations as relief supplies, showing how friendly Uruguay is towards Japan.
As of mid-September 2021, the Tokyo Olympics have concluded without a hitch. As an aside, it is not widely known that a foundation called Imagine One World raised donations from the public to create kimonos for all the participating countries of the Olympics8 . In fact, the kimono for Uruguay was made by Iwate Prefecture-based yuzen artist Takayuki Sugawara and designed by Naomi Ano (Moriyama), a second-generation Japanese-Uruguayan living in Japan9 . This kimono has turned out to be a wonderful "Uruguayan kimono," and we would love to see it at other events after the Olympics.
As of December 2020, there are 118 Uruguayans living in Japan (Statistics on Foreign Residents by the Immigration Services Agency). It is unclear how many of these are of Japanese descent, but judging by their residence status, it is likely that they are one-third or less of Japanese descent. I only know three people, and fortunately one of them is Naomi, so I am very grateful that I was able to learn about this project from her.
The country has the most stable politics, economy, and finances in South America. It is a major agricultural and livestock powerhouse that values harmony with nature, but in recent years it has also focused on software and app development, and is receiving requests from major companies around the world. Compared to other South American countries, it has little disparity and good public safety. 10 Thanks to preferential treatment by the government, the number of wealthy Argentinians relocating to the country has been increasing in recent years. However, there are many policy issues, so it will be a new challenge for Japanese Argentines to become more involved in society in the future. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uruguay and Japan. I hope that the relationship between the two countries will continue to develop in the future.
Notes:
1. Kashu Kyuhei was born in Hokkaido in 1896. After graduating from Akita Agricultural College, he spent two years as a research student at the National Horticultural Experiment Station, worked at the Hyogo Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station, and arrived in Argentina in 1918. He was passionate about floriculture research, and conducted statistical experimental cultivation. He established a research group with his friends and published a specialist magazine, while also working hard to establish organizations and schools in the Japanese community at the time, leaving behind a solid record of immigration history without any personal feelings. He was also involved in organizing floriculture businesses, and worked hard to build a producers' association and a market for sales. As the headman of Escobar, he trained many younger generations and guided immigrants to independence after the war and the development of new varieties.
2. Alberto Matsumoto, " The City of Flowers: Escobar, the 90th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration and Rediscovering One's Roots " (Discover Nikkei, November 25, 2020)
3. The Roma Verde and Serraja settlements were built in JICA subdivisions. Both settlements are within 10 km of the city of Escobar. Currently, there are about 300 Japanese people living in Escobar, and they are moving from the third to fourth generation.
4. Editorial Committee for the History of Japanese Immigration in Argentina - FANA, "History of Japanese Immigration in Argentina - Volume 1, Prewar Edition," June 2002
5. The Japanese Association in Uruguay, "The Journey of Japanese in Uruguay," pp. 176-180, April 2019. The Spanish version is Gustavo Genta Dorado, "La Colectividad Japonesa en Uruguay," Ediciones de la Crítica, 1993.
6. Japanese Association in Uruguay (Facebook)
Japanese Association in Uruguay
7. It is located on the grounds of the Blanes Museum in Montevideo. Ambassador Inagawa at the time approached not only the local Japanese community but also Japanese Argentine companies and the Chamber of Commerce, raising a total of 6 million yen. In addition, Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture, where the ambassador was born, donated a snow-viewing lantern. The nameplate at the entrance, "Heiseien," was written by Prime Minister Koizumi. ("The Journey of the Japanese in Uruguay," p. 140)
Japanese Garden of Montevideo (Spanish)
8. " KIMONO Project " Kimono designers were commissioned to create kimonos for each country with a budget of 2 million yen per kimono. For Uruguay , Takayuki Sugawara of Kyogofuku was in charge.
Imagine One World Imagine One World "KIMONO PROJECT" Imagine One World KIMONO Project (YouTube)
9. Naomi was asked to cooperate with the KIMONO project just after her mother passed away in Montevideo. When she found out that Yuzen artist Sugawara happened to be from Iwate Prefecture, the same place as her mother, she thought this was fate and headed to his workshop in Ichinoseki, Uruguayan prefecture, enduring her grief. After that, she completed the "Uruguay KIMONO" while discussing with Yuzen artists at the Uruguayan Embassy in Tokyo. Naomi is the youngest of four sisters, and has previously come to Japan as a JICA Nikkei trainee. She is now married to a Japanese man and lives in Chiba Prefecture.
10. Kobayashi Ichizo, “Uruguay: A country that practices Jose Mujica’s worldview of ‘development aimed at the happiness of the people’,” Latin America Times, Spring 2021, pp. 48-51.
© 2021 Alberto Matsumoto
