Sachio Negawa
Sachio Negawa is an assistant professor in the departments of Translations and Foreign Languages at the University of Brasília. An expert on Immigration History and Cultural Comparative Studies, he has lived in Brazil since 1996. He has fully dedicated himself to the study of learning institutions in Japanese and other Asian communities.
Last Updated March 2007
Stories from This Author
Chapter 1 The Conde District - Brazil’s First Japantown - 1) Origins
March 17, 2007 • Sachio Negawa
São Paulo is a city of hills. When walking around Centro, the downtown area, you may be overwhelmed by the numerous slopes and wonder why a town was built in an area with so many hills. On January 25, 1554, Father José de Ancheta, along with 13 other Jesuit priests, established a town with Saint Paolo as its guardian angel on the Piratininga plateau (FAUSTO, 1994, p.93). The town was built at the top of the hill in order to …
Introduction
March 16, 2007 • Sachio Negawa
The Bairro Oriental (Oriental neighborhood) of São Paulo - living within the chaos of its walls, the same question crossed my aching mind. ‘Why did these Japanese people traverse the ocean and build a town for themselves half way cross the planet?’ Ordinarily, I am in charge of the subjects of ‘Japanese language’ and ‘Japanese culture’ at a university in Brazil. When conversing with Brazilian college students, I often come across the stereotypical idea that Japanese people are unsociable and reclusive. …
