Henrique Minatogawa

Pawn, tower, horse, bishop, and king, in Brazil, these names refer to chess pieces. Not that chess is extremely popular in this country it is only that many people have at least some knowledge of its basic rules. The expression "checkmate" for example, is used in various everyday situations. I even learned to play chess at school; in college, there was a chess club, but I was not a member.

In my family, no one knows how to play shogi. Not that I know of, at least. I do not remember seeing a board and pieces in the house of ...

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References

Eastern ethnicities have little visibility in the Brazilian mainstream media. Although the quantitative proportion is small, in cultural and economic terms, the participation of Eastern groups is expressive. Even so, the visibility as part of Brazilian society is very small. In relation to homosexuals, there is a search for the gender related reference in addition to the ethnic.

“I remember that in a soap opera there was a gay couple and it was all very veiled. I think it was Sandrinho, but I do not remember much as he was [Note: Sandrinho is the character played ...

According to the 2010 census conducted by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), there are approximately 190 million people living in Brazil. Of these, approximately 1.5 million are Japanese or descendants of Japanese, or less than 1% of the country’s population, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Japanese-Brazilian Studies. In quantitative terms, therefore, the Nikkei is part of a minority.

According to an evaluation by the Brazilian Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transgender (Abglt), approximately 20 million Brazilians are homosexuals, corresponding to 10% of the population. This ...

Many people in Brazil tend to assume that Nikkei are interested exclusively in Japanese culture. If a Nikkei is keen on sports, the sport must be karate; if s/he likes music, it must be enka; if s/he draws, it must be manga. While these assumptions may occasionally be true, they are not 100% accurate.

Vivianne Hitomi Wakuda is a 29-year-old Brazilian Sansei Nikkei. She is also a pastry chef. “In my first job interview, they assumed I worked with red bean paste. I immediately explained that I worked in the house pastry style, which was French. I am ...

Some years ago, I worked in a publishing house in São Paulo’s Vila Mariana district. Nearby, there was a Japanese grocery store, where I would go to buy a bento at lunchtime.

It was not every day that I would buy one; I believe it was two or three times a week at most. I also used to buy an Asian-style bread there that was not found in ordinary markets and bakeries. From time to time, I would feel like eating manju, or I would need shoyu, kare, or chikuwa to make dinner. I would go to that ...