Stuff contributed by kikerenzo
Harumi Suenaga's journey to the roots
Enrique Higa Sakuda, Asociación Peruano Japonesa
Andean Japanese cultural syncretism. Broad horizons opened up for Harumi Suenaga García when two years ago she decided to choose a path in which the exploration of her ethnic origins and art converged. It was 2017, he was studying at the Diego Quispe Tito University, in Cusco, in the last …
Traditional Foods and Rituals to Start the New Year
Enrique Higa Sakuda
These days, it’s easy to find Japanese or Nikkei food in Lima. Perhaps the day when Japanese restaurants are as common as the popular “chifas” (Chinese-Peruvian restaurants), which can be found everywhere, isn’t far off.
“Dojin”, never again
Enrique Higa Sakuda
Recently, a sansei was talking to me about problems he had at work when he suddenly used the word “ dojin .” I felt teleported to the 1980s, when it was an everyday term in my family and around me. So I didn't know exactly what it meant (I found …
Japan, not so close anymore
Enrique Higa Sakuda
I was pleased to learn that Chile had shut out Japan 4-0 in the most recent version of the America Cup soccer tournament. I hoped that Uruguay and Ecuador, their subsequent rivals, would beat Japan as well. I wanted Japan to leave South America with zero points. I was angry …
Meeting the Nikkei in Paraguay
Enrique Higa Sakuda
It is Sunday in the Japanese Association of Encarnación, the third largest city in Paraguay, and a group of young Nikkei, divided into several teams, is playing a futsal tournament (one goalkeeper and four court players per side). The competitors reside in the department of Itapúa, where Encarnación is located. …
Japan from a distance: dekasegi phenomenon, 30 years later
Enrique Higa Sakuda, Asociación Peruano Japonesa
Today, terms like “crisis”, “terrorism” or “inflation” seem like foreign words that refer to a reality that has nothing to do with that of Peru. 30 years ago, however, those three words defined the country we were. From that country, at the end of the 1980s, thousands of Nikkei began …
Óscar Chambi and his bridges towards the Nikkei
Enrique Higa Sakuda
In the life of the photographer and sociologist Óscar Chambi there seems to be no room for chance or isolated events. Everything seems interconnected and directed so that its various paths converge towards the same destination: the Nikkei community. To trace the origins of this connection you have to go …
The “Japanese” who found his home in Spain
Enrique Higa Sakuda
“I am the first Nikkei candidate for a councilorship in Spain. "Shit!" Gabriel Ueda tells me. Series. Is happy. Beyond the result of the elections, being appointed to a mayoral list of the Ciudadanos party in the city of San Fernando, Cádiz, where he resides, is already an achievement. The …
Limeño by birth, Okinawan and Cusco at heart
Enrique Higa Sakuda
Without Machu Picchu, many people around the world would probably be unaware of the existence of Peru. Visiting the Inca citadel is an extraordinary event that mobilizes millions of people from all corners of the planet. However, for Carlos Higa Machu Picchu is like his “work office.” Traveling to one …
Caesar Tsuneshige: Memories and legacies to last
Enrique Higa Sakuda, Asociación Peruano Japonesa
“This is how an artist must feel,” says César Tsuneshige while being photographed. It is a new experience for him to be the subject of a photo shoot. As a veterinarian, leader of the Nikkei community, and student of the history of Japanese immigration to Peru, he is used to …