Carnaval celebrates Japanese Immigration to Brazil
2008 marks the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil. To celebrate the centennial milestone for Brazilian-Nikkei, several of the top samba schools chose Japanese themes for this year's Carnaval. In the larger parades, hundreds of people danced in Japanese-themed costumes in Samba stadiums called Sambadromes (apparently they no longer have Carnaval parades in the streets). The costumes were fantastical and imaginative. They picked from Japanese motifs like samurai, geisha and kabuki as well as some more creative designs inspired by ikebana and sushi. The costumes are not meant to be historically or culturally accurate and you will notice some other Asian influences in the designs. One of the floats in the Porto da Pedra parade is a tribute to the boat that carried the first Japanese immigrants to Brazil, the Kasato Maru. The boat has become a symbol of the heritage of Brazilian-Nikkei. Another samba school, Prova de Fogo, centered on Okinawa as the theme of their parade. Here are some videos: Porto Da Pedra (4 min) Unidos de Vila Maria (19:25 min) Copa Lord (5:04 min) Here is a website with photos (in Portuguese): |