Interviews

1. Moved to Japan as my dekasegi father called on me (Japanese)

2. Facing hardships in Japan (Japanese)

3. The difference between Nikkei community in Oizumi and Brazil (Japanese)

4. Change in community after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese)

5. Accepted by Japanese society as I learned more Japanese (Japanese)

6. From being a dekasegi to a long-term resident (Japanese)

7. Challenges of Brazilian community in Japan (Japanese)

8. Change of identity (Japanese)

9. The term Nikkei (Japanese)

10. My daughter’s identity (Japanese)

11. Starting my own business as a graphic designer after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese)

12. On becoming a Japanese national (Japanese)

13. Letting people know I am from Brazil (Japanese)

14. Oizumi-machi is my hometown (Japanese)

Hirano,Paulo Issamu

(b. 1979) Sansei Nikkei Brazilian who lives in Oizumi-machi in Gunma prefecture. He runs his own design studio.

The difference between Nikkei community in Oizumi and Brazil (Japanese)

(Japanese) This might be because of the environment, but there aren’t many opportunities to meet people in the community in Japan. In São Paulo, where I was born and raised, we met almost every week. We got together and went to kaikan (hall). And we did karaoke, had karaoke practice, and sometimes had churrasco or Japanese dishes. Usually Sunday was our day off. Of course, in the morning, we had work at the fish shop, I mean my father did, so he didn’t have a whole day off, but we often spent weekends with friends and other family members. So we went out as a family or with friends and talked a lot together. But in Japan, we don’t do that very often. This is true within my family, too, and I think that the big difference is we don’t have many chances to get together.

Brazil communities Gunma Prefecture Japan Nikkei in Japan Oizumi

Date: October 18, 2016

Location: Gunma, Japan

Interviewer: Shigeru Kojima

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Paulo Issamu Hirano was born in São Paulo in January, 1979. As a Sansei whose grandparents are from Kumamoto Prefecture, he grew up in the Monte Kemel region near Liberdade. In 1989, he moved to Japan as his father, who had come as a dekasegi, called on him. Ever since, he has lived in Oizumi-machi in Gunma Prefecture. At first he was having a hard time with the language, but he made more friends as he learned Japanese. Currently he supports the Brazilian community as a graphic designer with his Japanese skills. In 2009, he started his own business and runs a design studio now. He publishes free magazines that introduce Oizumi-machi. He dedicates his life to making Oizumi-machi a Brazil town. (August, 2017)