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.

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

(Japanese) Well, at least people around me are thinking about living here permanently, I think. As you might know, those who had wanted to go back to Brazil, they had already returned after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Great East Japan Earthquake. The economic depression put many people in trouble, so those who still decided to stay in Japan are the ones who are striving in Oizumi-machi now, so yes, only those who wanted to stay in Japan have remained in 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)