Jorge Nagao
Jorge Nagao was born in Vera Cruz, in the state of São Paulo, in 1952. He lives in São Paulo. In the 1980s, he contributed to Folha de S. Paulo’s humor section and to the popular satirical weekly Pasquim. Since 2010, he has been a columnist for the newspaper Nippak/Brasil, and is part of the crew at www.algoadizer.com.br.
Updated November 2014.
Stories from This Author
Nihongo comes and goes
July 20, 2016 • Jorge Nagao
Tadatoshi and Setsuko, my parents, arrived in the capital of São Paulo, coming from Vera Cruz, in the interior of São Paulo, in 1955, with 5 children. After a brief stay in a house on the east side, in the district of Ermelino Matarazzo, my father acquired a small grocery store/ mise , nearby. As the customers didn't learn to pronounce their names, Tadatoshi became Mário and Setsuko, Helena. Seu Mário and Dona Helena had to communicate in Portuguese with …
About Japanese Names
Nov. 21, 2014 • Jorge Nagao
Japanese names have always sounded strange to Brazilian ears. Thus, early immigrants not only adopted Brazilian names for themselves, but also began naming their children with "gaijin" names. And there's that story about the Issei who registered his son’s name as Sugiro ("I suggest") because he had heard from a friend, "I suggest Antônio, João, or Carlos," while mentioning the most common names. Sigueru Ietsugu, a friend of mine, introduced himself to his new boss. He said his name, repeated …
