Japanese society in the Amazon jungle
The author, Toshimi Tsuruta, was dispatched as a volunteer to Manaus, Amazonas, where many Japanese people live. On the other side of the world, he witnessed Japanese immigrants proactively continuing their Japanese language education and preserving Japanese culture. In this column, he will introduce the Japanese community he saw during his three years living in Brazil, interspersed with anecdotes.
Stories from this series
The unique students of Japanese language schools
Sept. 28, 2015 • Toshimi Tsuruta
I was dispatched as a senior Japanese language education volunteer to the Western Amazon Japan-Brazil Association (commonly known as Japan-Brazil) in Manaus, Amazonas, and the first thing I did was to observe about 40 Japanese language classes that were held every week. The students' levels varied, from those who struggled with writing and reading hiragana to those who spoke to me in fluent Japanese, but it was impressive to see everyone enjoying learning Japanese and Japanese culture. The efforts of …
Japanese language classes in Manaus
Aug. 24, 2015 • Toshimi Tsuruta
After completing our pre-training in Japan, which began in March 2010, we Japanese community volunteers flew from Narita to Brazil via New York on July 1st, where we also undertook a month of on-site Portuguese language training in Sao Paulo. Once this training was over, we were finally dispatched to various locations throughout Brazil, where we began our respective activities. Our teammates set off to various parts of Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Campo Grande, Brasilia, and Foz do Iguaçu. …
Visit the tropical city of Manaus
June 23, 2015 • Toshimi Tsuruta
"It happened! It happened! It really happened!" It was May 2010 and I was at the JICA Yokohama Migration Museum in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. I had been selected to be dispatched to Manaus, Brazil as a senior volunteer for the Japanese community in 2010. Before being dispatched to South America, volunteers undergo three months of pre-dispatch training. I was living together with my colleagues who were going to work in Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Brazil at the …
