September, 2011: Japan Town, Libedade, Sao Paulo, Brazil

See also Railroad MP3 Part the Seven (Big in Japan??)

The largest population of Japanese outside of Japan can be found in Sao Paulo. While in many cities, you can find Chinatowns, here in SP, there is the Japantown.

One of the stories I heard goes like this: when Brazilian gained their independence from the Portuguese, they needed people to populate the vast land. Brazil sent out her envoys all over the world for new immigrant, or foreign talents in today's terminology. Some of them went to China. The Qing dynasty (though on her way to her dismiss) was still then one of the most powerful empire on earth. They ask the Brazilian envoys to get lost, as they have no intention to send her subject to South America. It was a totally different story with the Japanese. The Japanese welcome the suggestion, and started sending her subject to Brazil to cultivate the land there. It is this tie that, when questioned why the Japan soccer team is using a naturalized Brazilian, the Japanese used to explain the situation.

One evening, I made my way to the Japantown of SP on the subway. What prompted the trip were the less-than-authentic Asia food I have been having at the local mall: the salty Yakisobe, the soggy tempura,... When I came up the platform at the station, I was greeted by an advertisement for Nissin Cup Noodle, a very good sign of things to come. I came to Japantown with two things in mind: food, and the Japanese Museum of Immigrants. I was told some of the best Japanese food can be found here. And I could also find good Chinese food here, too.

Before the food, I need to locate the Japanese Museum of Immgrants before it closes for the day. You follow the yellow-brick road to Oz, but in the case of the museum, you follow the road with the Japanese Mitsu-Domoe emblems. The Museum of Japanese Immigration is found on the 7th to 9th floor in the Japanese Cultural Centre (Bunkyo). It is near a subway station.
Once out of the subway, it is not so difficult to find Japantown. The street lamp high is different from those in other places.
Although some of the first stores you see are more Chinese than Japanese. You will soon notice that the place should be more appropriately call North-Asia town, as there are, amongst the Japanese establishments (restaurants and shops) many Chinese and Korean shops. But, near the museum is a temple that is undeniably a Japanese one.
There is a guard at the entrance to the JCC. He's a old Japanese guy, when I told him I am going up to the museum, he push a visitor sign-in book towards me. I don't think he speaks English, and I am not sure if it was Japanese or Portugues he was speaking to me. After signing in the book, he said Nana-kai, pointed me to the elevator, and continue his conversation in Japanese with another staff.

I went up to the museum and brought the ticket. It looks like there were only three of us visitors that afternoon. The lady in the ticket window looks like having a rather easy job. Before me was a young man who looks like a tourist from Japan, I think he dropped his visitor pass (maybe Japanese have privileges here, they don't need to buy tickets?) The visitor after me was a lady. She was dark with curly hair, whcih hinted on some Hispanic blood, but she probably had some Japanese blood in her, too.

No pictures and filming was allowed in the exhibition rooms. Walking through the exhibits, it gave the impression of the family history of one of the immigrants. The story begins with the Brazilian government effort to bring in immigrants, and the Japanese government's positive response. What neccessitate the immigration was the independence of Brazil, and the abolishment of slavery. With forced labour gone, someone had to replace them on the Sao Paulo coffee plantations. Enter the immigrants, many from Europe (the Italian made up a large proportion, they have their own Italiantown in SP, Bella Vista), plus, of course, the Japanese.

It first came as a trinkle, but as the years go by, the rate increase. You can see this not by some charts, but the black-and-white photoes of steamship that were making the trans-oceanic trip, bringing the Japanese into SP. The numbers of 'maru' crossing the ocean increases over the year. There is a scale model of one of these maru as the centre piece on the 7th floor exhibition room. The condition on these maru-s doesn't look as bad as those ships from 雾锁南洋. On the walls were pictures of passengers doing exercise on the deck, having fun during matsuri celebration and learning portuguese on the ship classrooms; there is even newspaper published on the ships. There must be a large community on the ships, and enough going on to sustain the newspaper.

Next came the exhibit on their life on land, their new home in Brazil. There are model of their huts in the plantations, and taxidermised wild animals that they would have to fend themselves against. Although photoes aren't allowed, I couldn't help taking a picture of the Taiko and tabi on display.
I could hear some funny sound coming from the direction of the lady visitor. From the corner of my eyes, I could see she was sobbing (either that or she was having a runny nose). I guess the exhibits probably remind her of stories from her family history.

The exhibit here ended on the achevement of the Japanese in agriculture. On display were agricultural journal on topics such as "How to reduce acidity in your citrus fruits". I left the 7th and went up to the 8th floor. By then, the exhibits continue with the Japanese involvement outside the agriculture sector. By now, the Japanese immigrant had expanded outside their plantations and farms. They were starting stores, farming coorportions, banks and laundremette. The exhibition here ended on a sombre note: the immigrants' involvement in the second world war.

As you leaves the 8th floor, you get the feeling that as they were making a new home and life in Brazil, the immigrants' alliance was still firmly with Japan. By the 9th floor, the museum was celebrating the immigrants' integration into their new home. By then, it was alomost close to closing time. I rushed through the room, with pictures of prominent 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation Japanese immgrants. There was the uniform of one Brazilian of Japanese descent who won an Olympic gold for Brazil.

Before leaving, I visited the gift shop. The lady visitor got herself a thick tome of a book on the research of the Japanese immgrants in Brazil. I found myself seeving through the collection of LP vinyl records on sale, each going at about $2. There were some interesting records in the second-hand collection. I got one with military marches, old cartoon songs, and one released in commemeration of the Japanese Emporer Akihito's visit to Brazil many years back.
After the museum, I search out my second target: food. I decide to settle for takeaway at one of the many Asian supermarket here: a tray of 'sushi' (more like Korean Kimbap) and a tray of chicken skin salad from 左姐。
With the food, I ended up wandering to the Catedral de Se. I was actually here 2 Sundays ago. On a weekday evening, it was so different. Apparently, the Paulista observe the "rest on the 7th day" rule rather strictly. When I was here on a Sunday morning, the streets were empty and the shops were closed.