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FEATURE
Migratory Waves: Settlers Who Bound
Together Asia and Brazil
by Carlos Brian Pheysey
The traditional view of the eth-
nic composition of Brazil was
restricted, in past discourse, to
three main elements: the Amerindian na-
tives of the pre-Columbian era; the Afri-
cans who were brought in ignominiously
as forced labour; and, the Europeans,
mostly from Portugal and its Mediter-
ranean neighbours, with a sprinkling of
Germans and other Caucasians. Despite
issues of racism, inequality, power and
other complicating factors, these three
groups miscegenated and produced a
new human being, perhaps olive-skinned
or brown-skinned, making Brazil known
to the world as a relatively tolerant and
assimilating society.
The aforementioned version of events
often fails to take into account the other
groups who settled in that great immi-
grant land that is Brazil. For instance, the
vast and magnificent Jewish presence
in the country stems from both Europe
and the Ottoman Empire. Other Middle
Easterners of various origins, particularly
Lebanese, likewise left a deep imprint in
Brazil. These various religions and ethnic
groups straddling a bridge between the
Near East and Europe would, alone, war-
rant additional fascinating pages in this
edition of our magazine, had we more
space herein for that purpose.
In contrast, we shall focus here on the
wider Asian presence in Brazil, itself an
intriguing history that has enriched the
kaleidoscope of Brazilian society. Those
migrants too left descendants, offspring
40 It’s Time for Brazil in Singapore 2019
(Above): The ship that
brought in 1908 the first
Japanese. (Far left): Chi-
nese arrivals in Brazil in the
1960s (Left): Japanese family
and their Brazilian horse and
chicken.
who were raised Arrivals peaked in the early 1930s and
then, in the 1940s, ties were cut with
as Brazilians and Japan due to the war, which halted all
passenger shipping. The Japanese lan-
who have further guage was banned during the war years,
thus setting the stage for assimilation.
engaged in inter- Though many had thought of returning
to Japan at some point, numerous Japa-
racial marriages nese immigrants had seen thus their link
severed over an extended period, which
that have made made them ponder permanent settle-
ment as being a viable option, while
Brazil ever more their offspring had actually become
fully-fledged Brazilians, attended local
colourful, diverse schools, learned to speak Portuguese,
integrated into and identified with the
and accommo- new nation.
dating of differ- Gradually, the settlers managed to
own the land and, through hard work and
ences. perseverance, succeeded in securing high
yields and prosperity. Rising incomes pro-
Already in the Lt.-Brigadier Juniti vided a better education and thus the
later days of the Saito, the Command- Japanese immigrants arrive in Brazil
monarchical pe- er of the Brazilian Air
riod, Brazil had Force until 2015
considered calling Chinese peasants to
till the vast lands in Brazil that awaited
cultivation in the late 19th century. How-
ever, it was only in the early 20th cen-
tury that Brazil would see a first Asian
wave, albeit a Japanese one. The year
1908 brought the first cohort of settlers
from the Land of the Rising Sun, willing
to grow produce in a strange land that
certainly looked intimidating at first. Yet,
Brazil was willing to take them in, as op-
posed to other Western nations that had
banned from their shores any Asian im-
migration.
Most Japanese immigrants settled in
the hinterlands of the states of São Pau-
lo and Paraná. Life was tough, as they
often did not own the rural plot, wages
were low, few modern implements and
facilities were available, along with
cultural and labour disagreements with
the hosts.