History of Japanese Literature in Brazil: The Formation of Amateur Literary Circles and Changes in Ethnic/National Consciousness

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23520273
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: International Research Center for Japanese Studies
• Principal Investigator: HOSOKAWA Shuhei 国際日本文化研究センター, 研究部, 教授 (70183936)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 日系移民 / 海外文芸

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Over one century has passed since the first Japanese emmigration to South America started. The Japanese-language community is drastically shrinking today and we attend nearly the last phase of its life. This research is intended to observe the literary activities, hub of Japanese-language community, in Brazil and Argentine. In Brazil I visited Sao Paulo and Tome-Acu (Para) to interview with the amateur haiku poets who are mostly over 80 years old. We discussed the description of nature and homesickness expressed in their pieces. In Argentine, I interviewed Mr. Choichi Sakihara, who had worked for the only Japanese newspaper and the literary magazine for many years. I also visited the Archive of Japanese-Argentine Immigration in the suburbs of Buenos Aires and discovered a dozen of issues of Japanese-language literary bulletins. These will become a basis for the future investigation on the formation and transformation of Japanese culture in South America.

Free Research Field

移民研究