Folkloristic Studies on Japanese Settlements in Brazil and Japanese Brazilians

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24652174
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology/Folklore
• Research Institution: Kanagawa University
• Principal Investigator: SANO KENJI 神奈川大学, 経済学部, 教授 (90131127)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MORI Takemaro 神奈川大学, 法学部, 教授 (20095756) ; OGUMA Makoto 神奈川大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (90185562) ; UCHIDA Seizo 神奈川大学, 工学部, 教授 (30277686) ; YASUMURO Satoru 神奈川大学, 経済学部, 教授 (60220159) ; SENSUI Hidekazu 神奈川大学, 経営学部, 教授 (20409973)
• Research Collaborator: MORI Koichi サンパウロ大学, 文学部, 教授
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 民俗学 / 日系人 / 移民 / ブラジル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

What was the role played by the culture of the mother country when Japanese migrants were building up their living environment in South America, and how that culture was changed through this process of settlement? This study has explored a possibility to answer these questions by applying the research method of Japanese Folklore Studies that was long tested and proven effective in its study of rural societies in Japan and East Asia. Two field surveys in Sao Paulo, Brasil, were conducted to estimate the degree of availability of research materials. Various farming tools brought by Japanese setteres, with their storehouse records, were photographed. Early settlers' houses, factories, and churches and temples were visited while collecting narratives from community elders particularly on their memory of the development of Japanese colonies. As a result, the City of Registro, southern Sao Paulo, has been singled out as the most promising site for a succeeding, full-scale research project.

Free Research Field

民俗学・文化人類学