Theoretical Considerations of Recent Studies of Japanese Immigration to Brazil

The paper considers that the migrant, even prior to becoming an emigrant, was transforming within his own country and within his own community/society of origin, due to his dreams, desires, and utopias, into an atopos, that is, an atopic being, without place. Among the various ethnic groups that migrated, including Japanese, those who belonged to so-called "complex genetic stock,", due to their cultural singularities that differentiated them from the supposed community/society standard accepted as nationally prevalent, faced prejudice, acts of intolerance and "racism", in which "myths" and "historic facts" were mobilized to justify the violent actions of people, of social group, and of the receiving State itself. However, how does one remain Japanese after living outside Japan for many years? When, with the passage of time, is a new place (topus) constructed in Brazil with a complex web of family relations and professional activity? When are the children socialized and educated through schools, according to the Brazilian standards of being, feeling, thinking, and acting. In this context the school appears as an unquestionable value for Brazilian Japanese descent, is an essential instrument for social and economic ascension, and is the place where the rules of civility and Brazilian active citizenship are acquired.