Week 7 Alaina Cagalingan

In Jeffrey Lesser’s article “From Japanese to Nikkei and Back”, he discusses about the history and unique displacement of Japanese immigrants in the nation of Brazil. Comparing to American’s history, I was surprised that the Brazilians considered the Japanese people as “elite” rather than pests and monkeys.  They treated the Japanese ethnic background as a group that they would want their nation to be involved in.  In addition, after Japan’s lost in the war, the Brazilian government also negotiated peace with the Nikkei leaders and prisoners adding to Japan’s importance to the country.  Brazil’s support and complete admiration of the Japanese culture, including loyalty and patriotism, is reflected upon their actions as a state.  They accepted the Japanese ethnicity quicker and friendlier than how the American society treated their visitors.  Of course, the media also brought some influence to this notion.  They even promoted and highly considered women of Japanese descent as ‘beautiful’ and of high status.  Here, I am quite surprised on the difference of cultural acceptance and treatment to immigrants.  My question is:  How important and to what extent could another ethnicity’s influence be to a country’s own culture?

Photo Reference:  http://japandailypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Flag-Pins-Japan-Brazil.jpg

Work Reference:  Jeffrey Lesser. "“From Japanese to Nikkei and Back:  Integration Strategies of Japanese Immigrants and Their Descendants in Brazil." 2005. Displacements and Diasporas. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.