Japanese Peruvian
Encyclopedia
Japanese Peruvians are people of Japanese
ancestry who were born in or immigrated to Peru
. The immigrants from Japan are called the Issei generation. Second and third generation Peruvians are referred to as nisei and sansei in Japanese
. The Yonsei are the fourth generation after the issei.
Japanese Peruvians comprise the second largest ethnic Japanese population in Latin America
after Brazil
(1.5 million). This ethnic group composes today approximately 0.3% of the total population of Peru.
Peru was also the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigration. The Sakura Maru carried Japanese families from Yokohama to Peru, arriving on April 3, 1899 at the Peruvian port city of Callao
. This group of 790 Japanese became the first of several waves of emigrants who made new lives for themselves in Peru, some nine years before emigration to Brazil began.
Japanese immigrants arrived from Okinawa; but also from Gifu
, Hiroshima
, Kanagawa
and Osaka
prefectures. Many arrived as farmers or to work in the fields, but after their respective contracts were completed, settled in the cities. In the period before World War II, the Japanese community in Peru was largely run by Issei
immigrants born in Japan. "Those of the second generation", (the Nisei
), "were almost inevitably excluded from community decision-making."
The Peruvians were initially placed in amongst the Japanese-Americans who had been excluded from the US west coast; but later they were interned in the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS
) facilities in Crystal City, Texas
; Kenedy, Texas
; and Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Japanese-Peruvians were kept in these "alien detention camps" for more than two years before, through the efforts of civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins
, being offered "parole
" relocation to the labor-starved farming community in Seabrook, New Jersey
.
The interned Japanese Peruvian Nisei
in the United States were further separated from the Issei, in part because of distance between the internment camp locations, and in part because the interned Nisei knew almost nothing about their parents' homeland and language.
The deportation of Japanese Peruvians to the United States involved expropriation of their property and other assets in Peru. At war's end, only 79 Japanese Peruvian citizens returned to Peru, and 400 remained in the United States as "stateless" refugees. The interned Peruvian Nisei who became naturalized American citizens would consider their children Sansei, meaning three generations away from the grandparents who had left Japan for Peru.
and the United States
, although some have since returned.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
ancestry who were born in or immigrated to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. The immigrants from Japan are called the Issei generation. Second and third generation Peruvians are referred to as nisei and sansei in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. The Yonsei are the fourth generation after the issei.
Japanese Peruvians comprise the second largest ethnic Japanese population in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
after Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(1.5 million). This ethnic group composes today approximately 0.3% of the total population of Peru.
History
Peru was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with Japan, beginning in June 1873.Peru was also the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigration. The Sakura Maru carried Japanese families from Yokohama to Peru, arriving on April 3, 1899 at the Peruvian port city of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
. This group of 790 Japanese became the first of several waves of emigrants who made new lives for themselves in Peru, some nine years before emigration to Brazil began.
Japanese immigrants arrived from Okinawa; but also from Gifu
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...
, Hiroshima
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
, Kanagawa
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
and Osaka
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
prefectures. Many arrived as farmers or to work in the fields, but after their respective contracts were completed, settled in the cities. In the period before World War II, the Japanese community in Peru was largely run by Issei
Issei
Issei is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the Japanese people first to immigrate. Their children born in the new country are referred to as Nisei , and their grandchildren are Sansei...
immigrants born in Japan. "Those of the second generation", (the Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
), "were almost inevitably excluded from community decision-making."
World War II
After the start of World War II, the United States State Department reached an agreement with the government of Peru; and Japanese Peruvians were rounded up and transported to American internment camps run by the U.S. Justice Department.The Peruvians were initially placed in amongst the Japanese-Americans who had been excluded from the US west coast; but later they were interned in the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
(INS
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
) facilities in Crystal City, Texas
Crystal City, Texas
Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,190 at the 2000 census. The mascot of Crystal City High School is the Javelina....
; Kenedy, Texas
Kenedy, Texas
Kenedy is a city in Karnes County, Texas, United States, named for Mifflin Kenedy, who bought and wanted to develop a new town that would carry his name...
; and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
The Japanese-Peruvians were kept in these "alien detention camps" for more than two years before, through the efforts of civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins
Wayne M. Collins
Wayne M. Collins was a civil rights attorney who worked on cases related to the Japanese American evacuation and internment.-Biography:Collins was born in Sacramento, California and was raised and educated in San Francisco....
, being offered "parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
" relocation to the labor-starved farming community in Seabrook, New Jersey
Seabrook, New Jersey
Seabrook is an unincorporated area within Upper Deerfield Township in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08302....
.
The interned Japanese Peruvian Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
in the United States were further separated from the Issei, in part because of distance between the internment camp locations, and in part because the interned Nisei knew almost nothing about their parents' homeland and language.
The deportation of Japanese Peruvians to the United States involved expropriation of their property and other assets in Peru. At war's end, only 79 Japanese Peruvian citizens returned to Peru, and 400 remained in the United States as "stateless" refugees. The interned Peruvian Nisei who became naturalized American citizens would consider their children Sansei, meaning three generations away from the grandparents who had left Japan for Peru.
Contemporary period
Today, the occupations of Japanese Peruvians vary because most of them are very well educated people, ranging from substantial ranks in finance and academia, to catering and hospitality. Japanese Peruvians have a considerable economic position in Peru.Dekasegi Japanese-Peruvians
In 2008, more than six thousand Peruvians live and work in Japan that includes 5,000 illegal non-Japanese-Peruvian with true documentations for overstay (immigrations police maybe only investigates this group), 41,000 registered Japanese-Peruvian (at least 15,000 illegal non-Japanese-Peruvian with false documentations and illegal Japanese nationalization and maximum 26,000 true Japanese-Peruvian with true documentation and legal Japanese nationalization). Due to economic instability in the 1980s, many Japanese Peruvians left for JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although some have since returned.
Notable figures
- Alberto FujimoriAlberto FujimoriAlberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
: Former President - Keiko FujimoriKeiko FujimoriKeiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi is a Peruvian Fujimorista politician, daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. She served as First Lady, from 1994 to 2000, after her parents divorced, becoming the youngest First Lady in the history of the Americas...
: Former First Lady, Congresswoman and businesswoman (daughter of Alberto Fujimori) - Santiago FujimoriSantiago FujimoriSantiago Inomoto Fujimori Fujimori is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. He is the younger brother of former President Alberto Fujimori. He is a Member of Congress representing Lima, after getting 22,992 votes in the 2006 election, in which he also ran unsuccessfully for First Vice-President on...
: lawyer (younger brother of Alberto Fujimori) - Susana HiguchiSusana HiguchiSusana Shizuko Higuchi Miyagawa is a Peruvian politician and engineer, better known as the former wife of ex-president of Peru Alberto Fujimori...
: Former First Lady - Eduardo TokeshiEduardo TokeshiEduardo Tokeshi Namizato is a contemporary Peruvian artist.Eduardo Tokeshi was born on August 12, 1960 in Lima. His parents are Victor Tokeshi and Sara Namizato; he has one brother Jorge and one sister Maritza...
: artist - Tilsa TsuchiyaTilsa TsuchiyaTilsa Tsuchiya Castillo was a contemporary Peruvian artist. She was a graduate of the Escuela Nacional Superior Autónoma de Bellas Artes of Peru in 1959.- External links :* Tilsa Tsuchiya* Cuadros de Tsuchiya* Tilsa Tsuchiya 1936...
: artist - José WatanabeJosé WatanabeJosé Watanabe was a Peruvian poet who won a number of literary awards.Watanabe was born in Laredo, a large sugar cane farm in northern Peru. His father was a Japanese immigrant and his mother was a Peruvian of Andean origin...
: poet - Jaime YoshiyamaJaime YoshiyamaClemente Jaime Yoshiyama Tanaka is a Japanese Peruvian and Fujimorist politician. He was the president of the Democratic Constitutional Congress. He was also the Minister of the Presidency under Alberto Fujimori.-Biography:...
: Former Minister, Former Vice President and President of the Congress - Jorge HiranoJorge HiranoJorge Hirano Matsumoto is a former Japanese-Peruvian football player.Hirano played a total of 36 games for Peru between 1984 and 1991, scoring 11 goals....
: international footballer - Ernesto ArakakiErnesto ArakakiErnesto Seikō Arakaki Arakaki is an ex Peruvian football defender. He played for the Second Division team AELU since he was twelve years old. In 1998, he was bought by the First Division team Municipal and played for them for two years. Alianza Lima bought him in 2000, where he scored his first goal...
: international footballer - David Soria YoshinariDavid Soria YoshinariDavid Soria Yoshinari is a Japanese-Peruvian football player who currently plays for C.D. Universidad César Vallejo.Soria made seven appearances for the Peru national football team during 2000.-External links:...
: international footballer - Cesar YchikawaCésar YchikawaCésar Ychikawa is a Peruvian singer. He was the vocalist of the Peruvian pop rock band of the 1960s Los Doltons, integrated by Ychikawa, Walter Bolarte , Roberto Andia , Fernando Bolarte . He integrate the band since 1965 to 1968 replacing Gerardo Manuel...
: Singer - Carlos YushimitoCarlos YushimitoCarlos Yushimito del Valle is a Peruvian writer of Japanese descent.-Biography:Carlos Yushimito del Valle studied Latin American Literature at National University of San Marcos where he graduated in 2002...
(Yoshimitsu): Writer - Enrique Sakamoto: Model, Actor, Singer
- Augusto Higa: Writer
- Carlos Runcie Tanaka: Artist
- Akio Tamashiro: World Karate Champion 2006, Director of Sports of IPD (Instituto Peruano del Deporte.
- Yoshirato Amano: Art Collector, Amano private Museum.
- Yoshihiko Shinzato: 5th Dan Karate Master.
- Koichi Kawauchi: Karate Sensei.
- Luis Chiok: Karate Sensei.
- Enrique Sadanori: Karate Sensei.
- Juichi Kokubo: Karate Sensei.
- YASUTAKA TANAKA: Karate Sensei.
- Oshiro Masa: Karate Sensei.
- Kenyi Kimura: Karate Sensei.
- Jorge Chinen: Judo Sensei.
- Aldo Miyashiro: TV celebrity.
- Susy Sato: TV celebrity.
- Lucy Watanabe: TV celebrity.
- Mitsuharu Tsumura: Chef.
- Toshiro Konishi: Chef.
- Rosita Yimura: Cook.