Reflections on Japanese-Brazilian immigration through narrative: An interview with oscar Nakasato

Abstract

Oscar Nakasato is a professor of Linguistics and Literature at the Federal University of Technology in Paraná. Prior to his acclaimed novel, Nihonjin (2011), Nakasato published, “Olhos de Peri” and “Alô,” in Contos at the University Festival of Literature in 1999. In 2003, his short-story “Menino na árvore” won the Secretary of Culture’s Literary Contest for the State of Paraná. In 2011, Nakasato published his debut novel, Nihonjin, a work that went on to win the Benvirá Prize for Literature (2011), the Bunkyo Prize (2011), and the Jabuti Prize in the category of fiction (2012). In Nihonjin, he tells the story of Hideo Inabata, a Japanese man who moves to Brazil to start a new life. Narrated from the perspective of Hideo’s grandson, the novel depicts immigration struggles in Brazil, as its protagonists grapple with their increasingly hybrid identities across three generations. In this interview, Oscar Nakasato tells us what motivated him to write Nihonjin. He also discusses the extent to which his Japanese heritage impacted the plot, narrative style, and characters, and how he frames food and cultural differences as quintessential to the Japanese-Brazilian experience.