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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| April 11, 2005 |
Testimony of a Nikkei Peruvian – Juan Tokeshi |
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| Mr. Juan Tokeshi |
When Juan Tokeshi’s father arrived in Peru on July 28, 1923, he was greeted by the sounds of celebration. Peruvian flags were waving, the streets were filled with the sound of music, and he thought that Peru must be a truly fantastic country to welcome its immigrants in such a way. He later found out that he had arrived on a national holiday, and the celebration he had witnessed was not for he and his fellow immigrants, but was to commemorate Peru’s independence. This, however, did not dull his enthusiasm for his new country; as the youngest of fourteen cousins, all of whom had previously emigrated from Japan to Peru, he had eagerly anticipated building a new life there for himself and his future family. |
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| Japanese immigrants wrote letters to keep in touch with loved ones still in Japan. |
Juan Tokeshi, a second-generation Nikkei* Peruvian, shared his wealth of experiences with Peace Boat participants during his time onboard. Mr. Tokeshi is a university professor as well as an accomplished architect who works closely with DESCO (Center for Development Study and Promotion), a non-governmental, multidisciplinary organization working to promote responsible development in Peruvian society. He is currently engaged in the planning and building of houses and public spaces in Villa El Salvador (a community south of Lima).
In addition, Mr. Tokeshi is deeply involved in the Nikkei community in Peru, having been director of the cultural section of the Peru Japanese Center in Lima for six years. The history of this community is not well known by many native Japanese, and to help participants more deeply understand the circumstances the immigrants lived in, Mr. Tokeshi presented a dramatic reading of letters from a fictional immigrant named Jaime. Playing the part of Jaime, Mr. Tokeshi read letters to his family in Japan that chronicled his hopes, fears, the challenges he faced, and what he felt about life in his new country. |
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| Life on the plantations was often harder than expected. |
In the first part of the twentieth century, thousands of Japanese men and women immigrated to South America in search of employment and a better life. At the time, due to mounting economic difficulties in their homeland, many found the employment offers of South American plantations too good to pass up. In 1899, the first boat of Japanese immigrants landed in Peru, carrying 790 men eager to make their fortunes working in plantations. The four year contracts promised steady employment and a steady paycheck: something many were not assured of in Japan. Upon arrival, however, they soon found that adaptation to the conditions of the contract, as well as their new home, was not as easy as they had hoped. |
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| Japanese immigrants made a significant contribution to the development of agriculture in Peru. |
For any immigrant, language and cultural barriers are the first obstacles that must be overcome; it was no different for Japanese immigrants to South America. Differences in language, food, customs, and habits made life difficult for the first years. Additionally, the conditions of the employment and immigration contracts were often very severe, creating additional hardships. Plantation workers were frequently expected to spend twelve hours of every day in backbreaking physical labor, something some were physically unable to cope with. Many immigrants gave up, walking out on their contracts with the clothes on their backs their only possessions. |
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| It is estimated that before World War II, one half of the barber shops in Lima were owned by Japanese. |
Although the last of the plantation contracts ended in 1923, Japanese emigrants continued to arrive in Peru; married workers had saved enough money to bring their families to join them, and single men were in a position to invite brides from Japan. Until 1940, the Nikkei population in Peru enjoyed a period of great entrepreneurialism and economic growth. It is estimated that during that period, more than half of the barber shops in Lima were owned by Japanese. However, with the beginning of World War II, Japanese Peruvians faced a new dilemma: anti-Japanese sentiment. Hate crimes were perpetrated against people of Japanese ancestry and with the support of the United States, the Peruvian government began detaining and deporting law-abiding Nikkei Peruvians.
After World War II, the situation improved and the Nikkei community began an important period of reconstruction and further integration into Peruvian society. As Japanese schools and universities were closed during the 1940’s, Nikkei Peruvians found themselves in a situation in which they must work to fully integrate themselves into society. Their children attended school with Peruvian children and the Nikkei community as a whole achieved a higher level of fluency in Spanish, which helped to facilitate integration. Through the 1980’s, the Nikkei community was very strong economically, with four out of five families owning their own businesses. They also began to actively participate in the political arena; in 1990, Alberto Fujimori became the first person of Asian descent to be head of a non-Asian nation. In less than fifty years, Japanese immigrants and their descendents have transformed themselves into a successful, active community. |
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“Today,” Juan told participants, “nobody feels that Nikkei Peruvians aren’t Peruvians.” They participate in all aspects of Peruvian society and make valuable contributions to the communities in which they live. It has been a long road with many struggles, but Japanese immigrants have been able to build successful businesses, families, and lives in their new home.
* Nikkei is the term used to refer to people of Japanese ancestry living in countries other than Japan.
For more information, please see the following links (Spanish only):
Centro de Estudios y Promocion del Desarrollo – www.desco.org.pe
Desco Programa Urbano– www.urbano.org.pe
(Black and white photos were taken from La Memoria del Ojo (Watanabe, Morimoto and Chambi) and are the property of Museo de Imigracion Peruano Japonesa, Asociacion Peruano Japonesa) |
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