Immigrants: Japanese in Brazil

Japan was the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and is the first team to play against Brazil at the Confederations Cup. So here is a special post about the Japanese immigration in Brazil.

Japanese are part of our history. The Japanese culture in Brazil is very significant, nowadays there are over 1.5 million Japanese descendants living in Brazil, 1 million only in São Paulo state. 

It is the biggest Japanese community out of Japan. 

1908 - 2008: 100 years of immigration

The arrival of the ship Kasato Maru in June 18th, 1908 in Santos marks the beginning of the Japanese immigration to Brazil. The first immigrants came to Brazil to work in coffee farms, specially in São Paulo state, after the end of the slavery in our country in 1888. On the other hand Japan was in crisis, the majority of the population was living in the country side, making very little money to survive. One option was to move to the cities and another was to migrate, many Japanese moved to Hawaii, many to US and Canada, Peru and also to Brazil. Their dream was to make enough money to return to their country, they didn't learn Portuguese and kept their culture within their community, but the salary was very low and they had to give up their dream. The following generations started to blend more with the locals, left the farms to work in factories, learn Portuguese and became part of our nation. From 1920 the process of immigration accelerated, the Japanese founded cities like Bastos and Tietê, in São Paulo State, they formed colonies in Londrina in Paraná and Anápolis in Goiás. During the World War II many Japanese came to Brazil but always intending to return as soon as possible, they educated their kids under their culture, teaching Japanese and by 1938 there were 294 Japanese schools in São Paulo. As the time went by many of them decided to stay, making Brazil their nation.

Sports: One of the biggest contributions the Japanese brought to our culture is the martial arts. Brazilians fell in love with Karate and Aikido, we won one gold and 3 bronze medal in Judo in London 2012. But the biggest of all is the passion Brazilians have for Jiu Jitsu, the Gracie family was the responsible for this passion, after adapting the sport, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu became very popular.

Religion: The majority of the Japanese became catholic in Brazil, but the Budism was introduced here by the Japanese and nowadays there are about 250 thousand people that follow this philosophy and practice the meditation. The Dalai Lama have been in Brazil 4 times. 

In August, at the end of the winter in Brazil, the city of São Paulo celebrates the cherry blossom.

If you are Japanese and wish to know more about the process of immigration go to the 100 years of Immigration website, it's in Japanese and Portuguese.

Japanese Embassy in Brasilia: Avenida das Nações, Quadra 811, lote 39 - Setor de Embaixadas Sul - Brasilia, DF
Phone: (61) 3442-4200 / (61) 3442-2499
email: consular.japao@bs.mofa.go.jp

Brazilian Football

Hello dear readers!
You all know that the amazing Spain has won the last World Cup in South Africa, and that Italy has won the 2006 World Cup in Germany... 
Take a look on the most recent FIFA's ranking*:

1. Spain
2. Germany
3. Argentina
4. Colombia
5. Belgium

*updated on October 18, 2013

Brazil is not even on Top 10... so what makes Brazil always a favorite? What makes Brazil so special when we talk about soccer / football?

Brazil is the only country to win the World Cup 5 times, the only country to be present in every single edition. On Fifa's all-time ranking Brazil is still the number one, followed by Italy and Argentina. Have you heard names such as Ronaldo? Rivaldo? Kaká? How about Pelé? Yes you sure have, and you have heard many other names because Brazilians have always been among the best players in the world. Football is by far our biggest passion, our most popular sport. Our players are serious about winning, but not so serious after every goal scored! They love to perform dances, create different choreographies to each game, they are always smiling, showing the world the beautiful game. Football has the power of uniting people from different backgrounds, it reflects the happiness that is always present in our lives. 

Brazil has always been a happy place on Earth, and lately it has shown that is also synonym of progress, opportunity, and stable economy. Brazil is modern, and diverse. We are ready to host amazing events starting next month up to the following years and you are invited to come to our country and celebrate with us.

Friendly Games:

Next game: June 3rd, 2014
Brazil x Panamá at Serra Dourada - Goiânia

Next game: June 6th, 2014
Brazil x Serbia at Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
Buy your tickets at totalacesso.com.br

The video below shows how Brazil got their famous uniform.

 

Beach Culture: Beach Soccer

Hello everyone! As we saw on my last posts Brazilian have invented many fun sports such as futevôlei, frescobol, and capoeira. Did you know that beach soccer was also invented here? Yes, it was. It started in Copacabana beach and is now played in 75 countries.

globoesporte.globo.com

The beach soccer started to be played in 1992 in Rio and in 1996 the first Pro Beach Soccer Tour was organized in Europe, Asia and US. The sport quickly became very popular, in May 2005 FIFA decided to take over and organized the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, when France was the winner followed by Portugal and Brazil.

beachsoccer.com

The game is played on the fine sand, at least 40 cm deep, free of shells or anything that may hurt the players. The court has 35-37 cm  length x 26-28 cm width. The match is played by two teams of 5 players each, including the goalkeeper. The number of substitutions are unlimited and the player who was substituted can return to substitute another player. The players are allowed the wear only a jersey, and shorts, an elastic binding to protect the feet may be worn too, but no footwear is permitted. The goalkeeper can wear long pants and gloves.

The match has three periods of 12 minutes each, this game requires excellent physical conditioning, skills and ability and usually many goals are scored in each match. It's a beautiful game to watch. Hope you enjoy it!

Sun, Sand, Sea, Soccer, Sweat... the perfect 5 S! 
Does anyone want to Swim? Sure! See ya!

CAPOEIRA

Hello everyone! Today we're gonna talk about this interesting Brazilian game called capoeira. Yes, I said game because in contrast to what many people believe, capoeira is not a fight. Mestre Nenéu from Salvador explains that "the capoeiras never play against each other, but with one another".

by diglips on flickr 

The origin of capoeira is still in discussion, but is believed that capoeira was invented in Brazil by African slaves coming from Angola.

by henrique sfeir on flickr

There are two types of capoeira, the Regional and Angola, there are some differences between them, but both have the same principles such as greeting one another before de game starts lowering the body close to the berimbau, being clean and wearing the correct outfit.

by garrynight

Berimbau is the main instrument that gives rhythm to the game. The origin is also unknown, in Cuba this very instrument is called sambi, pandigurao, or burumbumba. Berimbau is made with a curved piece of wood, a steal wire, and a dry cabaça. The instrument you see on his right hand is a rattle made of straw called caxixi, on the inside there are dry seeds to make noise. The other instruments used at capoeira are: reco-reco, pandeiro, agogô and atabaque.

Actors such as Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy use capoeira techniques to train their fight scenes.  Watch now a scene from the movie Only The Strong from 1993 where the main character plays capoeira with the Brazilians.

While in Brazil you will end up spotting a group of people playing capoeira. In Salvador on weekends evenings at Terreiro de Jesus, and on Saturdays night there are presentations at Santo Antônio Além do Carmo. You can always consult your traveler agents for more locations in other cities. Ask also about capoeira workshops.

Beach Culture: Frescobol

Frescobol first began on the beaches of Copacabana, after the second World War by Mr. Lian Pontes  de Carvalho. This game is played basically for fun, there is no competition or rivalry. You only need two racquets and a small ball, usually it's played close to the water. Frescobol is played along the entire Brazilian coast, and of course other countries are now playing it as well.

Now tell me... wouldn't it be perfect to order some food and drinks at the sand after sweating playing frescobol? Check my other posts on beach snacks and beverage.

fbcollection.com

Watch this video with Samantha Brown and get to know more about Brazil's beach culture.

Beach Culture: Futevôlei

The story of futevôlei is quite interesting, it tells a lot about the Brazilian culture, specially the carioca culture. Carioca is how those born in Rio are called, they were the ones who invented this sport and are the ones who play the most. Futevôlei is present in carioca's daily routine, it has everything to do with their way of life.

In 1965 the police decided to forbid playing football at the beach in Copacabana, so Mr. Otávio de Moraes decided to play it at the volleyball court, with the net, which was allowed. 
Even though it was invented in Rio, cities like Santos, Guarujá, Florianópolis, Recife, Brasilia, and Goiania also enjoy practicing this original sport. Recently futevôlei spread among other countries, such as USA (Florida, California and Virginia), Paraguay, Australia and many countries in Europe.

flickr/portalpucrio

Usually futevôlei is played with two players on each side, but it can also be played with only one person on each side. Basically futevôlei is a beach volleyball played without using the hands, each team can touch the ball the maximum of three times and the minimum  of one, including when the ball touches the player by chance. Also one player cannot hold the other to reach the ball. The ball can be touched with any part of the body excluding hands, arms and forearm.

Well, of course watching is much more fun than reading, so I included here a video where you can watch people playing this beautiful sport in Rio.

Comparing the balls:

Beach soccer: 68 to 70 cm (same measurement as the regular field ball, but lighter).

Beach volleyball: 65 to 67 cm

Futevôlei: Size 5, is water proof and some brands have the FIFA Aproved quality mark.

Have you played or watched futevôlei before? Tell us what you think.