Date estimated., "A very rare large format Japanese map of Sao Paulo State, Brazil, showing the locations, nature and sizes of the Japanese immigrant communities in the region; the map was made towards the height of Japanese immigration to Brazil, which resulted in the largest Japanese diaspora in the world, that today numbers over 2 million people. This fascinating and important map depicts Brazil’s Sao Paulo State, the main destination for the waves of Japanese immigration that gave Brazil what remains today the world’s largest Japanese diaspora. Beginning in 1908, thousands of Japanese farmers, fleeing poverty in their homeland came to work mainly on Sao Paulo’s immense coffee estates. However, after much suffering and toil, the immigrants, through their intelligence and industry, attained a high degree of success, many leasing or buying their own agrarian estates, while other sought professional or entrepreneurial careers in the cities. Today over 1 million Nipo-brasileiros live in Sao Paulo State, forming a major pillar of the general society, playing an outsized role in business, academia, culture and politics. The present map was designed by the engineer Kazuo Nakajima and was printed in Tokyo around 1925 by the Kaigai Kogyo Kabushiki Gaisha (Overseas Kogyo Co., Ltd.). It was made to both inform the Japanese public about Japanese immigration to Brazil, as well as to educate prospective immigrants about their potential new homeland and the current state of their brethren in Sao Paulo State. The map appeared just before the greatest wave of Japanese immigration, during which between 1926 and 1935 132,225 Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil. In grand scale, Sao Paulo State and its immediate neighbouring areas (extending from Paraná State, in the west, and over to Rio de Janeiro city, in the east) is showcased in detail. Sao Paulo city can be seen in the lower centre, while the map labels every city and town of any significance and delineates all railways (all colour/symbol coded and labelled on the legend, lower right), the lifeblood of the state’s huge and bustling agrarian economy. Most importantly, as explained in the lower left, the coloured-coded circles identify the types of Japanese settlements around the state, with the size of circles made relative to the communities’ population. The Japanese communities identified by Black Circles are populated by employee planation workers; Blue Circles represent estates leased by Japanese immigrants; while those marked by Red Circles are of estates owned by Japanese proprietors. Various symbols in the legend, lower right, explain different types of agrarian activities throughout the countryside. To the best of our knowledge, no other map chronicles the locations, sizes, and nature of the Japanese communities in Sao Paulo State at what was a critical juncture, imbuing it with great academic value. Interestingly, the map is housed within a contemporary printed paper sleave that was added to the map after it arrived in Brazil; it features an advertisement for a Sao Paulo farming goods store that was a local agent of the map. The present issue of the map appears to be an early (if not first) edition of the map, published by the Kaigai Kogyo Kabushiki Gaisha. All other versions of the map of which we are aware, which date between 1926 and the mid-1930s, feature a revised title and different colouration, albeit using the same design template. We have not been able to trace another example of the present edition of the map, while the seemingly later editions are rare, appearing infrequently on the market. Nipo-brasileiros: Japanese Immigration to Brazil - Creating the World’s Largest Japanese Diaspora Japanese immigration to Brazil created the largest Japanese diaspora in the world – today around 2 million Brazilians can claim Japanese ancestry, as Nipo-brasileiros. About half of this population is concentrated in Sao Paulo State, where the Japanese Brazilian influence is, far from being a niche presence, central to the identity of the greater society. During the Meiji Era in Japan (1868-1912), the country hyper-industrialized, and while this overall led Japan to attain a level of unprecedented wealth, this prosperity was concentrated in the cities. The rural areas, due to the abolition of the traditional feudal system and other economic realignments, suffered terribly, especially in southern Japan, causing dire poverty. Consequently, thousands of Japanese farmers decided to leave Japan in the hopes of starting new lives in unfamiliar, faraway lands. Many of the initial waves of immigrants went to places such as California, British Columbia, Hawai’i and Peru. Meanwhile, around the turn of the century, Brazil’s agrarian sector, and its coffee plantations in particular, were booming. Yet, the great estates suffered from severe shortage of workers, especially skilled labour, while Japan had a surplus of under-employed labourers accustomed to semi-tropical and tropical agriculture. In 1908, the first party of Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil. They, and the other early arrivals that followed, were compelled to work in almost slave-like conditions, mostly on coffee plantations in Sao Paulo State. However, the Nipo-brasileiros proved to be incredibly hard-working, patient and clever. Many saved up money, while groups of Japanese farmworkers pooled resources, and it was not long before many bought their own coffee plantations (as shown on the present map!). These enterprises often thrived, due to the industriousness of their proprietors. The, albeit hard-won, success of the early Japanese Brazilians encouraged others to make the long voyage from the home country. While only 14,983 Japanese immigrated to Brazil between 1908 and 1914, from 1914 to 1940 over 164,000 Japanese immigrated to Brazil, with the majority of these arriving between 1926 and 1935. Around 75% of these immigrants settled in Sao Paulo State. While many Nipo-brasileiros remained in the agrarian sector, others migrated to the cities, notably Sao Paulo, where the second generation became educated and followed entrepreneurial or professional careers. They proved to be incredibly disciplined and civic-minded and they gained a reputation for honesty and competence in a society that had chronic problems with corruption and disorder. Today, Japanese Brazilians play a critical role in the economic and cultural life of Brazil that far transcends their size as constituting only 1% of the total population; this is especially true in Sao Paulo State, where over 1 million residents claim Japanese ancestry. While the Nipo-brasileiro identity and culture is not under existential threat, intermarriage outside of the community is today very common, such that the Japanese Brazilians have become highly integrated into the general Brazilian society." (Alexander Johnson and Dasa Pahor, 2022), Cf. (re: different edition:) National Diet Library: YG835-152; OCLC: 673531272.
