Interviews

1. Moving to Brazil wanting to see the world (Japanese)

2. In the boat on the way to Brazil (Japanese)

3. Experiences in the farmlands (Japanese)

4. The first Japanese driver in Brazil (Japanese)

5. Affect of the World War II (Japanese)

Ryoichi Kodama

Kasato-maru immigrants

The first Japanese driver in Brazil (Japanese)

(Japanese) I became a [truck] driver in 1912. When I told my friend, he said drivers are terrifying. well, even I thought "driving" itself was quite scary. But my friends told me, "hey, if they're willing to teach you, you might as well learn it," and so I did. And so I became the número uno (first) Japanese [truck] driver. Well, driving for a living was the best. But when was it. 1926? No, it was1919. We moved to the countryside. Before that, [in the city] there were a lot of young folks around, who liked to drink and party all day, every day. And you know, well, I had a wife, I had young kids. I didn't want to be in that kind of environment. And so I made the decision to move to the countryside to live as a farmer. That's why we moved to Pitangueiras.

Brazil driving migration

Date:

Location: Brazil

Contributed by: Caminho da memória - 遥かなるみちのり. São Paulo, Brazil: Comissão de Elaboração da História dos 80 Anos de Imigração Japonesa no Brasil, 1998. VHS.

Interviewee Bio

Ryoichi Kodama was born in Hiroshima in July of 1895. He immigrated to Brazil in 1908 aboard the Kasato-maru, which carried the very first group of Japanese immigrants to Brazil. Kodama, who was brought over to Brazil under a contract, worked on a farmland called Dumont, along the Mogiana railroads, for 4 years. Thereafter, he would become the first Japanese person to obtain a Brazilian driver’s license, and would make his living as a driver. He held a vast knowledge regarding the Kasato-maru immigration, and was known as the “Living Encyclopedia” in the city of Presidente Prudente. He was also an active member of the Hiroshima Kenjin-kai as well as the local cultural association. (1998)