O BREVE ORIENTE: MEMÓRIAS E VESTÍGIOS DA EXPERIÊNCIA IMIGRATÓRIA JAPONESA NO MARANHÃO NO SÉCULO XX

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the Japanese immigration experience in Maranhão that took place in the 1960s. Colonization project created at the initiative of Governor Newton Bello who installed two agricultural colonies in the state, one in the municipality of Rosário, called Morro de Alcântara, and another in the rural area of São Luís, in the village of Pedrinhas. Although it had a social and economic impact, it went through a process of dissolution of the colonies and dispersion of the Japanese in and out of Maranhão, so that this historical moment was forgotten and almost erased. Therefore, thisresearch, which wasstarted while still in graduation, resulting in a monograph, intends to deepen the knowledge about this immigration movement, as well as to understand the reasons that led to its implementation and the causes of its apparent failure. In this sense, I use the methodology of Oral History, resorting to memory through oral sources; I also use printed newspapers in circulation at the time, photos and Newton Bello's government plan.