From 16th to 26th of September, the "Waseda University Glee Club" visited Brazil. We gave seven public performances at Sao Paolo, Campinas, Riberon Preto and Rio de Janeiro. This is a part of ceremonies for commemorating the centennial of Japanese immigration to Brazil. From Japan it takes 27 hours to reach Brazil. Although it is one of the most distant countries from Japan, surprisingly there are 1.3 million Japanese immigrants living there.

Despite this large number of Japanese, how much do we know about Brazil? Or about the Japanese immigrants in Brazil? At the time I was offered the anniversary concert plan, my knowledge about Brazil consisted only of “coffee”, “Carnival” and “the Amazon.” Honestly speaking, I barely knew anything about the Japanese immigrants. From them I heard terrible stories, such as, “They said that Brazil was a great fertile place, so I was going to make a lot of money in Brazil and then return to Japan after two or three years. But we never expected such deep jungles when we arrived there. When there was no food, some people even ate snakes unwillingly…” "Japanese Brazilians" have dealt with so many difficulties with unimagined perseverance, and they have played an active role in Brazilian society. I saw many advertisements for “Honda” and “Yamaha” in Brazil. This is the reason why people in Japan and Brazil take the 100th anniversary in such a different way. In Brazil, advertisements of the anniversary are broadcast, and the signs of the anniversary are everywhere in the towns. A rip-roaring celebration has been held.

Due to the very welcoming audience and atmosphere, our performances ended in a big success. When we performed Japanese folk songs in a medley, I saw people holding handkerchiefs to wipe tears from their eyes, and we experienced a standing ovation for the first time. They asked us to shake their hands and sign autographs. I enjoyed the fact that they expressed their feelings really straightforwardly.

Many surprising events happened to me apart from the concerts. For example, I did not expect to see "Dragon Ball" on local television; I did not expect a Brazilian to ask me about Jun’ichiro Tanizaki; I did not expect kids to say “konnichi wa”, I did not know they ate capybara (the biggest mouse in the world). Finally, I got used to their unpunctual life style.

“Will and Spirit”, said Mr. Iwao Ohdomari, a professor of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, who came with us to Brazil together. 'Maybe you won’t gain anything, and maybe you might even lose something, but still the spirit is very important.' The anniversary concert couldn’t have been successful without the help of many people, including the Brazil Tomon-kai Alumni, Waseda University, the Brazilian overseas students and students from Waseda University who translated for us, the supporters in Rio de janeiro, the alumni. Thanks to the enthusiasm of many people, the concert ended successfully.

There are about three hundred thousand Japanese Brazilians working in Japan as guest workers. With our “spirit,” we would like to be a bridge between Japan and Brazil.