O judoca, o kamikaze e o toureiro: a imigração japonesa para o Rio Grande do Sul na trajetória de Teruo Obata

Abstract

This research is a historical biography of Teruo Obata, an immigrant born in 1931 in Yokohama, Japan, who lived in Porto Alegre in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a leading figure in introducing judo in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Through the proceedings of Oral History and Microhistory, it is possible to range global and local spheres, covering the political, economical and social processes in both Brazil and Japan within the first decades of the 20th century, as a way to understand the complexity of the immigration phenomena, aiming to reflect and question the issues involving the distinctiveness of the journey, covering not just the place where the immigrants came from but also the destination setting, the immigrants’ challenges and possibilities, as well as their inclusion and socializing strategies. This work contributes to the History of Japanese Immigration in Rio Grande do Sul and to the History of Sport, being thus necessary to think and rethink the role of immigrants in urban spaces, as well as preserving the memories of individuals and ethnic groups in the narratives about the History of the city and of the sport.