This is the first of a four-part series featuring Japanese emigration to Brazil. Wednesday marks the 100th anniversary of the first group to venture to the South American country. Lisa Ono, an early Japanese devotee of bossa nova, hopes her songs make people here aware of the wonders of the country of her birth, Brazil.
"I realized how nice a country Brazil is after moving to Japan," the Sao Paulo-born Japanese national said in a recent interview with The Japan Times. "I have been producing CDs, hoping I can show the Japanese how great Brazil is.
"I have traveled between the two countries so many times after returning to Japan, for CD recordings and other purposes," said Ono, who gave birth to her third child in April and has suspended her music activities since last fall.