Dirty Hearts: The History of Shindō Renmei

Description

Fernando Morais’ Dirty Hearts is a tour de force of literary journalism that investigates the discriminatory treatment of the Japanese immigrant community in Brazil during World War II and in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat and unconditional surrender. In contrast to the internment camps and compulsory military service that characterized the Japanese American wartime experience, this book traces the rise to power of Shindō Renmei, an ultranationalist secret society that formed in response to the anti-Japanese measures enacted under Getulio Vargas’ Estado Novo. Based in São Paulo, the group used terrorism, propaganda campaigns, and conspiracy theories to violently enforce its narrative of Japan’s victory. These traumatic events nevertheless brought about a permanent transformation in the Japanese Brazilian community from a largely insular colony with close ties to its imperial homeland to its new identity as an ethnic minority in postwar Brazil’s fraught racial democracy.  A Note on Orthography Translator’s Acknowledgments Contents About the Authors List of Figures Critical Introduction to Dirty Hearts Black Swan Events Trauma and Treason in Narrative Form Secret Societies, Conspiracy Theories, and Fake News The Letter from São Paulo Conclusions and New Beginnings Select Bibliography Chapter 1: Seven Japanese Want to Decapitate a Corporal from the Public Forces: World War II is About to Begin Again Chapter 2: Subjects of the Axis Powers Cannot Have Radios, Cars, or Money. They Are Not Even Allowed to Speak Chapter 3: A Little Old Man Terrorizes The Japanese Colony: It Is None Other Than The Wise Colonel Kikawa Chapter 4: Mizobe Appears to be Swimming in the Air: The First Makegumi Falls Dead Chapter 5: The Police Discover the Fumie, the Torture That Only Harms a Prisoner’s Soul Chapter 6: Japanese Are Hunted and Dragged Through the Streets of the City: The “Day of Reckoning” Has Arrived Chapter 7: Eiiti Sakane, The Solitary Rōnin, Prepares a Blood Bath in Tupã Chapter 8: Prestes, Capanema, and Gilberto Freyre Take the Stand: The “Yellow Mafia” Splits the Constituent Assembly in Two Chapter 9: A Tokkōtai Will Be Tortured and Killed—The End of Shindō Renmei Epilogue: The Final Balance—1000 Imprisoned, 381 Formally Charged, and 80 Expelled from Brazil, but President Kubitschek Pardons Them All People Interviewed Archives Consulted Illustration Credits Bibliography Periodicals Index