"On June 18 1908, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil, aboard the Kasato Maru. A new era was about to start for Brazilian culture and ethnicity, but permanence was not first and foremost in the mind of the newly arrived workers who had responded to the appeal of a Japan-Brazil immigration agreement. Most of them had imagined their trip as a temporary endeavor – a way to achieve prosperity before returning to their native country." (Quoted from article)