# Introduction he world is facing the challenge of increasing the flow of international migrants in vulnerable conditions. The sending countries do not always offer the proper monitoring of this flow, as well as the destination countries, for which it has been verified, they are still unprepared in the promotion of safer work environments and adjusted to the different ethnic groups of the newcomers. Since 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), was created with the UN, seeking to offer support to face these challenges, in order to guarantee respect for the human dignity and well-being of migrants. In 2000, the UN also launched the Global Compact, in order to mobilize the business community to adopt internationally accepted values as fundamental, including decent work, in its business practices with the immigrant population. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development brings recognition of migration as a factor of great relevance for development, provided that the responses to this phenomenon are duly coherent and comprehensive. The realization of this study arose from the need to better understand the conditions in which previous migration processes occurred, which can help to reflect a little more about migration policies and the challenges faced for the engagement of immigrants in the labor market in a more coherent and sustainable way. Brazil began to experience a significant immigration process, between the 17th century and the first half of the 19th century, with emphasis on the Portuguese, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Arabs and Japanese. Campo Grande, a municipality located in the Brazilian Midwest and colonized just over a hundred years ago, has the second largest population in Brazil of Japanese immigrants from the island of Okinawa, which began to arrive since the beginning of the 20th century. The situation conquered by the population descended from these immigrants of this ethnic origin in the current local labor market stands out, as well as the large number of outstanding professionals. Previous studies carried out by the authors showed evidence of the entrepreneurial capacity of these populations of Okinawan origin in Campo Grande. The concern of this study was to understand, on the one hand, the ethnic context of origin, as well as those constituted by migration policies, in addition to the contextual specificities of the destination territory. On the other hand, what resources would newly arrived immigrants use to enter the labor market, whether built in the culture of origin, such as those provided during the migration process and still built in the social environment of the destination territory. The general objective of this research was to identify among Okinawan immigrants in Campo Grande/ Brazil, on the one hand, the ethnic context given by the historical origin, conditions provided by the migratory process and territory of residence and, on the other, the nature of resources by used in their entrepreneurial practices. In this research, the term "okinawano" was adopted to these immigrants who came from the Okinawa Islands, current province of Japan, but in the original Uchinaguchi dialect of these islands, the term is "uchinanchu" and, in the Japanese language, "okinawakenjin". The article was structured, in addition to the Introduction and Final Considerations, in five parts. In the first part, a selected theoretical framework was worked on to support reflections on the results of the data studied, while in the second part, an attempt was made to present the methodology used in the research. In the third part, the place of origin of Okinawan immigrants was historically contextualized and in the fourth, the contextualization of two migratory moments experienced by Okinawans who arrived in Brazil and Campo Grande. Finally, in the fifth part, with the support of objective data and reported by the research subjects, we sought to contextualize the place of destination of immigrants, in each migratory moment, correlating these variables to the entrepreneurial and ethnic behavior of the Okinawan immigrant, to fit in the job market, in search of a dignified life and improvement of well-being. # I. # Theoretical Aspects a) Role of the place of origin and destination in the migratory process. The migratory process, as Santos (1987) rightly points out, does not mean leaving behind an inherited culture to face a different one, as a process of this nature can contribute to an initial passive participation. The homeland, as a place of origin and experience, is where human beings create their roots, speak the same language, being the culture built there, that each one is used to face new situations. The place of destination, on the other hand, represents a kind of leaven and disalienation, which may contribute to the expansion of the immigrant's degree of awareness, in living with others and with the new little-known environment. In this process of identifying the other and the new life environment, the immigrant also perceives himself, building social representations of himself, while realizing the need to promote changes and adaptations. Such a process, according to the author, encourages the newcomer to make use of his creative genius. As the initial process of alienation is transformed into greater integration of the immigrant into the territory, in a greater understanding with the local social groups, the immigrant is able to recover the part of the being that seemed lost and feel recognized in the place he chose to live. (SANTOS, 1987). Newly arrived immigrants can therefore see opportunities for survival in the new living environment when they seek to recreate, with the support of rooted culture, a daily dialogue with the culture of the new place chosen to live. In a relational process, they build a perception of the social situation with its rules and values and, within this framework, they perceive themselves and, at the same time, build a representation of themselves and the community in relation to the other and to the values and rules of territoriality already constituted. # b) Autopoiesis and local development The instincts inspired by the existential world lead man to search for his essence, for a better discernment of reality and the external means that try to subdue him (SANTOS, 1987). As a living and autonomous system, and therefore autopoietic, as stated by Maturana and Varela (1980), it seeks to continually self-produce, to self-regulate, in an interactive process with the environment, in order to trigger the necessary changes, in meeting its needs. needs and greater autonomy. In the search for selfsustainability, according to Ávila (2006), the individual seeks to endogenize capacities, competences and skills, through relationships established collectively and with the experienced environment. When these relationships involve subjects who have experienced other realities, such capacities, skills and abilities, according to the author, are brought in from outside. Local development stems from this process of self-production of the human being, played an interactive role. As Raffestin (1993) points out, it emerges from a process of social construction, of an endogenous nature, which starts from the intentional protagonism of a group of actors, seeking to establish relationships with each other and with the environment to meet common goals. It manifests, according to Boisier (2003), as an emergent property, the result of a synergistic construction, adjustable to the given conditions, which allows the required transformation. # c) Entrepreneurial behavior: individual and social resources The entrepreneur, in the period of the Industrial Revolution and in the light of the predominant Enlightenment thinking in the 18th and early 19th centuries, was initially defined, according to Drucker (1987), by Richard Cantillon, as being that individual who identifies opportunities and takes risks, of the challenges faced in the uncertain environment of a market economy, to obtain profits. Jean Baptiste Say (1983) also recognized the entrepreneur as a true agent of change, able to gather the existing knowledge to combine it with different means of production, in the creation of a new enterprise. In the context of revolutionary changes that occurred within the scope of the Second Industrial Revolution, Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1985), interpreted the entrepreneur as the central agent of these innovative changes, in the face of glimpsed opportunities, considering his attributes as the privilege of a small number of people. (SCHUMPETER, 1985). For sociologist Max Weber (2002), more concerned with creative and intuitive aspects, the talents revealed in entrepreneurial behavior are acquired in the culture built in his own life environment, given by a system of values. Mc Clelland (1971, quoted by Filion, 1999), more focused on entrepreneurs of large organizations, points out that this behavior can manifest itself under three needs: (1) accomplishment of something better in relation to what he had been doing; (2 to integrate with a certain social group; (3) to control the environment, influencing or directing the behavior of others. For Filion (1999), as a social being, the entrepreneur is a product of his environment, so that culture, needs and habits are revealed in his behavior, but he also learns certain entrepreneurial characteristics during the exercise of the business, given the need to adjust to certain situations. In Julien's (2010) interpretation, to start the enterprise, the entrepreneur depends mainly on his individual talents, provided by certain cognitive competences previously built and the sense of opportunity. But when moving forward, both the entrepreneur and his enterprise need to insert themselves in various forms of connections, transforming this behavior into a socio-cultural phenomenon. (JULIEN, 2010). In this process, both the resources of the individual's culture, as well as those of the social environment in which he/she is inserted, become fundamental to condition entrepreneurial behavior and promote local development. In principle, according to Julien (2010), every entrepreneur, as a social being, is already part of a family and a community, a means of which he seeks to extract resources. Bertaux (1979) reinforces the role of social relations of production organized in the family, not only to mark a certain social position, but also to serve as a support to reposition it socially. The social environment in which the entrepreneur is inserted, may present opportunities or limitations to his behavior, in terms of resources, whether material or immaterial (JULIEN, 2010). According to research carried out by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor -GEM (2011, P. 89), a worldwide research program, started in 1999, in a partnership of several countries with London Business School/England and Babson College/United States, there are individuals who undertake out of necessity and others out of opportunity. # d) Variables that converge in the entrepreneurial behavior shown by the immigrants According to Waldinger, Alddrich and Ward (1990), the following factors contribute to the manifestation of entrepreneurial behavior in immigrants: (1) the situation of embarrassment faced when arriving in the country; (2) resources mobilized through family connections and with their ethnic community. Rath and Kloosterman (2000) corroborate the relevance of the role that the institutional and political context in the host territories can play in the immigrant's entrepreneurial behavior. The conditions of need faced by immigrants who leave their home territories in search of new opportunities, are sufficient to induce entrepreneurial actions. Cultural barriers in the destination territory and the lack of certain credentials required at the time of arrival can trigger a form of survival entrepreneurship. The immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 19th century, according to Waldinger, Alddrich and Ward (1990), faced language barriers and recognition of their education in the destination country, standing outside the formal job market. Those who were unable to enter the labor force in this market, had to set up on their own. Faced with barriers of this type, as Halter (2006) recalls, the newly arrived immigrant tends to the challenge of detecting niche markets, in which he can act with a certain advantage. In this initial situation, as previously mentioned, it is part of the behavior of this entrepreneur, to resort to his skills built in the place of origin and during the migration process, as well as to the engagement of the family and to establish more cooperative relations with his ethnic community. Oliveira and Inácio (1999) remind, however, that this situation of embarrassment in the arrival of the immigrant, can be minimized, when special agreements previously established between the country of origin and destination, reserve him access to certain resources and enjoy certain rights. The way they are received, the opportunities that are offered to them and the rights that are reserved, added to the potential of their personal resources, can be determinant in their entrepreneurial behavior. The success of the business established by the immigrant, on the other hand, depends, according to Waldinger, Alddich and Ward (1990), in addition to the skills built before the migratory period, the circumstances in which migration and stay in the country occurs, also on the experiences acquired after the period migratory. For these authors, success depends on how these three characteristics interact with each other and with the local structure of opportunities. (WALDINGER, ALDDRICH and WARD, 1990). After a certain period of time, businesses can prosper and become viable, with greater social acceptance, due to the complexity of relationships that will be established by the entrepreneur over time at the destination. As Reynolds (2005) points out, the opportunities detected by the entrepreneur, give rise to a new effort of creation and organization. Volery (2007) warns that the dynamics driven by ethnic strategies to achieve success in enterprises, depend on the one hand, on the structure of opportunities existing in the environment of the territory that he chose to live in, but on the other, on his own ethnic resources in order to create and get organized. The structure of opportunities in the destination territory, according to Waldinger (1990), is composed of market conditions (market niche, open market), access to property, the conditions offered by the labor market and the legal and institutional framework. Ethnic resources, on the other hand, are constituted by cultural traditions and ethnic social networks. The dynamics occur, through ethnic strategies, established in a complex interaction between the structures of opportunity and the ethnic resources of the group. # e) Ethnicity in the behavior of immigrant entrepreneurs Individuals and groups of immigrants, as Phinney, Horenkzik, Lebkind and Vedder (2002) point out, always arrive in a new country with different attitudes, when relating to those who are not part of their group. In this process, the immigrant reinforces the dichotomy in the differentiation between "we" and "them" (BARTH, 2000). Even if they assimilate characteristics of the new culture, there is a tendency to replicate customs and traditions to their heirs born in the new country, affirming their ethnic identity (Phinney, Horenkzik, Lebkind and Vedder, 2002). The process of identity construction, according to Hall (2006) takes into account a set of cultural representations, built in specific situations, capable of giving meaning to their actions and the conception built on themselves. The intensification of this feeling of belonging to a given ethnic group, according to Phinney (2004), occurs due to the presence of his group or community, as well as active participation in the culture built, or even through paternal efforts to maintain it together to future generations. In this process, the culture of origin and ethnic social networks are recognized as an important resource in the immigrant's enterprise. Through networks formed between people of the same ethnicity, these entrepreneurs share common experiences of origin or obtained during migration (WALDINGER, ALDDRICH and WARD, 1990). Ethnic social networks, according to Halter (2007), can also be constituted in a strategic way for the immigrant's business, such as, for example, involving the hiring of patricians, business with ethnic clients, creation of ethnic forms of capitalization of financial funds, among others. The immigrant entrepreneur also builds a type of knowledge, according to Halter (2007), usually not obtained through academic channels, in addition to experiences that can be passed on to future entrepreneurs. Competencies, as a rule, are built on the business's own trajectory and, on some occasions when the governments of destination countries offer some form of training. Thus, it is not uncommon for people of the same ethnicity who are employed in these ethnic endeavors to end up having a better chance of building their own business. The children of ethnic entrepreneurs can grow and take over the family business, although this is not necessarily the case. In this process, it has been common to find, during the exercise of the business undertaken, a great effort for the descendants of the "second generation to integrate themselves into society in advantageous positions, regardless of whether or not they dedicate themselves to business" (HALTER, 2007, p.117). As such, the patterns of entrepreneurial behavior tend to vary in subsequent generations. # II. # Methodological Remarks The research is exploratory, supported by procedures for collecting information about the research object and the research subjects. Okinawan immigrants and descendants who live in Campo Grande/Brazil are the subjects of this research. The research object refers to the contexts they originally experienced, those related to their migratory process and that of the place of destination, as well as the types of business they have historically undertaken in the municipality of Campo Grande. Data collection was carried out from secondary and primary sources, involving studies previously carried out by other researchers (scientific articles, dissertations, theses, technical projects, among others), or obtained and coded through officially recognized institutions (of documentary nature, statistics or images). For an initial mapping of academic production on the research topic, three databases were consulted: (1) Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES); (2) Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD); (3) Google Scholar. The primary sources were generated with the research subjects, immersing themselves in the realities they experienced, seeking to apprehend the meanings and feelings attributed by him in his reports. The collection instrument was the semi-structured interview, with the support of a previously established script. The interviews were applied to a non-probabilistic sampling, through the identification of the readily accessible population (sampled population), using the snowball technique. The analysis and interpretation of the data was carried out through the triangulation of methods (KELLE, 2001; FIELDING and SCHREIER, 2001), seeking to correlate: (1) the contextual data, through information that allowed the historical construction of the contexts of the place of origin , of manifestation of each immigration process and relative to the place of destination: (2) the objective data of bibliographic and documentary origin, on the object of the research: (3) the subjective data, obtained from the application of semi-structured interviews to the subjects of search. In this relational process, the research object and subjects were analyzed and interpreted in their proper contexts, with their specificities. Each context was approached at a given time, as an integrated unit (multidimensional), the result of interactions between the subjects and between them and their environment. In the contextual approach, as time, it was taken into account that lived in the country of origin before immigrating, as well as that manifested in two moments of the migratory process, in which the Okinawan immigrants destined for Campo Grande took part. In these consecutive temporal contexts, we tried to interpret the results of the combination of the objective and subjective data obtained, trying to apprehend their specificities. As a space, those of the country of origin, that of Brazil were considered in view of the policies adopted in relation to the Japanese immigrant, the space of passage before reaching Campo Grande (the São Paulo farms) and that of Campo Grande. In the latter, in addition to analyzing the specificities of the environment in relation to the incentive (opportunities) or limitations (difficulties, constraints) to ethnic entrepreneurship, we also sought to identify the spaces strategically chosen by the Okinawan entrepreneurs (for production and marketing), to perform different forms of entrepreneurial behavior. # III. Historical Contextualization at the Place of Origin The Japanese descendants of the Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, have a culture and habits that are different from the rest of the population of this country, as they have a specific historical origin, largely linked to the previous period, when the Kingdom of Ryûkyû was constituted (SAKIMA, 2000). This kingdom prospered during the 14th century, known as the Sanzan period, remaining for almost two centuries, as an important center of maritime trade with Southeast and East Asia (SHINZATO, 2014). This kingdom maintained strong relationships with the Ming Dynasty of China, in a condition of fiscal subordination. It was a period marked by great prosperity and commercial dynamism between the 14th and 16th centuries (SAKIMA, 2000). It was commercialized by sea, be it spices, aromatic woods, silk, Chinese porcelain, cotton from Korea, fans, sulfur swords from Japan, when they became excellent navigators and traders (SAKIMA, 2000). The kingdom still served as a place to supply food, water and fuel (coal), for ships and boats, and rest and entertainment for navigators (SHINZATO, 2014). China, according to Shinzato (2014), provided ships for these commercial activities and scholarships at the Beijing Imperial Academy to talented young people, exercising cultural influence over these peoples. But they were also influenced by the diversity of peoples with whom they traded, which helps to explain the open spirit to learn from other cultures and adapt more easily to them. The lack of land and natural resources within the islands meant that the survival and success of the economy of these people depend, in large part, on the good relationship with the merchant and neighboring navigators. In this context, a type of social behavior would have been manifested among the inhabitants of that kingdom, based on the philosophy of kindness (SHINZATO, 2014). The situation of disarmament since the 15th century, had induced this people to develop the culture of defense with their hands free, karatê and the use of sticks and work tools, especially to face looters in the rural area. Unarmed defense techniques had become of great importance in the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, especially in the reign of Shoshin (1477-1526), when that kingdom was unified and later in 1609, when it was subordinated to Japan, practiced mainly by feudal learned officers (SOLIS ORTUS, s/d). The invasion of Japan in 1609, which occurred with a minimum of armed resistance and without the use of force, led the kingdom to a double subordination, Japan and China (SOLIS ORTUS, s/d). Between 1639 and 1854, a period in which Japan closed its ports to foreign nations, with the exception of China and the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Ryûkyû became the main Japanese gateway, only eventually did foreign squadrons manage to dock. During the first half of the 19th century, the Ryûkyû islands ended up being plagued by at least thirteen natural disasters (typhoons, tsunamis) and cholera epidemics (SHINZATO, 2014). It was a remarkable period for the inhabitants of these Islands, when they suffered a drastic reduction to 150 to 200 thousand people, having undergone a situation of great poverty. Under these conditions, the Ryûkyû Kingdom was officially incorporated into Japan in 1879, as the Okinawa Province, during the Meiji Era (1872-1879), starting to directly resent the various reforms implemented, through a centralized militaristic and nationalist policy (PIRES, 2016 ). Given their ethnic and cultural differences, Okinawans were viewed negatively by the rest of the Japanese, being commonly accused of being backward, ignorant and "inferior" and culturally inferior. They started to have their social and cultural practices persecuted and inhibited by the Japanese state (PIRES, 2016). Between 1892 and 1908, to face the situation of vulnerability and poverty and comply with the payment of required taxes, the Okinawan people became farmers and adopted the strategic practice of the "jiwari-sei" system in agriculture, a form of collective exploitation of land, accompanied by other means of collective cooperation, including to pay annual taxes to the government. From this joint experience, according to the author, the collective spirit of the Okinawans would have emerged, which allowed them to establish strategic survival behaviors, such as the well-known "moai" system (SHINZATO, 2014). At the end of World War II (1945), after the bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when Japan surrendered to its allies, Okinawa Prefecture was incorporated by the Americans, after losing about 200 thousand people, demanding new ones. resistance practices (YAMASHIRO, 1993). They were reintegrated into Japan only in 1972, but without having their ethnicity recognized by the Japanese government (HOWELL, 1996). This situation of submission continued in later Japanese historical phases, leading the Okinawans to feel the need to emigrate. # IV. Contextualization of Migratory Processes From the historical point of view, the Okinawan migrations to Brazil, which reached Campo Grande and its surroundings, were contextualized in two moments of Japanese immigration to Brazil, each endowed with specific characteristics, both for the conditions established at the time, and for the nature of the agreements between Brazil and Japan, the country of origin of these immigrants. # a) Experimental phase of the immigration process (1895-1925) The shortage of labor in the large coffee farms in Brazil, motivated on the one hand by the abolition of slavery in Brazil and, on the other, by the situation of poverty and vulnerability experienced by the Japanese population, especially during the First War, favored the "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation" established in 1895 between Brazil and Japan. But the Brazilian crisis experienced in the coffee export market, which followed this treaty, ended up delaying the arrival time of these immigrants (ITOKAZU, 2000). For the Japanese immigrant, according to Saito (1961), the intention to stay was only temporary, enough to be able to save money and return to Japan. In the period from 1908 to 1925, the Government of the State of São Paulo in Brazil decided to subsidize with the coffee farmers, through immigration companies, part of the sea crossing, debt discounted from the first salaries of the immigrants who should present themselves as a family group (SAITO, 1961). It is important to note that the Okinawans represented 41.6% of the total Japanese immigrants of the first ship in 1908 (SAITO, 1961). However, the Brazilian conditions were totally adverse, accompanied by cultural conflicts between the hired labor and the farmers (SOUSA, 2008). They resulted, among others, in escapes from the farms, constant changes in housing, collective resignation from work (ITOKAZU, 2000). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ended up paralyzing the entry of Japanese people, especially those coming from Okinawa Prefecture. # b) Immigration process with planned government support policies During the Brazilian industrialization process, in the Entre Guerras period, as Kanashiro (2000) recalls, the decadent coffee farms were giving way to the expansion and greater internalization of new crops. A new treaty was organized by the Japanese with Brazilian authorities between 1926-1929, with increased inflows of immigrants from 1928-1934, this time through a process planned by both governments. The newly arrived immigrants were taken directly to unoccupied rural land and considered cheaper, for the practice of commercial agriculture, especially coffee and cotton (YTOKAZU, 2000). They received support from the colonizing company to set up colonization centers, the organization of cooperatives, in addition to some basic services, such as a bank, school, hospital and organization of ethnic cultural activities (SOUSA, 2008). Therefore, as can be seen, this new migratory situation, different from the previous one, provided situations of immediate opportunity for the newly arrived immigrant to enter the job market. After the Second World War, more specifically in 1952, diplomatic relations between Brazil and Japan were resumed in this form of colonization planned by both governments, advancing to new unoccupied spaces, such as the country's Midwest Region (SAKURAI, 2004). Through this process, new immigrants reached Mato Grosso do Sul, between 1953 and 1959, constituting areas of colonization. # V. Entrepreneurial Behavior in the Historical Context of the Place of Destination a) Arrival of Japanese immigrants in Campo Grande and region in the experimental phase of the immigration process Mato Grosso do Sul, at the time the state of Mato Grosso, sheltered part of the Japanese from the Okinawa Province during the experimental immigration phase, who fled the coffee farms of the state of São Paulo. They came to work on the construction of the Northwest Railroad of Brazil, which started in 1909, which advanced to the Midwest region (SAKURAI, 2008). According to Handa (1987), railway construction works were then considered to be of good remuneration. A working day would guarantee practically the same gain as an entire month in Japan and meant double the average wage earned on coffee farms (A.O.C.G, 2019). Thus, as Handa (1987) points out, the first Japanese immigrants who came to work on the railroad, arrived in Campo Grande, from 1909 and 1910, from the coffee farms in São Paulo, as well as from Peru, Chile and Argentina and even directly from Japan. However, this option for the railroad meant facing harsh conditions in swampy areas, infested with mosquitoes, subject to attacks by wild animals and contracting malaria. (A.O.C.G., 2019). Undergoing heavy work and a precarious life in an adverse environment, many people died of malaria and others returned. The end of the installation of the railway in 1914, according to Le Bourlegat (2000), had coincided with the beginning of the First World War, when meat was valued on the world market, reflecting on the dynamism of cattle farms, sent by train to the slaughterhouses from Sao Paulo. Campo Grande was among the Municipalities that led this exportation within the State. At this time, it was made possible by the Municipal Power to rent land on the outskirts of the city, to house colonies of Japanese immigrants, as chacareiros, along the main streams. The purpose was to provide, at the same time, the subsistence of families and the supply of the city's food needs. According to Le Bourlegat (2000), commercialization to serve residents and city quarters (HANDA, 1987) took place through the streets of the city with the support of the family, initially done on foot and then by carts. Later, new services were added, such as schools, hotels, restaurants (AOCG, 2019). The immigrant's first initiative to establish himself as a chacareiro in Campo Grande, as pointed out by Handa (1987), would have occurred in 1917, with 50 families installed until 1920, within a radius not exceeding seven kilometers from the city. In 1926, there were eight colonies of Okinawan immigrants in the suburban area of Campo Grande (AOCG, 2019), housing 230 families (NISHIMOTO, 2011). In a short time, southern Mato Grosso (now Mato Grosso do Sul) became one of the main attractions for Japanese immigrants, especially Okinawan. Among 27,976 of these immigrants who arrived in Brazil between 1908 and 1920, approximately 10,000 settled in this region, especially in Campo Grande. (SAKURAI, 2008b) The entrepreneurial behavior of newly arrived Okinawan immigrants, in this context, was due to necessity, in an effort to gather resources to be able to return to their country. For this challenge, they had to resort to a large extent to the capacities, competences and abilities built in the culture of origin (HANDA, 1987). Thus, the initial venture involved traditional cultivation practices, such as rice, sweet potatoes and sugarcane. According to the interviewees, family work was essential for this type of enterprise and, within the colony, chacareiros sought to use their traditional solidarity practices, including cooperative work, the use of "moai" to solve financial problems (HANDA, 1987). The colonies were still considered spaces for the socialization of the ethnic group, aimed at promoting and strengthening the ethnic identity linked to the territory of origin (KONNO, 2016). In 1922, there was the initiative of the various colonies in the creation of the Okinawa Association of Campo Grande, with the objective of seeking solutions to the problems faced by the community and providing mutual assistance and, above all, providing future generations with the knowledge of the origin and trajectory of their ancestors (AOCG, 2019). In the process of coexistence, Okinawan chacareiros also ended up using the capacities, competences and skills built in the local social environment, in an effort to obtain products more adjusted to the demands of urban residents. In the interaction with local producers, as pointed out by Handa (1987), they learned new practices, such as the cultivation of manioc, the production of rapadura and brandy. In the case of rice cultivation, according to this author, they verified the need to acquire seeds from nearby farmers, until they learned how to grow them and pre-select them properly. For the phase of removing the rice husk, the Okinawan chacareiros incorporated knowledge in the social environment, to make use of the pestle, the most used tool on the site for this purpose. Other productions were added and the chacareiros ended up being given new marketing spaces at the Municipal Fair of Campo Grande, created in 1925. It was possible to verify, with the help of the interviewees, that this was a period of many adversities and constraints faced at the destination. The colonies were almost always difficult to access, located in remote and dangerous places. They had no support for building schools and other services. In the context of the First War, the Brazilian government of nationalist principles became intolerant of the practice of the foreign language. The immigrants themselves offered help to newcomers until they stabilized. Most of the families had to stay, given the financial difficulties to be able to return to their country of origin. # b) Arrival of immigrants with planned government support policies In the context of the new treaty established between Brazil and Japan, starting in 1926, involving previously planned actions and the support of Japanese colonizers, it is worth mentioning two periods: the one between the wars and the post-war period. # i. In the inter-war period Between 1927 and 1942, still in Entre Guerras, eleven colonies were installed in the municipality of Campo Grande, with 188 families (NISHIMOTO, 2011). It is important to remember that these planned forms of colonization, with the participation of a Japanese private company, required more extensive land and in locations farther from the city, with access to the railroad, reaching some districts of the Municipality of Campo Grande at the time. Part of these spaces were leased from large farmers and others acquired for commercial cultivation, especially coffee ® (AOCG, 2019). Three of these colonies were between 6 and 11 kilometers from the city, while others were located between 15 and 35 kilometers apart (AECNB, 2005; NISHIMOTO, 2011). The city of Campo Grande had become, during this period, an important dynamic cattle export center, reaching 62.4% of the urban population of the entire state of Mato Grosso in 1940 (IBGE, 1940). As a result, the railway axis has also become vital for urban supply. Local authorities ended up allocating fertile land to immigrant colonies, not only for Japanese, but for other European immigrants, along the railroad to guarantee this supply (COSTA, 1998). This explains the incorporation of the cultivation of other products, in addition to coffee and rice, such as bananas and even vegetables. To facilitate this commercialization, the "Largo da Feira" of Campo Grande was created in 1927, next to the storage warehouse for these urban supply products (ARCA, 1995). In 1935, the Agricultural Cooperative of Campo Grande was formed at the initiative of the settlers, to function as a credit, commercialization and coffee and rice processing cooperative. The Japanese government also brought support to the strengthening of the Okinawa Association of Campo Grande and to a higher quality education for immigrants. In 1927, with support from the Japanese government, a school was built in the urban area, designed to accommodate students of Japanese descent and other origins (VIEIRA et al, 2010). After all, at this time, the Brazilian nationalist government did not allow a school committed to foreign identities. It was also possible to improve the conditions of schools built within the colonies, through internal cooperative actions. According to the interviewees' report, the urban school environment of that time, although of excellent quality, was one of the areas of constraints, motivated by attitudes of ethnic and racial discrimination. As a result, it was common for Okinawan parents to demand a lot from their children's performance, a fact that resulted in their prominence for being among those with the best grades and the most awarded in contests. In any case, the opportunities provided, largely by the planned support of the two governments, at a time of expansion of the urban consumer market, provided many of the results expected by the new immigrants. They even allowed, according to the interviewees, that several of them could return to their country, even without the Japanese incentive policy for this purpose. It also favored the improvement of living conditions and well-being among those who had been there since the beginning of the century and newcomers who decided to stay at the destination. # ii. In the post-war period After the end of the Second World War, more precisely between 1953 and 1959, five colonies of Okinawan immigrants were formed, for 51 families to dedicate themselves to the cultivation of coffee and rice (AECB, 2005; NISHIMOTO, 2011). The distance from the properties, in this period, was even greater than those structured in Entre Guerras, reaching between 47 and 68 kilometers. As most of these areas had gained political autonomy, they no longer belong to the municipality of Campo Grande. In 1960, a sixth colony was established, with seven families, at a shorter distance, that is, 18 kilometers from the city. A differential to be highlighted in this period, concerns the condition in which this new immigrant arrived. Japan's defeat in World War II, according to the interviewees, ended up destroying hopes of returning to the country of origin, inducing the immigrant to plan his stay in Brazil. Consequently, he became interested in the acquisition of goods at the destination and tried to ensure a more suitable future for his new generations. Investments in production were expanded and, in 1954, the Agricultural Cooperative of Campo Grande also began to deal with the purchase of inputs (agricultural machinery and implements, pesticides, fertilizers and seeds). With the decline of coffee culture in the 1960s and the high rates of urbanization in Campo Grande, cooperative members began to focus more on fruit and vegetable production, taking advantage of the resources provided by the local market. In this context, different from the initial phase of the immigration period, local entrepreneurial behavior started to be revealed due to the opportunity provided in the social environment of the destination place. The strong influx of urban supply products, which arrived by rail, had led the Campo Grande government in 1957 to build the Municipal Market in place of Largo da Feira (ARCA, 1995). The Fair, however, has not disappeared. In addition to consolidating itself as a Central Fair with a strong presence of Okinawans, several other fairs were manifesting in urban peripheries (CALADO, 2010). At the beginning, the marketers slept in the stalls to be able to watch over them, especially on weekends, which allowed the fair to function also at night (GOMES, 2012). This situation and the large influx of people in this period, was seen as an opportunity to set up restaurant stalls at the fair, with local dishes and Okinawan origin. In addition to being an evening meeting point in the city, Feira Central has become an important tourist spot, contemplated by the municipal government in 2004 with a fixed and structured place for this purpose (GOMES, 2012). Sobá, a typical Okinawan dish at the fair, was considered cultural heritage of the place in 2018, and since then, typical festivals related to it have been organized. On the other hand, with the rapid expansion in the 1960s, when the city ended up advancing on the areas of the farms, as they became urban residents, new opportunities were being seen in meeting the city's demand. According to the interviewees' reports, there were several activities carried out in the urban environment. In addition to the processing of rice and coffee, they formed a business related to the fruit and vegetable trade, even small services such as jewelry, hairdressers, mechanics, restaurants, among others. In this new context, the family involved in conducting urban business continued to be considered a fundamental resource. The objective, in this case, was not only to guarantee their maintenance, but to train their children in prestigious professions. As Bertaux (1979) warns, the insertion of family members in the business structure, in this case, was carried out strategically, in a mutual commitment to family growth, to reposition the social trajectory of these immigrants and their descendants. This type of behavior appeared in the interviewees' reports, indicating that the professions considered prestigious at the time were mainly medicine, engineering, advocacy, architecture. In most cases, the greatest demand was placed on the eldest son, responsible for looking after the family. This strategic procedure helps to explain why most of these Okinawan urban enterprises did not go through family succession, but many disappeared with the death of their parents. On the other hand, it can be seen today, the large number of professionals, descendants of Okinawan immigrants, who exercise the functions of doctors, engineers, lawyers, architects, among other activities that in fact project them into urban life. # VI. # Final Considerations The studies carried out with Japanese immigrants from Okinawa Province in the Brazilian context of Campo Grande were illustrative in order to understand how the entrepreneurial behavior of immigrants can be manifested in their attempt to engage in the labor market, at the destination. It points, firstly, about the importance of the culture of origin, family and ethnic social networks, as resources of the immigrant's entrepreneurial behavior, in the face of embarrassment situations experienced on their arrival, especially in an environment without the proper structure to receive it. It reveals itself especially in the face of circumstances in which the satisfaction of human needs becomes a priority. It was found, in the case of Campo Grande, that these circumstances of needs contribute little to entrepreneurial practices that can result in effective sustainability, human dignity and well-being of migrants. Second, it was possible to verify the importance exercised by the support of previously established policies in a planned manner between countries of origin and destination, to generate an environment more conducive to immigrant enterprises. Through agreements that can serve the interests of both sides, more coherent and comprehensive contexts can be created at the destination. In them, enterprises can manifest themselves in situations of opportunity, with more desirable results in relation to respect for human dignity and the well-being of immigrants. In addition to the resources provided by such politically planned situations, the capacities, skills and abilities, family and social networks of an ethnic nature, continue to play an important role, at least in the initial phase of their stay. Thirdly, it was possible to verify how the social environment in the destination place can be transformed into resources of opportunity and learning for immigrants during their stay process, when they are endogenized as entrepreneurial capacities, competences and skills. 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