ABSTRACT This article focuses on the life history of Yoshihei Carlos Nakatani (1910–1992), using two intimate memoirs provided by his family and heretofore unknown to the historiography. Nakatani, who immigrated to Mexico in 1932, is known as the inventor of the cacahuate japonés (Japanese peanut), a toasted peanut covered in soy-sauce-flavored flour that is now a mainstream snack in Mexico. Nakatani’s life story is distinct in that his invention of cacahuate japonés demonstrates how he actively adapted to Mexican society. This article takes Nakatani’s life as one example of a Japanese immigrant’s lived experiences in Mexico and highlights aspects of his process of integration into Mexican society. Unique sources reveal the importance of emotion and personal histories for Japanese immigrants’ negotiation of their immigrant self-identities during the historical events of World War II. It argues that Nakatani’s experiences illustrate that Japanese immigrants in Mexico had starkly divergent experiences from their countrymen in the US, despite analogous experiences with economic struggles, racism, and displacement. Nakatani’s cacahuate japonés thus offers a locus through which to re-conceptualize Japanese immigrants’ experiences and trajectories in which integration into the host country could paradoxically include reliance upon Japanese heritage.

中文翻译：

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在异乡成为日本人：以中谷义平为例

摘要 本文重点介绍卡洛斯·中谷佳平 (Yoshihei Carlos Nakatani, 1910–1992) 的生平，使用了他的家人提供的两本至今为史学所知的亲密回忆录。Nakatani 于 1932 年移民到墨西哥，被称为 cacahuate japonés（日本花生）的发明者，这是一种涂有酱油味面粉的烤花生，现在是墨西哥的主流小吃。Nakatani 的人生故事与众不同，因为他发明的 cacahuate japonés 展示了他如何积极适应墨西哥社会。本文以 Nakatani 的生活作为日本移民在墨西哥的生活经历的一个例子，并重点介绍了他融入墨西哥社会过程的各个方面。独特的来源揭示了情感和个人历史对于日本移民在二战历史事件中就其移民身份进行谈判的重要性。它认为，中谷的经历表明，尽管在经济斗争、种族主义和流离失所方面有类似的经历，但在墨西哥的日本移民与他们在美国的同胞有着截然不同的经历。因此，Nakatani 的 cacahuate japonés 提供了一个场所，通过它可以重新概念化日本移民的经历和轨迹，在其中融入东道国可能矛盾地包括对日本遗产的依赖。尽管在经济斗争、种族主义和流离失所方面有类似的经历。因此，Nakatani 的 cacahuate japonés 提供了一个场所，通过它可以重新概念化日本移民的经历和轨迹，在其中融入东道国可能矛盾地包括对日本遗产的依赖。尽管在经济斗争、种族主义和流离失所方面有类似的经历。因此，Nakatani 的 cacahuate japonés 提供了一个场所，通过它可以重新概念化日本移民的经历和轨迹，在其中融入东道国可能矛盾地包括对日本遗产的依赖。