Smithsonian highlights impact of Japanese war brides in traveling exhibition

Irving--The experiences of the nearly 45,000 Japanese women who immigrated to the United States as wives of American military servicemembers after World War II are explored in the new exhibition “Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide” from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). These young women left their homes to build lives within the complexities of postwar American society. Their experiences reshaped communities by challenging immigration laws and race relations.

“Japanese War Brides” will debut at the Irving Archives and Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, on Dec. 14. It will remain on view through April 6 before continuing to tour museums and cultural organizations across the United States through 2028.

“Japanese War Brides” examines the lives of ordinary women living in extraordinary times, women who navigated the wide divide between the country of their birth and the country of their husbands. It was a divide of cultural, social and legal differences. The exhibition begins by examining how the lives of Japanese citizens and occupying American servicemen intertwined during the Allied Occupation of Japan between 1945 and 1952. It outlines the obstacles of U.S. laws banning Asian immigration and the push to change perceptions following WWII.

The exhibition highlights how these women learned to be mid-century American housewives while preserving their cultures. It is a story as varied as their circumstances from geography and the race of one’s husband, to religion, work and career military or civilian life.

Through touchscreen displays, visitors can explore a historical and cultural timeline highlighting significant dates relevant to Japanese war brides in both the U.S. and Japan. They can also hear personal accounts from Japanese women and their families that reflect on the themes of the bride schools, moving to the United States, marriage, parenting, identity and community.

Videos showcase segments from 1950s films that helped shape expectations on both sides of the world. Films produced by Allied forces screened throughout Japan during the occupation period promoted American sentiments and values. While in the U.S., films and other media played a pivotal role in creating new stereotypes of Japanese people and Japanese women in particular.

The arrival of these brides marked the largest women-only immigration event in U.S. history and, by 1960, had increased the population of Asian Americans in the U.S. by 10 percent. In contrast to other waves of immigrants, war brides did not settle in established immigrant communities with strong Japanese cultural roots. They lived in cities and towns, big and small, across America, often without familial, linguistic or cultural support networks. Not all women lived happy lives or had intact marriages, but many carved out meaningful lives in their communities despite formidable challenges.

The exhibition draws upon the work of three daughters of Japanese war brides to better understand their mothers’ experiences. Through War Bride Experience Inc., Lucy Craft, Karen Kasmauski and Kathryn Tolbert collected oral histories of war brides and members of their families. “Japanese War Brides” features many of these voices that provide personal reflections on life in postwar Japan, their experience as new immigrants in the U.S. and their legacies.

“Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide” is a collaboration between SITES, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and War Bride Experience Inc. The exhibition received federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Additional funding was provided by the Sachiko Kuno Philanthropic Fund.

SOURCE: Smithsonian Affiliations