(COMING SOON) Japanese War Brides: Across A Wide Divide
"Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide" explores the story of the more than 45,000 Japanese women who immigrated to the United States after World War II and how their bold passage reshaped communities across the country.
All Exhibits & EventsExhibition Overview
The Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide traveling exhibition tells the extraordinary story of over 45,000 Japanese women who married American servicemen and immigrated to the United States after World War II. These women, once dehumanized as the enemy, defied societal norms, as well as racial and gender barriers, reshaping communities across the country. Their bold journey played a pivotal role in altering immigration laws, redefining race relations, and expanding the meaning of American identity.
Rooted in the research of three daughters of Japanese war brides, Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide is both a tribute to the courage of these women and the legacies they left behind, as well as a reflection on broader themes of immigration, identity, and the adaptability of the human spirit.
Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide was developed in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the National Museum of American History, and War Bride Experience, Inc. This exhibition was made possible through federal funding from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, with additional support from the Sachiko Kuno Philanthropic Fund.
The Japanese War Brides Oral History Archive
The Japanese War Brides Oral History Archive is an online collection of 40 stories (3 to –10-minute audio stories with photographs) of Japanese women who married American servicemen after World War II and came to the United States. The narratives are told by the Japanese war brides — now in their late 80s and 90s — and their families to a daughter of a Japanese war bride, journalist Kathryn Tolbert. She interviewed more than 100 people — war brides, their husbands, children, grandchildren, in-laws — in 20 states from 2015 to 2019. The interviews were conducted in person, with a digital recorder. Kathryn scanned family photos at the interview and later combined parts of the interview with photos to create short stories for the archive, which combines journalism and traditional oral history.
Louisiana interview: Yoshiko Arakaki and Eugene Dale Skains
If you are or are the descendant of a Japanese war bride and are interested in being interviewed, please contact the Curator, Anne Mahoney at Anne.Mahoney@SOS.LA.Gov