Center for Asian American Media

The lives of thousands of Japanese women were transformed during the Occupation when they met and, defying custom and law, married American servicemen. The determination and perseverance of these couples in the early 1950s helped end the long-standing ban on Japanese immigration to the U.S. Through interviews with their children and personal and archival photos and footage, this film follows the journey of several Japanese American war brides to the Midwest.

“Nearly every other facet of the war and its aftermath has been covered in thousands of volumes, but the experiences of these women and their impact on American society have been largely ignored.”

- Elfrieda B. Shukert and Barbara S. Scibetta, war brides of World War II

Awards
First Place: Long Nonfiction, Kansas Film Institute
Certificate of Merit, National Fine Arts Video Competition

Recognition
Finalist, Contemporary Ethnic Studies, American Film and Video Association