War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: BFF’s; BUDDHIST FRIENDS FOREVER
War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: THE CULTURE
War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: THE KIDS
War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: THE BRIDES
War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: HERSTORY
$1Yayoi L Winfrey1 rating
On an expansive Oxnard beach, historian Lily (“Dekasegi”) compares early migrants (who left Japan for work hoping to return someday) to Japanese war brides (who left much later) married to their former enemies; as well as the American men who occupied their post-WWII country.
From her West Los Angeles home, another historian, Regina (“Japanese Brides, American Wives”), adds to the discussion about the Occupation and the War Brides Act of 1945 that allowed GI’s to marry local Japanese women; even as anti-miscegenation statutes prevented some couples from living in certain US states.
Both historians describe the American Red Cross bridal schools in Japan that trained Japanese brides to become perfect American wives.
$2Yayoi L Winfrey0 ratings
From her Laguna Woods California home, Asako-san (“The Best Ambassador”), who married a white American marine, chats with her grandson, Parker. They speak in Nihongo (Japanese), discussing how she met her husband. With her daughter, Margie, Asako-san talks about the exotic worldwide locations where they’ve lived and where she entertained embassy officials.
In Elk Grove California, Fumiko-san (“Kitchens & a Priest”), who married a black American soldier and experienced racism first hand, talks to her daughters Myokei and Diane about why she never learned to cook until after she arrived in the U.S.
Although both women were Japanese war brides who married their “enemies”, their lives took divergent paths when they left post-WWII Japan along with their husbands–one white, one black.
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From her Fillmore California home, Roleta is “The Entertainer’s Daughter” explaining the role of geisha in Japanese culture. She also reveals how her talented mother survived in Little Tokyo after divorcing her American civil engineer father.
In “hafu”, several adult children of Japanese war brides meet for lunch in Little Tokyo, Japantown (Los Angeles). Over a Japanese meal, they discuss how their parents met, the challenges their Japanese mothers faced in America, and how their own mixed-race identities were forged in the U.S.
Finally, in “Remembering Her Mother”, Jean talks about the woman she cared for during her last years; how her mother met and married her father, and the many locations where their family lived until settling in San Jose. A strong relationship with her mother’s family has Jean and her siblings visiting Japan often.
$2Yayoi L Winfrey0 ratings
War bride daughter M. Fumie (“Cactus…Cranes…Cooks”) gives an origami demonstration from her Tucson home. Later, she prepares several Japanese dishes based on her late mother’s recipes. Meanwhile, daughters Michelle and Stephanie discuss their multicultural identities while fondly remembering their grandmother and their favorite Japanese foods.
In “Tamales 4 Bon Odori”, Diana recounts how her Japanese Mexican family was rejected by Japanese Americans in their Clovis community (near Fresno) because they were “hapa”. Yet, her mother instilled Japanese culture in her children, and they attended Obon every year. Diana’s youngest daughter, Hannah, discusses her plight of being multiracial and the impact of having never known her Japanese grandmother.
“Bringing Japan Home” features Sophia (Yoshi) reflecting on the influence her late mother had over her, how it compelled her to study Nihongo (Japanese language), travel to Japan, and bring back to her Sacramento home so many Japanese souvenirs that they literally take up her entire house.
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This segment features three different families, all living in Washington state. All are devout Buddhists with two lifelong friends belonging to the same temple.
In “Missing Her Mom”, Dottie remembers how much her mother relied on Buddhist teachings to help her on a daily basis.
The Farrisons are featured in “Family Fortune” with the adult children recalling how their parents met and married, their parents’ decades-long multicultural marriage, and the lifelong friendship their mother shared with another war bride—a member of the same Buddhist temple.
“Disowned/Reclaimed” is the story of siblings Doris and Michael whose Japanese mother was banished by her family for marrying their African American father. Doris’ granddaughter, Alana, reveals that her late great-grandmother always gave them hugs.
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War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: HERSTORY
- “Herstory” is the 1st of 5 films that make up “War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory”.
- Size3.1 GB
- Duration21 minutes
- Resolution1080p
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warbrides ofjapan73 subscribersSUBSCRIBEDThis remake of “War Brides of Japan: The Chase” is a trailer for the award-winning “War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory” 5-part film series that launched on Video On Demand, at Vimeo, in 2019: https://vimeo.com/watermelonsushi The trailer features several Japanese war brides reminiscing about how their future husbands pursued and courted them. Some adult children of Japanese war brides also chime in with stories of how their parents met during the Occupation of Japan following WWII. https://www.warbridesofjapan.com#warbridesofjapan 7/30/2021 Award Winner (Best Trailer / Teaser) (5 minutes or less) Mount Fuji International Film Festival (Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken, Japan) 6/12/2021 Official Selection (Best Trailer/Teaser) VonlineFilmFest (Italy) 6/4/2021 Finalist (Best Trailer) Cooper Awards (Ukraine) 5/31/2021 Finalist (Best Trailer) Onyko Films Awards (Estonia, Ukraine, US, UK) 4/29/2021 Best Trailer (Trailer) Mumbai International Film Awards (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) 4/18/2021 Official Selection (Best Trailer) Iconic Images Film Festival (United States, Turkey, Mexico, United Kingdom, Indonesia) 4/12/2021 Finalist (Trailer) Prague International Monthly Film Festival (Prague, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Croatia) 12/9/2020 Award Winner (Best Trailer) Uruvatti International Film Festival (Tamil, Nadu, India) 10/8/2020 Award Winner (Best Trailer) Global Monthly Online Film Competition (India) 5/4/2020 Finalist (Trailer) Kosice International Monthly Film Festival (Kosice, Slovakia) 2/9/2020 Official Selection (Trailer/Teaser) Laurus Film Festival (Moldova, Kazakhstan and Belarus) 12/28/2019 Official Selection (Trailer) Chhatrapati Shivaji International Film Festival (Pune, Maharashtra, India) 12/4/2019 Finalist (Best Trailer) Rome Independent Prisma Awards (Rome, Italy) 11/23/2019 Award Winner (Trailer Feature Film) Picasso Einstein Buddha International Film Festival (Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India) 10/31/2019 Official Selection (Trailer) Indie Visions Film Festival (Tehran, Iran, Charlottesville, Virginia, US) 9/26/2019 Award Winner (Best Trailer) Great Message International Film Festival (Pune, Maharashtra, India)
https://vimeo.com/watermelonsushi
https://www.warbridesofjapan.com/_files/ugd/2f62a7_d94da2fe615f408899a5ce340b61a28b.pdf
War Brides of Japan, A Documemory by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey -1- TRACK 1: HERSTORY “Degaseki” Lily Anne Yumi Welty-Tamai, PhD 05:56;39 Her dissertation on mixed-race Japanese Americans led Lily to study WWII Japanese war brides. As she discusses the similarity of their journey overseas to a new country with that of the degaseki (migrant worker), she also explains how the brides met their military husbands during the postwar occupation of Japan. And, she expounds on “war brides schools” operated by the American Red Cross in order to westernize the new wives. “Japanese Brides, American Wives” Regina F. Lark, PhD 12:46:40 After reading a book in her sociology class that painted war brides’ lives as bleak and dismal, Regina set out to prove otherwise. First, by writing her dissertation on the subject; then, by accompanying members of the Nikkei International Marriage Society to Japan. There, she interviewed the war brides’ mixed-race adult children and learned how they struggled to assimilate. Regina also provides explicit details about US immigration laws at the time American military men wanted to bring their brides home, while revealing discriminatory practices like the anti-miscegenation statutes that some states maintained until Loving v. Virginia in 1967. War Brides of Japan, A Documemory
by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey
-2-
TRACK 2: “THE BRIDES”
“The Best Ambassador”
Parker Tinsley, Asako Sakaguchi Miller Kimes and Margaret Kei Miller Tinsley 24:48;09
Speaking Japanese with his grandmother in her Laguna
Hills California residence, Parker helps Asako remember
how she met her white American Marine Honor Guard
husband, and how they quickly married and arrived in
the US.
Later, Asako’s daughter, Margaret, talks about their
family’s world travels and her mother’s role in
entertaining diplomats in countries like Libya where they
once lived—as well as the war’s impact on her mother
and the family members she lost.
Brought up in a cultured family of kimono shop owners, Asako recalls having to learn the formal
Japanese tea ceremony and how to play traditional koto. Besides making matcha (tea), Asako
also shows off the dress she had custom made from her wedding obi (sash). Both mother and
daughter also remember Empress Michiko of Japan’s declaration that, “Japanese war brides
are the best ambassadors for Japan”.
“Kitchens and a Priest”
Myokei (Lynda) Caine-Barrett, Fumiko Kiyahara Caine and Diane Caine Shirey” 25:48;09
In their Elk Grove California home, Fumiko sits on a sofa
between her two daughters and recounts how she met
their African American father. She recalls earlier years in
Japan when she left her eldest child at an orphanage
after being convinced that she’d never survive as the
mother of a half black baby.
The trio talk about the various military bases where they
were stationed and the racism they overcame in each
location.
Fumiko jokingly admits to not being much of a cook—unacceptable for a Japanese woman of
her generation. Today, daughter Myokei is the only ordained Buddhist priest of her sect who is
both a woman and an American.
War Brides of Japan, A Documemory by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey -3- TRACK 3: “THE KIDS” “The Entertainer’s Daughter” Roleta Fowler Vasquez 10:22;45 Roleta’s Japanese mother hailed from a family of entertainers, and when she married Roleta’s white American civil engineer father, they decided raising their mixed-race daughter in the US would be best—even though it meant leaving behind family members. Roleta’s mother chased the American dream, but her dreams were shattered by the racist attitudes she encountered in Los Angeles; and, she would end up living in Little Tokyo Japantown for the rest of her life. Because of her mother’s work, Roleta is knowledgable about geisha culture, and clarifies what it is and isn’t. “hafu” Joan McClanahan Lairson, Naomi Herrera, Elaine McClanahan and Andy Campbell (Roleta Fowler Vasquez and Joseph P. Vasquez appear briefly) 22:49;06 At Kageru Downtown Tokyo Cuisine & Sake Bar Restaurant in Little Tokyo Japantown Los Angeles, four adult children of Japanese war brides and African American military fathers share a Japanese lunch while discussing their mothers’ lives in Japan; how they grew up and shaped their own unique identities; and, why they admire their mothers for their courage and strength. War Brides of Japan, A Documemory
by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey
-4-
TRACK 3: “THE KIDS”
(cont.)
“Remembering Her Mother”
Jean H. Lahn 12:19;39
Having recently lost her mother, Jean visibly grieves
while talking about the Japanese woman who strongly
influenced their family of three girls and a boy.
Because her white father was a chauffeur to military
officers, they lived in many exotic locales like Paris,
where Jean was born. When the family finally settled in
San Jose, Jean’s mother became known as “The
Riceball Mom” to her children’s friends as she often
made onigiri (riceball). But Jean and her siblings also
experienced racist teasing from the other school kids.
Jean also reveals how her mother kept a terrible secret
hidden from her family in Japan.
War Brides of Japan, A Documemory by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey -5- TRACK 4: “THE CULTURE” “Cactus…Cranes…Cooks” M. Fumie Craig, Michelle Naoko Craig and Stephanie Mariko Rojas 20:34;59 In her Arizona desert home, M. Fumie demonstrates origami (art of paper folding) as she reminisces about her late mother who passed her artistic abilities on to her. Later, M. prepares and serves a mostly Japanese dinner followed by breakfast the next day. Along with her older daughter, Michelle, she also makes mochi (rice cake). Both Michelle and her younger sister, Stephanie, fondly remember growing up in a multicultural environment with their white father, black Mexican grandfather and Japanese grandmother—who often prepared their favorite Japanese foods. “Tamales 4 Bon Odori” Diana Portugal and Hannah Martinez 18:30;55 Inside her Central Valley house in Clovis California, Diana recalls how her Japanese mother worked in fruit packing houses while her Mexican American father labored as a farm hand. Instilled with Japanese culture, Diana learned to follow rules yet she was confounded that Japanese Americans didn’t accept her halfJapanese family. Even though they attended the Obon Festival every year, they were not invited to the Buddhist temple next door to rehearse for Bon Odori (Bon dances). Diana also compares the rituals of Obon to Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican “Day of the Dead”. Hannah, Diana’s youngest daughter, talks about living in a predominately Latinx community while having mixed roots and her endeavors at maintaining her Japanese heritage without the input of her late grandmother. War Brides of Japan, A Documemory
by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey
-6-
TRACK 4: “THE CULTURE”
(cont.)
“Bringing Japan Home”
Sophia Childs 16:00;16
Even though her Sacramento house is brimming with
kokeshi (Japanese dolls), noren (Japanese curtains),
dishes, figurines and sculptures, Sophia can’t stop
bringing home more Japanese items whenever she
visits Japan.
While demonstrating her cooking skills, Sophia
discusses the Japanese delicacies she loves to prepare.
Her identity as a black Japanese person, she says, was
shaped by studying the Japanese language and
traveling often with her mother to her countryside home
in Japan.
Although Sophia’s parents suffered a major loss during
their early years in Japan, they sustained their happy
marriage until her mother passed away.
War Brides of Japan, A Documemory by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey -7- TRACK 5: “BFF’s; BUDDHIST FRIENDS FOREVER” “Family Fortune” Mihoko Farrison, Theodore Farrison, Castora Hayes, Kim Farrison and Doris Hardison 10:02;45 With their parents recently celebrating 65 years of marriage, this Tacoma Washington family declares how fortunate they feel. Youngest daughter Castora talks about how her parents met and married, and her Japanese mother’s early years spent with her black husband’s family in the south. Older brother Kim remembers eating Japanese meals along with soul food, and oldest daughter Doris reminisces about all the mixed Japanese war bride families she knew while growing up—including the Factory’s whose family appears in “Disowned/ Reclaimed”. “Missing Her Mom” Dottie Putney 11:45;02 Now living in Maple Valley Washington, Dottie talks about her early years as the child of a Japanese war bride and white sailor father. In Japan, she was considered too white, but in California she was considered too Asian. Although she always wanted to attend Japanese school, Dottie took it upon herself to learn the language on her own. Today, having found a balance between the two sides of her heritage, she takes the time to reflect on the tiny but powerful woman, a devout Buddhist, who was her mother and whom she still misses terribly. War Brides of Japan, A Documemory
by Yayoi L. Naito Winfrey
-8-
TRACK 5: “BFF’s; BUDDHIST FRIENDS FOREVER”
(cont.)
“Disowned/Reclaimed”
Doris Factory, William Michael Factory, Jr. and Alana Kynaston 9:29;11
In Tacoma Washington, two siblings—Doris and Mike—
fondly remember their late parents, but are still troubled
that their Japanese mother was disowned by her family
for marrying their African American father.
Meanwhile, Doris’ granddaughter, Alana, recalls how her
great-grandmother always interacted with her even as
she was in great pain due to illness.
Later, Doris gives a brief history of how Nichiren
Buddhism found its way to the US due to the efforts of
Japanese war brides. That shared religious belief drove
her mother to forge a lifelong friendship with Mihoko
Farrison featured in “Family Fortune”.
*All family photos appearing in this document are protected under international copyright laws
and those rights remain with each individual family—with the exception of being licensed for use
in the film, War Brides of Japan.
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