Watermelon Sushi World: War Brides Of Japan: Helping Change U.S. Immigration Laws

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

War Brides Of Japan: Helping Change U.S. Immigration Laws

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez.

Since the U.S. immigration ban fiasco of a few weeks ago, it’s notable how timely our War Brides of Japan documentary is.

me with my father at right

Remember, the Immigration Act of 1924 prevented Asians from entering the U.S. However, during the American occupation of Japan following WWII, many GI’s—including my father—wanted to bring home the Japanese wives they’d married while being stationed there.

But, in order to make that happen, legislation had to be enacted to allow those marriages and subsequent arrivals of Japanese war brides in America. Thus, the War Brides Act of 1945 was passed. Even though history has rarely acknowledged this monumental effort, some suggest it might have taken longer for other Asians to immigrate to America had it not been for the brave war brides of Japan. Ladies, we salute you!

One of two historians in our film, Regina F. Lark, discusses in detail the impact of that law on screen.

camera operator Sean Hardin sets up for Regina F. Lark interview

Meanwhile, our editors are moving forward with the project. Please welcome Lynn Hammonds, author of Becoming Misako Kikuchi, who’s assisting with music licensing for the film.