Picture Bride

From watching the film "Picture Bride" one can distinctly pull specific scenes and relate them to situations in Takaki's novel about Japanese immigrants in America. "Picture bride" was an excellent film telling the story of a young Japanese woman of 16 years old named Riyo, who travels to the U.S. to live with her husband she had yet to meet. With high hopes, the one photo of her soon-to-be husband was handsome and young while his poetry was romantic and described a land of beauty. However, the reality of her new life was nothing of that manner. The "stranger" waiting for her arrival in the new lands was older than her own father and the foreign world and housing was not as appealing as she had imagined. This sort of surprise was very common for many picture brides, as they were easily fooled to come to the U.S. Almost every female leaving Japan to Hawaii in the early 1900s had the idea of a beautiful landscapes full of riches and a wonderful husband to marry. "I wanted to see foreign countries and besides I had consented to marriage with papa because I had the dream of seeing America", says Michiko Tanaka on pg.48 of Takaki as she describes how eager she was to experience all that immigration to the new world had to offer. "I was bubbling over with great expectations" describes another picture bride on the same page as she was also anxious for the opportunities that she could have in Hawaii.

In relation to todays presentation on Japanese Americans and their religious experience while living in the United States, it is clearly seen that much of the same religious behavior is expressed throughout the film. From the presentation, it was noted that Japanese immigrants, predominantly those stationed in Hawaii, were granted permission to build and safely practice religions of their own culture as well as that of Christianity, within the confinements of the plantations. In doing this, it helped Japanese Americans readily connect with their native culture and find relief with participating in something they were comfortable with. This not only benefitted them in many ways, but it also benefitted the managers of the farms and plantations as it created a more friendly atmosphere and allowed the immigrants to feel more at home. Relating back to the film, their was a final scene that depicted a Shinto religious practice done by many of the laborers as they spent the day paying respects through connecting with their ancestors and the dead by lighting lanterns and floating them down a stream in the cane fields. They also participated in a celebratory festival full of decorations and dancing with Kimonos additionally to show their respects. Another scene represented a common ritual done by those practicing Shintoism as Riyo and her husband Matsuji prayed in front of a box containing a picture of Riyo's parents. Shintoism and Buddhism were two very common religions for the Japanese, and the film "Picture Bride" justified some of the types of events that took place throughout the years as immigrants continued to work on plantations.