Posted on May 8, 2025, Updated on August 21, 2026 by Cultural News
Japanese War Brides: Across A Wide Divide
Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition
Irving, Texas: Irving Archives and Museum, 12/14/2024 – 4/6/2025
Delray Beach, Florida: Morikami Museum and & Japanese Garden, 5/1/2025 – 9/28/2025
Elmira, New York: Chemung County Historical Society, 12/8/2025 – 2/28/2026
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana’s Old State Capital, 3/24/2026 – 6/6/2026
Rancho Cordova, California: Mills Station Arts & Culture Center, Cordova Community Council, 12/19/2026 – 2/28/2027
Los Angeles, California: Japanese American National Museum, 3/20/2027 – 8/29/2027
Sacrament, California: The California Museum, 12/18/2027 – 2/27/2028
Saginaw, Michigan: The Historical Society of Saginaw County and the Castle Museum, 3/18/2028 – 5/28/2028
Japanese War Brides explores the lives of the nearly 45,000 Japanese women who immigrated to America as wives of U.S. military servicemembers after World War II. These young women left their homes to build lives within the complexities of postwar American society. Their arrival marked the largest women-only immigration event in U.S. history and, by 1960, had increased the population of Asian Americans in the U.S. by 10%. In contrast to other waves of immigrants, war brides were often isolated when they came to the U.S. They ended up in cities and towns, big and small, across America, often without familial, linguistic or cultural support networks. Not all women lived happy lives or had intact marriages, but many carved out meaningful lives in their communities despite formidable challenges. Their experiences altered U.S. society, and reshaped communities by challenging foreign policy, immigration laws, and race relations.
Visitors to Japanese War Brides will understand the post-World War II experiences of war brides, interact with compelling video interviews, appreciate objects that enriched the war brides’ lives, learn about the historical and contemporary cultural impact of Japanese immigration to the U.S., and investigate complex questions related to international marriages and the roles of military wives. Exhibition education and programming resources support in-gallery experiences and community outreach opportunities to include documentary film screenings.
Exhibition Contents:
- dynamic, curved, free-standing exhibition structure with compelling graphics
- 15-20 historical objects
- posters, memorabilia, and rare archival and contemporary photography
- eight audio/video kiosks featuring 52 interviews, oral histories, period films, and documentaries
- flipbook interactives
- comprehensive educator’s guide developed by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education
Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the National Museum of American History, and War Bride Experience, Inc. This exhibition received federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Additional funding provided by the Sachiko Kuno Philanthropic Fund.
Japanese War Brides: An Oral History Archive
Stories from across the United States as told to a daughter of a war bride
https://www.warbrideproject.com/