SCHOLAR MICHIKO AYUKAWA TO DISCUSS PICTURE BRIDES COMING TO CANADA ON MAY 30

Japanese Canadian scholar Dr. Michiko Midge Ayukawa will provide insight into the history of Japanese "Picture Brides" and their contributions to their communities at a public program set for Sunday, May 30, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.

While picture brides arrived in significant numbers in the early 20th Century in both the United States and Canada, Dr. Ayukawa examines their stories coming to Canada. The earliest Japanese immigrants or Issei, were overwhelmingly male, but when they decided to settle, the need for brides to start families sparked the picture bride phenomenon. According to Dr. Ayukawa, approximately 6,000 Japanese women came to Canada between 1908 and 1926.

"The picture bride custom was a practical adaptation of the Japanese tradition whereby marriages were arranged by household heads through intermediaries," wrote Dr. Ayukawa. "Since face-to-face meetings were not possible, photos were exchanged, and marriages were conducted by proxy, then registered in the village records."

Dr. Ayukawa’s research revealed that most of the "picture brides were adventurous and were often better educated than their husbands." Since the men were known to send photos of themselves when they were younger, or even of someone else entirely, some brides would refuse to fulfill the marriage arrangement. "The majority settled into the 'arranged' union, awakening to the reality of a hard life, making extraordinary sacrifices, and helping to create stable homes and communities for the next generation, the Nisei," Dr. Ayukawa explained.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Michiko and her family were incarcerated by the Canadian government in Lemon Creek, part of the Slocan Valley, during World War II. After the war, she earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from McMaster University in 1952 and worked for the National Resource Council. She quit work to start her family, which included her five children. Michiko taught collegiate undergraduate chemistry for several years when a trip to Japan in 1983 changed her focus. She began studying the Japanese language and histories of Japan and Canada. She earned several degrees, including her Ph.D. from the University of Victoria in 1997.

Since then, Dr. Ayukuma has authored several articles on the history of Japanese Canadians and Japanese picture bridges, including, "Good Wives, Wise Mothers: Japanese Picture Brides in Early Twentieth Century British Columbia". She has co-authored with Audrey Kobayashi the essay, "The Japanese Canadians", part of the Encyclopedia of Japanese Descendants in the Americas (Altimira Press, 2002).

This program is free to National Museum members or with general admission. It was made possible by the generous support of the UCLA Paul I. & Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies.