The Husbands

These men were chosen as husbands for the young women who came to America from Japan hoping for a better life. The marriages were arranged by matchmakers. The husbands were represented as being young, handsome, and as having good jobs. When the women finally met their husbands they realized the pictures they’d been sent were as much as twenty years old and that the men did not have the good jobs they said they had. These husbands took their wives with them so they could help with work in the fields. The husbands also kept their wives pregnant but did not help with child care or housekeeping. After Pearl Harbor, the husbands were often arrested without warning because the Americans believed they were guilty of conspiring with the Japanese who attacked the United States.

The Americans

The Americans make up another large group of characters in...