Voices of Japanese “War Brides” in Postwar Kansas

Japanese women fled the devastation of a war-torn Japan after World War II to find challenges in a strange, new world. After marrying U.S. military men and moving to the United States, these young women often faced challenges and hardship while others found opportunity and success. How did they adjust to a Western world and a military culture? How did they maintain connection to their homes and families back in Japan? This talk will share the voices of Japanese women who triumphed amidst great struggle to find community, connection and cultural identity in the place they viewed as the last destination of their lives — the Kansas prairie.

Presented by Ayako Mizumura, assistant director of the University of Kansas's Center for East Asian Studies.

This program will be hosted using Zoom. A Library staff member will contact registrants via email the day before the meeting with access instructions. You do not need to download any software or create an account.

This program is part of the Library's Past is Prologue series, which highlights topics that are often left out, glossed over or misrepresented in our history books.