Picture Bride

“Hana knew she wanted more for herself than her sisters had in their proper, arranged and loveless marriages. She wanted to escape the smothering strictures of life in her village.”

This quotation explains Hana’s decision to move to America: She wants more than life in her rural village can offer. Her older sisters seem to lead empty lives, and Hana has been conditioned through education to seek discovery and self-development. Ironically, Hana’s marriage will be, essentially, arranged. While Hana avoids the strict traditions of her village, she will encounter a myriad of obstacles while immigrating. Hana’s life in America is riddled with hardship; therefore, it is important to understand why Hana travels to America in the first place. Her desire for independence led her there.

“I am in America now, she thought, and this is the man I came to marry. Then she sat down carefully beside Taro, so no part of their clothing touched.”

The early chapters of Picture Bride feature persistent anxiety and discomfort for Hana. This quotation shows a moment of calm satisfaction in which Hana expresses excitement about her emigration and marriage to Taro. Still, the final sentence ironizes her sentiment by emphasizing the personal disconnect between Hana and Taro, two strangers who are widely different and yet have agreed to marry.

“When Taro arrived, he seemed genuinely pleased at Hana’s transformation. ‘You look like a real American lady,’ he said proudly, that being the highest compliment he could bestow.”

Hana dresses up in typical American clothing for her first Sunday at Taro’s church. Having shed her traditional kimono, Hana has begun her transition into American clothing and by extension, American society. Taro, who has molded his life towards American norms, is delighted to see Hana’s outfit.

“‘Just don’t have too many big dreams and you’re less likely to be hurt,’ Kiku warned. ‘You came to America to make Taro Takeda happy. Just remember that and don’t expect too much from him or from America.’”

Upon her departure from Japan, Hana believes life in America will be prosperous and comfortable. Her early interactions in America reject this notion. Hana learns about the socioeconomic limitations facing Japanese immigrants. Kiku, who first immigrated as a picture bride only a few years previously, summarizes the contrast between the expectations and reality of emigration to America.

“[Taro] would see to it that Hana never regretted coming to America. He owed her at least that much.”

As Taro prepares for the wedding, he reflects on his immigration. The journey has been difficult, but he hopes to provide Hana with a happy life. Taro understands that he is not the richest or most handsome man, but he can work diligently to provide for his family.

“[Hana and Taro] laughed together and felt the beginning of an ease in being husband and wife.”

Even for the historical period, Hana and Taro’s marriage experience is relatively impersonal. The progress of their emotional intimacy is marginal yet discernable. As they live and endure together, their relationship grows increasingly close through small moments.

“[Hana] beseeched Buddha and Taro’s Christian God to purify her soul at the start of this new year in her new life.”

This quotation describes the tension within Hana’s spiritual life. In Oka Village, she practiced Buddhism. During her time in America, she gradually becomes more enveloped in Christianity. Religion is one of many areas in which Hana transitions from Japanese norms to American ones.

“Taro left the table, his dinner only half eaten, and Hana felt a chill run through her body as she heard the door slam behind him.”

This quotation describes the moment after Taro admits that he knows Hana and Yamaka have been flirting. His jealous anger is apparent in his aggressive and cold behavior. This is a formative moment for Hana, who will fight for years to regain Taro’s trust.

“And although [Hana] had passed through one crisis, she felt a strange premonition that something worse was yet to come. It was as though the illness were only a prelude, that she still had not been properly punished for her improper love.”

The “one crisis” that Hana endures is Yamaka’s death. Hana, sick with influenza, anticipates another calamity. Her premonition refers to her son, who will be born prematurely and die immediately after birth. Hana views both of these deaths as God’s punishment for her relationship with Yamaka. Hana’s grief will influence her for the duration of the novel as she seeks salvation from her misdoings.

“For many months after Yamaka and her infant son died, Hana had felt only anger and resentment toward Taro’s God. But she felt, too, that she deserved His wrath. [...] she realized that her salvation lay in being forgiven by this God.”

This quotation illustrates two major developments in Hana: her faith in the Christian God and her desire for God’s forgiveness. Hana believes that God’s forgiveness will save her soul. Her future kindness toward others originates from her need to please God and regain confidence in her morality.

“It was as though the two of them unburdened on the tiny creature the affection they could not seem to show one another.”

From early on, Hana and Taro’s marriage is contentious. Their relationship originated as a practical arrangement and genuine intimacy is difficult for them to attain. Still, they both love Mary deeply. Mary represents purity and beauty to each of them, and the pursuit of her happiness serves as common ground for them. In turn, Mary’s desertion will make her parents feel alienated and unappreciated. Hana and Taro’s struggle to reconnect with Mary will become another obstacle through which they grow closer.

“‘We are on trial, Hana,’ Taro explained gravely. ‘The way we live and comport ourselves may someday affect the way the second generation Japanese Americans, Mary and her friends, are treated in this country.’”

When the Takedas move to a predominantly white neighborhood, Taro takes careful consideration of their outward appearance. This is not a selfish act; he wants to give his neighbors a positive impression of Japanese Americans. By showcasing the ethics of Japanese Americans, Taro hopes to lay the groundwork for healthier racial relations in future generations. Taro does not embrace assimilation to fit into a white world; he does so out of a genuine belief in American values and a desire to contribute to an equal and just future.

“Was she doing this in an ultimate effort to seek, even now, God’s forgiveness? Hana did not know. She just knew it was something she had to try, and she was determined to succeed.”

The passage reflects Hana’s reasoning for agreeing to house Kenji Nishima. The young man needs grace from his community, and Hana happily obliges. However, Hana admits that her altruism stems from her need to earn God’s forgiveness. By doing so, Hana’s soul will be saved, and her self-perception will be repaired.

“She felt as though she had saved a life; as though she had repaid a great debt that had weighed her down for so long with the burden of guilt. Perhaps, she thought, God would now forgive her. But she wasn’t sure if Taro ever could.”

By sheltering Kenji Nishima, Hana hopes to prove her selflessness. When Kenji finishes his time with the Takedas, he is a restored man. Hana believes that she has earned God’s forgiveness for her romance with Yamaka but still wonders if she can ever regain Taro’s trust. Kenji’s resurrection is a moment of sincere triumph, but it also reminds Hana of the chasm between her and her husband.

“Watching Kiku, she was suddenly engulfed with thoughts of her mother and sisters, and tears of longing and memory filled her eyes. Even Taro forgot about his shop and allowed himself to relax in the easy comfort of the day.”

All the Takedas benefit greatly from their trip to the Todas’ farm. The distance from city life calms them. Spending time with the Todas allows them to feel closer to their cultural roots. This quotation occurs when both families eat dinner during the first evening of the Takedas’ stay. The sight of Kiku working hard for a traditional Japanese dinner reminds Hana of her family that she left behind in Oka Village. Taro, who rarely distracts himself from practical matters, enjoys the food, songs, and conversation of the vacation. While on the farm, the Takedas feel closer to prosperity than they do in the city.

“Death, after all, was part of life. It was accepted not with terror, but with a proper sense of respect and because a continuing kinship with the dead was so real to the living, the transition from one aspect of life to the next was not seen as something grim.”

This passage summarizes how Hana’s community perceives death. It occurs when the Takedas visit Ichiro’s gravesite and attend an Armistice Day memorial service. This interpretation of death accepts it as an unavoidable reality while remaining emotionally attached to the deceased. Since Picture Bride takes place over many years, Hana regularly comes in contact with death. She experiences grief but remains connected to her lost loved ones.

“[Mary] submerged her Japaneseness whenever she could, trying to be less different, shielding herself from hurt by keeping to her own private world.”

As Mary grows older, she becomes increasingly aware of her racial identity. She feels like an outsider in her predominantly white school and neighborhood. To counter her feelings of isolation, Mary models her lifestyle after typical American norms. Mary’s assimilation eventually envelops her in white American society and distances her from Japanese American society.

“There were those who had always wanted to be rid of all the Japanese Americans in California. Now, at last, they’d gotten their way, and the President himself had made it seem a respectable act.”

The quotation describes Hana’s reaction to the evacuation order from President Roosevelt. Her reflection argues that the government-mandated “internment” camps affirm and justify the anti-Asian racism already present in America. The evacuation is rooted in racist paranoia; it systemically dehumanizes Japanese Americans. Uchida includes statements such as these to capture the emotional reality of systemic discrimination.

“At some moment, she did not know just when, Hana found that she had forgiven Mary for everything. She no longer remembered many of the things Mary had done to hurt them, and she understood her daughter’s need to be free.”

Shortly before leaving Tanforan, Hana finally forgives Mary for leaving the family. She no longer resents Mary and yearns to see her again. Not only does Hana forgive Mary, but she understands her “need to be free.” When she was Mary’s age, Hana left her family behind for marriage in a strange new land. While not directly stated, Hana’s forgiveness implies her recognition of the similarities between herself and Mary. They are both independent, free-willed, and ambitious. They were born in different countries and have led different lives, but they share the same spirit.

“By the time they returned home, the first stars would appear, and Hana gazed at the sky until she could the River of Heaven. It was as though the stars sang out in an explosion of brilliance to console the creatures fenced in beneath them”

While imprisoned at Topaz, Hana and Taro enjoy taking evening walks to look at the sunset and stars. Topaz is a barren wasteland, but it offers a huge canvas of sky. The stars’ beauty provides counsel to Hana and her fellow prisoners. Topaz is a lifeless place, but it still offers some glimpses into the divine. The allusion to a “River of Heaven” in the stars suggests that Hana interprets the natural scenery as a gift from God to his disenfranchised subjects.

“It was Sojiro Kaneda who had reinforced Taro’s own hope and belief and America. And now, the country had betrayed them both.”

Dr. Kaneda, a steadfast leader in the Japanese American community, informs Taro that he plans on returning to Japan. Taro views Dr. Kaneda as an immigrant success story, and his departure illustrates the hopelessness of the concentration camps. His decision undermines Taro’s optimistic convictions that honesty and determination can lead to American prosperity

“[Kenji] had become a giving, loving person—a true man of God.”

Hana reflects on Kenji’s growth while he delivers an emphatic sermon to Topaz’s prisoners during a dust storm. The moment distills Kenji’s courage and perseverance. Hana, having sheltered Kenji during his depressive spiral, feels pride in witnessing his development into a moral leader. Kenji completes a redemptive arc in his transformation from neurotic student to emphatic social leader.

“He believed that what this country had done to the Japanese Americans since the war was the result of fear and hatred and greed among bigoted and misguided men. He believed this was not the real America he knew.”

The death and dehumanization of concentration camps diminish Taro’s optimism. Still, he maintains hope for the future. Anti-Japanese paranoia arises from ignorant individuals and does not indicate the sentiments of the entire country. Taro’s ruminations—occurring briefly before his death—show his unrelenting belief in American values.