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A group of future picture brides, attending English school in Japan, ca. 1913. (Japanese American National Museum, Kikumura-Yano, 38).
Anonymous couple-Photo 1915, courtesy of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre |
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The practice of using picture brides wasn’t seen as wrong or taboo because it was similar to the arranged marriage process in Japan. The only difference was that the groom wasn’t present for the wedding ceremonies (some were however). The bride’s name would be written in the husband’s family registry and as far as the Japanese were concerned the couple was married despite the absent groom. However, until 1917, America did not recognize these marriages and as a result there would be a mass wedding ceremony on the docks after the picture brides arrived in America.
His original intention was to go back to Japan. However, he wasn’t able to save up enough money; instead, he would settle for bringing a wife to America. He would then write his family in Japan and ask them to find him a wife. They, in turn, would arrange everything. They would hire a baishakunin (marriage arranger) and she would find a willing woman based on her family background, health, age, and wealth. The two would communicate through letters, pictures, and gifts. The Japanese government required that the husband have at least $800 saved and he couldn’t be more than thirteen years older than the bride. The marriage had to take place six months before immigration to prevent the spread of prostitution. After the marriage it was custom for the bride to live with the in-laws for a period of time.
"After a simple shasin kekkon, picture marriage, I went to live with my in-laws for six months. This, too, was the custom; but I was so unhappy because I had to work very hard in my in-law’s home. I was like a servant; no, my life was worse than a servent’s. So I ran away to my family several times; but each time, my in-laws and the nakahodo came to plead with me to return to their household. Since I was the chōnan’s (oldest son’s) bride, they said I had to stay with them for six months. Some dejected picture brides refused to return to their in-laws’ houses and were registered as divorced before they even met their husbands." - Quote from Tatsuyo Hazama
 
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