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Ambivalence of Identity: Stories of the Japanese War Brides in New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Elena Kolesova  and
Mutsumi Kanazawa
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Abstract

This article explores the construction of identity by the Japanese war brides (sensō hanayome 戦争花嫁) in postwar New Zealand. War brides came to New Zealand in the 1950s in search of a new life with their New Zealand partners. However, Japanese atrocities towards New Zealand prisoners of war were not forgotten there, nor were Japanese actions in Pearl Harbor and in the Pacific. In addition to being reminders of Japan as the enemy, the war brides were non-white in a country that unofficially followed a “white” immigration policy. These initial difficulties did not affect the war brides' determination to make New Zealand their new home. Through the stories of the war brides and their family members, this article contributes to understanding nascent, informal transnational relations between Japan and New Zealand as they emerged into the early postwar era. It also tells the story of how the transmission of memory of Japan and the Asia-Pacific War has passed from the brides to the “post-memory” generation of their children.

Keywords

Japanese war brides“good wife and wise mother”Asia-Pacific WarNew Zealandcultural identity
Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 20 , Issue 11 , June 2022 , e1
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2022

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