57 pages • 1 hour read
Yoshiko UchidaPicture Bride
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Dust Storms
The dust storms that plague the Topaz “internment” camp amplify feelings of isolation and desolation in the prisoners. They represent the brutality of camp life and the unrelenting oppression of systemic racism. While the Tanforan camp is harsh, Topaz is located in a lifeless wasteland. Dust storms rage through the camp, creating a prison of dust and wind alongside the prison fence. The last line of the novel situates the dust storms alongside the power structure of normative Euro-American society; systemic racism operates as a “white fury” that Japanese Americans will have to endure for the unforeseeable future. Dust storms exist as a practical obstacle to prisoners; they make daily life challenging and unhealthy. Beyond that, dust storms reinforce the psychological torment endured by the camp’s prisoners.
Kenji’s sermon during the sandstorm establishes him as an enduring figure. As the storm rages around the makeshift church, Kenji continues to comfort his congregation with lessons of faith. During this scene, Kenji stands in Hana’s eyes as a “giving, loving person—a true man of God” (205). At this moment, the dust storm implies more than a natural disaster. It symbolizes the social oppression that the Japanese American prisoners endure at the hands of their own government.
Kimono
A kimono is a traditional Japanese gown worn by women. Hana wears a kimono upon her arrival in San Francisco and on special occasions throughout the novel. The kimono symbolizes Japanese identity. As she rides the boat from San Francisco to Oakland, Hana’s kimono makes her feel like an outsider amidst American clothing. Even in the Japanese American community, kimonos are a rarity. This demonstrates the community’s declining adherence to Japanese tradition in favor of American social norms. When Hana wears a kimono for New Year’s breakfast, she worries that Kiku will think she is being “too Japanese” (43). This suggests that Japanese Americans have a tinge of embarrassment toward outwardly displaying their cultural heritage. Kimonos are a symbol of the past. When Kiku salvages Hana’s kimonos to make her wedding dress, she erases the past in favor of the future.
However, attachments to the past can provide comfort. Hana sometimes wears her kimono on holidays to feel connected to home. Hana dons her kimono for New Year’s because “she wanted to cling to the familiarity of her kimono” (41). When she wears the kimono, Hana remembers the New Year’s celebrations in her hometown. As a symbol, kimonos demonstrate the bonds formed between humans and objects.
Picture Bride also invokes kimonos as a signifier of female Japanese identity. Hana hopes dressing Mary in a kimono for International Day will bring them closer together. However, the event reminds Hana that they are growing further apart. After Hana dresses her in a kimono, Mary does not invite her to the International Day assembly. This decision hurts Hana; rather than facilitate a connection between two Japanese women, the kimono becomes a source of division.
Traditional Japanese Cuisine
For any nationality, food represents cultural identity. When Hana cooks a traditional Japanese meal, she feels connected to her Japanese heritage. Cooking a large New Year’s breakfast triggers memories of home-cooked meals. She recalls the step-by-step preparation of mochi in her family kitchen. For Hana, food relates to memory, identity, and contentment: “Hana smiled to herself as she remembered, wishing it were possible to store such happiness away to draw on when it was needed” (42). Food allows Hana to reminisce with significant clarity. In the alien world of America, food tethers Hana to a more comfortable place and time.
A similar moment of food-based profundity occurs when the Takedas visit the Todas at their farm. Kiku prepares a large meal of traditional Japanese dishes. The feast moves Hana: “It was as though she were trying in this one meal to make up for all the years they hadn’t seen one another [...] [Hana] savored every moment of her time with them” (114). Food is integral to Hana’s conception of family and home. Holidays and reunions allow for moments of frivolity and community that Hana usually finds lacking in her American life.
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