picture bride
Photograph-matched immigrant spouse
A picture bride was a woman, typically from Japan, Korea, or China, who emigrated to marry a man she knew only from exchanged photographs.
The practice flourished in the early twentieth century when Asian men working in Hawaii and the American West sought wives from home countries.
Immigration restrictions and the couples' poverty made traditional courtship impossible, so families arranged marriages through correspondence and photos.
My great-grandmother came to California as a picture bride in 1912.
Large-scale farming operation
- HawaiiPacific island state
- MeijiJapanese modernization era
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- transpacificSpanning the Pacific Ocean
immigration station · early 20th century · Japanese · Korean · Okinawan · ancestry · heritage · assimilation
Government-issued travel credential
- visaTravel authorization stamp
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
- citizenshipStatus as state member
journey · crossing · border · homeland · expatriate · settler · alien · relocation
Arranger of romantic pairings
- go-betweenAgent connecting separate parties
- intermediaryAgent linking two parties
- betrothalFormal marriage agreement
- proxyAuthorized substitute
introduction · dowry · consent · courtship · correspondence · prospects · compatibility · alliance
plantation
Large-scale farming operation
- HawaiiPacific island state
- MeijiJapanese modernization era
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
transpacific · immigration station · early 20th century · Japanese · Korean · Okinawan · ancestry · heritage · assimilation · settlement
passport
Government-issued travel credential
- visaTravel authorization stamp
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
citizenship · journey · crossing · border · homeland · expatriate · settler · alien · relocation · exodus
matchmaker
Arranger of romantic pairings
- go-betweenAgent connecting separate parties
- intermediaryAgent linking two parties
- betrothalFormal marriage agreement
proxy · introduction · dowry · consent · courtship · correspondence · prospects · compatibility · alliance · proposal
portrait
Artistic depiction of someone
- studioCreative professional's workspace
- formalFollowing strict protocol
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
likeness · keepsake · mailed · black-and-white · retouched · posed · image · kimono · dress · identification
picture bridelove match
Marriage for passion, not practicality
love marriage · childhood sweetheart · high school sweetheart · college sweetheart
picture bridelove match
Marriage for passion, not practicality
whirlwind romance · love at first sight · elopement · runaway bride
picture, bride, pictures, pictured, picturing, pictorial, picturesque, brides, bridal