'tokyo lily' and 'lily wisteria' on international women’s day

Yuri painting in her studio

konnichi-wa, heARTists and heART lovers everywhere!

it’s the 8th day of the 3rd month and, once again, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day by honoring Japanese war brides alongside their sisters around the world.

as you know from reading this blog, Japanese war brides were amazing women. in addition to marrying their former enemies (American military men), these ladies arrived in the U.S. during racial segregation and shortly after Americans of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned behind barbed wire. 

besides having to learn a new language and culture, Japanese war brides also raised mixed race children in environments that were often hostile towards them, and sometimes in isolated areas of the country.

we created our ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ films to celebrate these amazing women. all five movies are currently available on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/ 

meanwhile, we’ve been busy cataloging Yuri’s incredible heARTwork for a film, ‘Tokyo Lily’. we also have a graphic novel in the works, ‘Lily Wisteria’, which is all about her life.

'Tokyo Lily' will feature Yuri’s numerous paintings, wood carvings, quilting, crocheting and sewing projects, as well as her traditional dance performances and haiku (Japanese poetry). 

Yuri dancing in a male role

we hope to have both projects completed by early next year.

you can learn more about Japanese war brides at our two Youtube channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@warbridesofjapan/videos 

https://www.youtube.com/c/WatermelonSushi/videos 

here's our 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' website:

www.warbridesofjapan.com

and, Yuri’s heARTwork can be seen here:

https://lenastarwheels.wixsite.com/iamartistyuriko 

along with our two projects about Yuri, we’re also reworking ‘Watermelon Sushi’ as animation. this story of two AfroAsian sisters showcases their Japanese war bride mother, and how they discovered their identity through her. check it out here:

www.watermelonsushi.com

stick around as we’ll be announcing our crowdfunding campaign this summer.

happy International Women’s Day!

Yuri’s Fans Forever

Yuriko's heARTwork contributions to international women's day

happy International Women’s Day to heARTists and heART lovers around the world!

an old woman reflects on her life's past

a young woman reflects on her life to come

it’s the 8th day of the 3rd month and time for more heARTwork by Yuri.

interestingly, Japanese war brides like Yuriko contributed to global awareness of women’s issues without even realizing it.

when they arrived in the US for the first time (along with their American military husbands), Japanese war brides had experienced very little contact with western culture—outside of what the US military brought to Japan during the Occupation.

even Empress Michiko designated the war brides as ‘cultural ambassadors’ for Japan.

obon dancers by Yuriko

besides their beliefs in Shinto and Buddhism, the brides also perpetuated obon (ancestral celebrations) with bon odori (obon dances), ikebana (flower arranging), sumi-e (calligraphy), and the introduction a variety of foods. everything—from sushi to tempura to sukiyaki—eventually became popular in US specialty restaurants. 

war brides innocently brought their practices of Japanese culture to a country that had been so hostile towards Americans of Japanese descent that they had imprisoned them during WWII. 

by naively clinging to their native beliefs and arts, war brides were able to keep aspects of Japanese culture alive while Japanese Americans had been forced to destroy many elements of it.

through her love for painting, Yuriko imparted messages of peace and hope. even though she preferred to paint landscapes and seascapes, she also created paintings that featured Japanese motifs as well purely American ones.

Yuriko's koi painting is very Japanese

while her eagle woodcarving is totally American

some of her heARTwork appear on this blog page while others can be viewed at iAmArtistYuriko.com

Yuriko won many prizes for her heARTwork

a Wordie by Jason

also, you can stay updated about the 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' series at our website: www.warbridesofjapan.com

until June 30, I will always remain one of...

Yuri’s Fans Forever