War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory: "The Brides" movie poster

"The Brides" is chapter 2 of 5 chapters that make up the “War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory” film series.

Asako-san ("the Best Ambassador") married a white American marine. Fumiko-san ("Kitchens & a Priest") married a black American soldier. While both women were Japanese war brides who married their “enemies”, their lives took divergent paths when they left post-WWII Japan along with their husbands.

Today, Asako-san has a grandson who speaks Japanese while Fumiko-san has a daughter who is a Buddhist priest.

"War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory” features 5 chapters as indicated below:

1. “Herstory” featuring “Dekasegi” & “Japanese Brides, American Wives”

2. “The Brides” featuring “The Best Ambassador” & “Kitchens & a Priest”

3. “The Kids” featuring “The Entertainer’s Daughter”, “hafu” & “Remembering Her Mother”

4. “The Culture” featuring “Cactus…Cranes…Cooks”, “Tamales 4 Bon Odori” & “Bringing Japan Home”

5. “BFF’s: Buddhist Friends Forever” featuring “Missing Her Mom”, “Family Fortune” & “Disowned/Reclaimed”

www.warbridesofjapan.com #warbridesofjapan

  • Yayoi L Winfrey
    Illustrator/Designer
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Indo-Global International Film Festival
    Mumbai, Maharashtra India
    July 26, 2019
    Official Selection for Best Film Poster award
  • Laurus Film Festival
    Moldova, Kazakhstan and Belarus
    February 1, 2020
    Semi-Finalist for Best Film Poster award
  • Spring 2020 Edition of the Alternative Film Festival (AltFF)
    Toronto Canada
    March 23, 2020
    Semi-Finalist for Best Film Poster award
Artist Biography

Born in postwar Tokyo to a Japanese war bride and an African American soldier, Yayoi L Naito Winfrey has been creating media all her life. First, as an illustrator and graphic designer; then as a screenwriter, fiction writer and journalist; and, now, as a filmmaker. Growing up on three continents by the time she was five years-old gifted her with a strong appreciation for other people’s languages and cultures. As a mixed-race person, she has an innate sense of what it’s like being ’the other’; and, her long career in arts reflects that special position.

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Artist Statement

Storytelling through film engages so many senses. I feel so fortunate that I’m able to combine my love for both visual art and literature to make movies.