Where the Sun Rises

Introduction

War brides were women who married American soldiers between 1945-1954 in order to move to America and build better lives and families. These war brides triumphed in their new lives by seizing new opportunities to build better lives, but still faced tragedy in attempting to bond with their in-laws and fit into their communities. While having to set aside their Japanese origins to learn American cultural customs, many of these women successfully assimilated into American society and brought diversity to the country.

As WWII drew to a close and Japan surrendered to the United States, some Japanese women and American soldiers started courting. Most of these courtships led to marriage and the eventual immigration of war brides to America. Contrary to popular belief, many war bride marriages were successful in that each party had love for each other and were able to settle into American society. The Japanese War Bride stories are mostly untold as their children were not told much of their mother's backgrounds (as war brides) until they were adults.

Each experience of a Japanese war bride is inherently unique as they all made the difficult decision of leaving their home country to start new lives for themselves in a strange and distant country. Creative writing, more specifically in the form of creative nonfiction, is a unique way of exploring the narratives of their lives in America, based on the experiences of actual war brides. This type of medium allows the readers to connect more deeply to their struggles and allows them to understand their emotions and struggles on a personal level. This novel is purposely written in first person to draw a deeper connection to the main character, Haruka, and the reader, as first person is widely considered to be a more intimate form of perspective.