Licensing

Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled (Stop Picture Bride)"

Japanese men immigrated to the United States first, mostly to work and earn a sufficient amount of money, with the hopes of returning home. However, once in the U.S., many decided to remain. In order to begin a family, the men mailed their parents pictures of themselves, and the parents were to find a suitable bride for their sons. This was known as the "Picture Bride." Once a bride was selected, she would travel to the United States to meet and marry her husband. The United States was against the Picture Bride system, because the establishment of Japanese American family units seemed threatening to them. This urge to stop this system is likely what Sugimoto sought to depict here.