Mixed-Race Japanese Marriages: Views on International Marriages from a Historical Perspective

CJRC Hapa Japan Project

• Date:
  Monday, September 10, 2012
  
• Time:
  5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
• Organizer:
  Kana Yoshida
• Campus:
  University Park Campus
• Venue:
  Doheny Memorial Library (DML)
• Room:
  East Asian Seminar Room (110C)
• Cost:
  Free
• Phone:
  (213) 821-4365
• Email:
  kanay@dornsife.usc.edu

Summary:

A lecture by Professor Itsuko Kamoto of the Kyoto Women's University on intermarriage between Japanese and non-Japanese, or kokusai kekkon. **Talk will be in JAPANESE only**

Description:

The Japanese government was less concerned about race than nationality when Decree 103, which first established the rules for international marriage in Japan, was drafted in 1873. Its model was the Napoleonic Code. Resulting from its relationship with the United States, the Japanese government learned that Japanese were categorized as “Mongolian” and as such, were prohibited from marriage to Caucasians in some sates that had anti-miscegenation laws. The immigration law of 1924 enabled Japanese to emigrate to the United States, later resulting in the post-war Japanese War Bride act and setting the stage for dilemmas such as Japanese women being blamed for kidnapping their children back to their home country. Professor Kamoto will discuss possible solutions to problems regarding mixed-race marriages, and invite discussion on these issues.

***This talk will be in JAPANESE only***