57 pages • 1 hour read
Yoshiko UchidaPicture Bride
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 29-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 29 Summary
Each evening, a guard walks through the camp to count the residents in each apartment. Hana sees it as one of the camp’s many superfluous practices. One night after the headcount, Hana delights in noticing Kenji walking with Sumiko. Taro himself acknowledges that they would make a good romantic pairing.
Anxieties grow when rumors spread of an FBI search. The news is confirmed by an official announcement. On the day of the search, each prisoner is told to remain in their stall until it is searched. At lunch, another rumor arises: The prisoners may be moved to another camp in Utah. Hana and Taro are cautiously eager to hear this news. If they are relocated to Utah, they could rendezvous with Mary in Salt Lake City. Hana yearns for the sight of her daughter and granddaughter; she realizes that she finally forgives Mary and understands her decision to leave.
After waiting all day for the search, the guards spend less than two minutes searching the Takeda’s stall. Hana cries over “the stupidity” of the camp and its meaningless rules.
Chapter 30 Summary
The prisoners’ official move to Utah is announced. While the Takedas hope for a better-equipped camp in Utah, the idea of leaving California fills them with dread. Kenji and Sumiko visit the Takedas to inform them of their engagement. They ask Hana and Taro to serve as their “go-betweens” as a traditional formality, and the Takedas proudly accept. Hana is largely motivated to help Kenji and Sumiko with marriage as redemption for being unable to help Mary and Joseph. A wedding is held for the young couple in the concentration camp. The community works together to acquire food, decorations, and clothes for the occasion. Lost in the happiness of the wedding, the day feels “as though they were not in a concentration camp at all” (184).
Subsequently, Kenji and Sumiko volunteer to be among the first to transfer to the new camp in Utah, the Topaz Relocation Center. The rest of the prisoners follow two weeks later. Taro writes to Mary to inform her that they will travel through Salt Lake City. Taro invites her to meet them at the station, but he and Hana doubt that she will make the trip. As the chapter closes, the Takedas and their neighbors begin the train ride from Tanforan to Topaz.
Chapter 31 Summary
On the train, Hana watches the passing buildings, landscapes, and people with envy. Witnessing the outside world makes Hana resent her imprisonment even more. The ride from California to Utah takes several days with limited stops.
The passengers learn that the train will stop briefly in Salt Lake City. As they pull into the station, Mary waves at them from the platform with Joseph. The family talks during the train’s short respite. Mary updates her parents on her daughter’s health and gives them a photo of her. The train pulls away from the station, and Mary wishes her parents goodbye. Mary’s unexpected visit strengthens Hana and Taro as they continue their journey.
Chapter 32 Summary
The prisoners arrive at Topaz. The camp is located in a barren desert plagued by dust storms. The higher altitude, drastic temperature changes, and spoiled food make Topaz a harsher environment than Tanforan. Kenji worries that the prisoners’ morale will dwindle quickly in such a place. Mrs. Mitosa is hospitalized after a severe asthma attack. Topaz’s only appealing characteristic is the open landscape; Hana and Taro take evening walks to witness the sunset and stars.
The Takedas receive letters from Kiku and Dr. Kaneda. Kiku and her sons have been moved to a Colorado camp. She explains that she never received payment for the farm. Dr. Kaneda decides to return to Japan when the US government allows it. The news crushes Taro and Hana, who knew Dr. Kaneda to be an optimistic and inspiring figure.
Chapter 33 Summary
In Colorado, Kiku laments the dishonest sale of her farm. Tensions have risen between her and her sons, who have grown cynical and hopeless about camp life.
The US government announces that it will recruit an All-Nisei Combat Team. As a result, young Japanese American men can volunteer for military service. Army recruiters visit the different concentration camps to garner volunteers. Additionally, the recruiters require all prisoners—regardless of their desire for military service—to complete a registration test that swears loyalty to the US instead of Japan. The unfairness of the questionnaire frustrates Kiku and the other prisoners.
Despite their mother’s objections, Kenny and Jimmy consider volunteering for military service. Hoping to prove their courage and escape Topaz, both brothers enlist and leave for training. Kiku is hurt by their decision, but she tells her sons that she is proud of them and that Henry would be, too. Kiku, despite her isolation, begins working in the mess hall.
Chapter 34 Summary
Taro takes a new interest in collecting relics from the desert such as arrowheads and fossils. His friendship with Kenji deepens. Kenji helps Taro process and reckon with their dire situation. The prisoners attempt to farm the land on Topaz, but the earth is too barren and the weather too harsh to grow any crops or trees.
One day, Hana weeps when two seagulls fly overhead and remind her of San Francisco. While many of the prisoners have lost hope, Kenji endures as a leader. He supports the community to the best of his ability through advice and prayer. During one of many dust storms, Kenji leads a sermon to occupy the congregation. Hana and Taro walk home in the dust storm, but the experience is physically and mentally draining.
Doctors allow Mrs. Mitosa to relocate to Salt Lake City due to her health issues. Sumiko will accompany her, and Kenji will follow shortly thereafter. Before leaving, Kenji promises to look for jobs and connections that will enable the release of other prisoners.
Chapter 35 Summary
Taro and Kenji fill out the government-mandated registration form. Like Kiku, they are puzzled by the form’s deceptive language. Taro contemplates the relationship between Japanese immigrants and the United States. While he has been oppressed by the government, Taro maintains faith in the fundamental tenets and principles of America.
He goes on a walk to think and search for relics in the sand. Meanwhile, Hana begins writing a letter to Kiku but decides against it. She knows Kiku has troubles of her own. Suddenly, a messenger tells Hana that she is needed at the hospital. Taro was shot by guards while walking near the camp fence. Kenji arrives at the hospital shortly after Hana. Taro is conscious, and he and Hana exchange some words of regret and forgiveness before Taro passes away.
Mary, Joe, and their daughter, Laurie, arrive the next day. Hana sends word of Taro’s death to Kiku, Mrs. Davis, and Dr. Kaneda. Hundreds of people attend Taro’s funeral service. Kenji moderates and provides a eulogy. Taro is the first casualty at Topaz and is buried in the desert outside of the gate. While the burial is not ideal, Hana takes solace that Taro is laid to rest alongside the desert and sky that he grew to love.
Mary tries to convince Hana to move to Salt Lake City with her, but Hana chooses to remain in the desert with Taro. Kiku arrives at Topaz on a prisoner bus; she has been transferred to Topaz from her camp. Sumiko watches Hana and Kiku reunite from afar. In the distance, another dust storm begins to form.
Chapters 29-35 Analysis
The final chapters of Picture Bride focus on the dilapidated conditions of Japanese “internment” camps, which parallel the characters’ diminishing hope and prospects. Uchida draws from her personal experience in “internment” camps to provide specific details about Tanforan and Topaz, the two real-life camps in which Uchida and her family were imprisoned.
Throughout this section, characters bring attention to the absurdity of these camps and their extensive regulations. The contraband search in Chapter 29 is an unnecessary procedure that nonetheless creates morbid anticipation for the prisoners. The uselessness of the search causes Hana to weep out of frustration. The registration form also disturbs the prisoners; in particular, a question that asks prisoners to swear allegiance to America and forgo allegiance to Japan puzzles the novel’s characters. Essentially, the question asks Japanese citizens to swear loyalty to America, the country that has imprisoned and exploited them. After reading the question, Kiku surmises her discontent with the question: “That is an impossible question to answer [...] If we said yes to that, we would be left without a country!” (199). This statement underlines the irony of assimilation, which requires giving up one’s culture and identity without any guarantee of belonging in one’s new society.
During the evacuation, Japanese citizens were forced to give up their livelihoods. Picture Bride’s depiction of the concentration camps shows that the evacuation originated from paranoia and was executed through meaningless bureaucracy and violence. The uselessness and ignorance of the characters’ imprisonment make the imprisonment all the more debilitating. This is most tragically shown in Taro’s death. Taro is a proud American who has not lost faith in his country, yet he is murdered while walking along the prison fence. Through Taro’s death, Uchida demonstrates that concentration camps were not a temporary inconvenience but a discriminatory practice that did permanent damage to Japanese American families.
Another ironic aspect of Japanese imprisonment is the All-Nisei Combat Team. As alluded to in Chapter 33, this military effort recruited young Japanese men to fight for the country that imprisoned them. Many young men, such as Kenny and Jimmy Toda, join the military out of honor, pride, and a desire to leave the camps. The real-life equivalent of the All-Nisei Combat Team is the 442nd Regiment, which almost entirely consisted of Japanese Americans. The 442nd is the most decorated regiment in US military history.
The desolation of Topaz wears greatly on Hana and Taro, who remain persistent and tough throughout the novel. However, they still find refuge in day-to-day activities. Taro—devastated by Henry’s death and Dr. Kaneda’s exodus—finds satisfaction in carpentry and hunting for relics in the sand. These are productive hobbies, but they also provide a distraction from stress, grief, and despair. He and Hana both enjoy the sunsets at Topaz. Uchida’s diction emphasizes the sky’s raw beauty during Hana and Taro’s evening walks: “the entire sky turned a brilliant, flaming red that faded into the lavenders and pinks of dusk” (195). The imagery here contrasts with the frequently bleak descriptions of the Utah landscape. Even though they are isolated in a wasteland, Hana and Taro are still able to draw some contentment from their surroundings. After the sunset, they enjoy the star-ridden night sky.
Hana’s reconciliation with Mary is another optimistic aspect of the novel’s last chapters. Hana finally forgives her daughter for abandoning the family and even sympathizes with her decision. Mary’s visit to the Salt Lake City train station demonstrates her still-present love for her parents, and Hana and Taro are surprised and comforted by this display of affection. While Hana chooses not to join Mary in Salt Lake City, Taro’s death alleviates their mutual distrust of each other. A major arc of Picture Bride is Hana and Mary’s disconnect due to The Burden of Assimilation, guilt, and misunderstanding. At the end of the novel, Hana is emotionally, if not physically, reconnected to her daughter.
Hana’s reunion with Kiku provides a final triumphant moment after Taro’s death, emphasizing the enduring power of community in adversity and Female Solidarity in the Immigration Experience. However, the looming sandstorm foreshadows more hardship in the future. The novel ends in 1943, and World War II did not end until 1945. The characters’ imprisonment is far from over, and the long-term effects of the camps on their lives are still uncertain.
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By Yoshiko Uchida
