Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides

Three women—all first-born daughters of Japanese war brides—recall their mothers’ lives in 1950s America. These were the brides that young GIs brought home from an enemy nation, an estimated 50,000 Japanese women by the end of the 1950s. Scattered across the United States, the women were left largely to their own devices as they tried to navigate a racially segregated American society. Drawing on personal anecdotes, this portrait of their saga is in equal measure one of triumph, humor, and sadness. The filmmakers tell their stories both as journalists and as the mixed-race children who experienced firsthand their dreams, struggles, and aspirations.

Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides (2016, 26 min) Blue Chalk Media, starring Atsuko Craft, Lucy Craft, and Emiko Kasmauski.

Followed by a discussion moderated by Kay Thomas, former director of International Student and Scholar Services of U of MN, with Lawrence Farrar, a career diplomat posted in Japan five times, and Professor Hiromi Mizuno, associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota.

Co-presented by the Japan America Society of Minnesota & JET Alumni Association of Minnesota, with generous support from Sasakawa USA and USJETAA.

Free, but advanced tickets are recommended, as space is limited. To reserve your ticket, follow this link, or call 612.870.6323.