Husband’s Pictures

These pictures are the most important items the Japanese women bring with them on the boat. They show off these pictures to the other women on the boat before they do anything else. These pictures represent the hopes that the women have for their lives in America.

Trunks

The women bring these trunks full of Japanese clothes and other household necessities with them on the boat to America. The trunks represent the women’s lives in Japan. Later, when the Japanese decide they need to blend in more with the Americans, they burn the things in their trunks in an attempt to destroy their Japanese lives and culture.

Letters

After they docked in San Francisco, the Japanese women realized that the men who were to be their husbands had not written the letters they had received. The letters symbolized another way in which the...