War Bride Documentary
The Life of Keiko Hahn
Her name is Keiko Hahn, she is 91 years old, and she is my aunt
Keiko married an American soldier in 1951, when she was 20, and she crossed the ocean.
She was called "War Bride"
- she now lives in Lima, Ohio.
An ambitious work depicting the life, way of life, family, anguish, daily life of Keiko
who lived in turbulent times before and after the war, along with her social conditions at that time.
Five years after the war, when she was called a prostitute just for walking with an American soldier,
she asked, "Why did Keiko marry a soldier from an enemy country??
What is the happiness that was there?
We listened to the story of Keiko's life full of ups and downs, along with the history of Japan
and the United States from the Pacific War to the present day.
We will unravel what the [war bride] was in history.
War Bride Lima Premier Photos 10-14-2023
In 1951, at the age of 20, Keiko married an American soldier and moved abroad.
It was called "War Bride". Only five years after the war, in an era when people call you a prostitute just for walking with an American soldier, "Why did Keiko marry a soldier from an enemy country?" [The story of true love] depicts Keiko's life, way of life, family, anguish, discrimination, etc., who lived in a turbulent era, along with the social conditions of her time.
Prior to the “TBS Documentary Film Festival 2023”, which will start nationwide from March 17th (Friday), starting in Tokyo, a special “War Bride 91-year-old war bride” will be held on March 11th (Sat) in Harima-cho, Hyogo Prefecture. A preliminary screening was held.
Harima-cho is a sister city to Lima, Ohio, where Keiko Hahn lives, and they have maintained a good friendship through homestays and cultural exchanges.
In this work, Keiko, who hated the war after the bombing of Yokohama, married a US soldier from an enemy country at the age of 20 and crossed the sea. A documentary film about the turbulent life of Ms. Keiko Hahn, who currently resides in Lima, Ohio, directed by her nephew, Ryutaro Kawashima.
Before the screening,
Ms. Keiko Hahn said, "Although I was discriminated against in Japan and the United States, I had a lot of hardships, but I am living a happy life. I am really happy that you are watching. Thank you." A message was sent online.
After the screening, Director Kawashima, who continued to turn the camera on Keiko, took the stage greetings and talked about his thoughts on finishing the film, and the audience listened intently.
When my aunt Keiko, who I had only met briefly when I was a child and was unfamiliar with, participated remotely in a symposium on the war in Hiroshima, she said, "I still hate war. But I don't hate people." When she said with tears in her eyes, she was left with a big question, "Why did you cross the sea to America?" . Why did you marry an enemy American soldier right after the war you hated? Filming began in order to find out.
“Keiko placed a high priority on volunteer activities in her life. The reason for this is that she hates war, but she does not hate people. There is no," said Keiko, who said that it was impressive.
Finally, Director Kawashima concluded with this.
“I really want the families of the people who have just watched it to see it, as well as the younger generation. I want people all over the country to see it. I want to enjoy the movie with Keiko-san."
After the event, people who knew Keiko well through international exchange gathered and took a commemorative photo.
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Biography of Principal Individuals for the Project
Ms. Keiko Hahn (“war bride”, Lima, Ohio, USA)
Keiko Hahn was born in 1930 and graduated from Yokohama Koran Girls' School（Now Futaba). Keiko met her husband, Frank Hahn, while working at Camp Zama. She married Frank in 1951 and moved to Lima, Ohio, USA. After having three children, Frank and Keiko opened a specialized antiques and bookstore in 1960s. In about the 1998, Mayor Berger appointed Keiko chairman of the Japan committee of the Lima Sister Cities Association. In 2009, Keiko received the Shirley Daley Community Leadership Award from the Lima/Allen County Neighborhood in Partnership (LACNIP). In 2010, from the Lima Sister City Association and Lima City set up a small memorial stone in the Japanese Garden with Keiko's name and family crest "Oni ivy in the circle" because of the activities to plant nine cherry trees donated by junior high school students in Harima-cho, Japan. In 2011, she received the Bronze Medal from the Jefferson Awards.
Mr. Ryutaro Kawashima, Director (TBS TV, Tokyo, Japan)
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Deputy General Manager, Production Promotion Department and Drama Production Department, Content Production Bureau, TBS Television Inc. Mr. Ryutaro Kawashima joined a production company in 1996 and was involved in the production of news programmes. Then in 1998, he became the AD of TBS' "Sweet Season", his first drama, and was involved in various drama productions. In 2009, he joined TBS's drama production department and was responsible for directing and producing a number of dramas. His major works include the dramas "Hanzawa Naoki", "Rikuou", "Shitamachi Rocket", "JIN" and the films "Prayer Curtain Comes Down" and "Seven Meetings". He creates stories because he believes that drama and other forms of entertainment have the power to touch people's hearts. He has been involved in drama production for 24 years with the aim of creating heart-wrenching works about ordinary people.
Prof. Itsuko Toyama (Kanamoto), Ph.D. (St. Andrew’s University, Osaka, Japan)
rofessor of Intercultural Communication, Graduate School of Business and Department of Economics, Momoyama Gakuin University, Osaka, Japan. Prof. Toyama (Kanamoto) received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oregon (USA), was a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford (UK) and the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), and a researcher at the National Museum of Ethnology (Japan). She has conducted extensive research on the ageing and well-being of Japanese people in the USA, Brazil, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia. She was awarded the "Mèrito da Immigranção Japonese na Amazonia". Books and articles: "The role of active ageing in the well-being of elderly Japanese in Brazil"(National Museum of Ethnology), "Ethnic dimensions of ageing in the UK: A case study on the well-being of Elderly Japanese"(The Japan Foundation), "Keywords on Japanese Culture"(Yuhikaku), "Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication" (Shunpukan), "Beyond ethnographic approach: Visualizing Nikkei Culture in Immigrants TANKA in Brazil and their global history" (Akashi-shoten) and others.