Title: "Japanese Bride Cannot Join Picture Husband," Seattle Times, 5/13/1910, (ddr-densho-56-165)
Densho ID: ddr-densho-56-165

JAPANESE BRIDE CANNOT JOIN PICTURE HUSBAND

Mrs. Okita Masu, Married by Proxy, Detained at Immigration Station Because of Eye Trouble.

Prevented by the laws of the land from entering this country, Mrs. Okita Masu, a pretty little Japanese woman, who came to the United States to meet her "picture husband," to whom she was wedded by proxy, is detained at the immigration station at Smith's Cove.

Mrs. Masu arrived April 27 on the Awa Maru from Kobe, intending to proceed to Sacramento, Cal., to join a husband she has never seen, who is a contractor in that city. On examination here it was discovered that she was afflicted with trachoma, a contagious disease of the eyes, and she has been detained pending an investigation of her case.

A petition has been sent to the secretary of commerce and labor asking that he allow her to be placed in a hospital in this country for treatment. If his consent is given and a cure is affected and she will be permitted to proceed on her interrupted journey.

According to a Japanese custom, Mrs. Masu and the man who is now her husband, were married when thousands of miles separated them. Among the Japanese this is a "picture marriage," and is similar to a marriage by proxy in this country. She and her husband will have to be married and again according to the laws of this country before she will be allowed to live in the United States.