spared of this walk on such a hot day. There were about a half a dozen men in the hack that were going to the same hotel. Everyone was excited and it was hard to keep still. They went back and forth to the little grocery store next door to buy soft drinks and nibble at flavored shaved ice. Ice was a commodity of luxury on the plantations. Dressed in their Sunday best, uniformly in heavy, black woolen suits, it was very uncomfortable on such a hot day. When the groom did not have a suit himself, some friend would loan his for the occasion. Even the stiff celluloid collar seemed to wrinkle and lose its shape under the drenching from perspiration. Mr. Azumi, the hotel manager, appeared and announced in a smiling tone, "There will be nothing to do until one o'clock in the afternoon. It may be best for you all to have a morning nap followed by a good bath. You all appear worn out after the night's voyage. First impressions are very important, you know. You must look your best."
"What do we do when we get to the Immigration Station?"
"You just produce her picture, identify her, and bring her here. Then we take you to a minister and have you go through a religious ceremony. Here in Hawaii, it is considered good taste to have a church marriage. Anyway, with this group I don't look for any trouble. You are all young and rather good looking. But sometimes there is the dickens to pay. The bridegroom and photograph don't match and he who tried to have some other do his long distance courting would meet his Waterloo at this critical stage. We have had several such cases. Fortunately, some girls became resigned to their fate and are good wives and mothers today.
"With other more spirited ones, it was not so good. Gamblers, and you know there are many in Honolulu, got scent of these unsavory cases and had pestered them like vultures would a stinking carcass. In the end their, promise of an easy life in the city along a primrose path lured the women away. The fate of these women is sad and deplorable. Today, they live as prostitutes in Chinatown. So I admonish you all. In this community where women are scarce, you must treat your wives with consideration. The concept of the old country concerning women must be modified a little. Don't let them feel discontented. Don't take them for granted. You know, I am quite sure, of the number of wives that run away with other men. Seducers are everywhere. Whatever is said in the final analysis, the secret of a happy marriage is to love her well. So, now until the hot bath is ready at eleven o'clock, you had better go to bed." With such fatherly advice, the experienced hotel manager left them to masticate the contents of his message.
Among the men there was one about twenty-six years old to whom Seikichi took an instant liking. "I am Seikichi Arata from Kauai. You are evidently from another island. How was the trip?"
"Thank you. My name is Tarao Murayama and I am from the Hamakua coast of the Island of Hawaii. I came over on the Kinau this morning. It was a twenty-four hour trip and a very rough passage."
"How long have you been in Hawaii?"
"Five years. Soon after my examination for military service, from which I was exempted, I came to these islands."
"Did you know your girl in Japan?"
"Yes. She is from the same village although of a different subdivision. In fact we used to be sweethearts. She is three years my junior."
"Well, you are fortunate. You have not the fear that I have. I don't know my wife. She comes from a distance, although she is distantly related. This waiting and suspense are worse than the hour before examinations at school," Seikichi laughed wryly.
"Don't worry. I know it will be all right in your case. In the final analysis, the girls have travelled four thousand miles to come here. Something must be drastically wrong somewhere not to have things go right. Let us go up. If I am not mistaken, we are assigned to adjacent rooms. I shall be seeing you often while we are in Honolulu."
"Mr. Azumi gave us some good advice. I know of a case that was comical and tragic. This man lived on a neighboring plantation on Kauai. Like a fool, he borrowed a younger man's photograph to lure a girl. When he met her at the Immigration Station she was shocked to find that her prospective groom was almost as old as her father. In spite of all the cajoling and comforting talk, she refused to identify him as her man and she elected to be returned to Japan."
"I don't blame her. After all, to start marriage with a lie is not auspicious. We have many marriages that started this way on the Hamakua coast. They end up with the women running away with other men. A few ran off after children were born."
Arata sadly said, "It is also the situation in Kauai. Marriage may be a big gamble after all."
CHAPTER 4
Picture Bride Arrives
THE IMMIGRATION STATION WAS A TWO story frame building. There were several large halls containing rows of three-tiered steel beds. There were no mattresses. Each immigrant had to use his own blanket to soften the impact of the steel springs that sustained his recumbent body. They were forced to stay indoors except for thirty minutes after the noonday meal. Under these most trying circumstances, the women had to wait until their husbands arrived from the plantations to claim them. This picture bride system was similar in many respects to the "Tobacco brides" shipped from England to the Jamestown colony of Virginia in the early colonial days. In this instance, the women were shipped en masse to Virginia and the bachelor settlers took their pick, paying for their wives in tobacco. In a young settlement, the male element predominates. Soon, when toil is rewarded by security, the desire for a family arises. To resort to the most convenient and economical way to get the best possible girl under the circumstances is natural. Such an unusual procedure of human union sprang from necessity, and the results were not as bad as one might fear.
At one o'clock that afternoon, in a separate room, each woman was called in and introduced to her husband-to-be in the presence of the hotel man and immigration officials. Seikichi awaited his turn with a palpitating heart. With even greater curiosity and inward trepidation mixed with bashfulness, Haru, the bride, was undergoing the ordeal with unprecedented fortitude, for there was no mother or friend to lean on on this occasion. She did not have the desire to pace the floor. She merely sat still and waited the inevitable. The minute hands of the big wall clock moved forward agonizingly slow, little heeding her fear and agony. Her mouth parched easily; the salivary glands ceased functioning. It was a wonder that her heart did not stop beating also. The suspense was great.
Finally a matter-of-fact voice announced, "Arata Haru," and she came to herself. With great effort she said hai. Even after several attempts, it was barely audible. She stepped forward and was led to the office. With downcast eyes she entered the room, but she was aware of the presence of her man. By instinct, she knew which one he was as she fearfully raised her eyes to the men in the room.
"This is your husband, Arata Seikichi. Is the identification sufficient? If you are not satisfied, it is your privilege to decline going with him. You may both produce your photographs for comparison," the immigration official said in his routine manner.
"It is not necessary," she said in a voice that she herself was surprised to hear. For to her the striking resemblance he bore to his elder brother was evidence in itself.
"And how is it with you, Mr. Arata?" asked Mr. Azumi.
"It is all right with me," answered Seikichi automatically, marvelling at the clearcut answer the brave girl had made. It made him feel proud of her already, and at the same time he was aware of feeling flattered. She could not have said it so decisively if she did not like him. The first impression is said to be vital in matters of love. It was a good start; an auspicious omen regarding the marital voyage he was embarking upon, with Haru as copilot.
"In that case will you both step forward and sign this register? It will be kept here with the government. It concerns your marriage and entry of Mrs. Arata
