A collective group of Japanese women who emigrate to the United States in the early 1900s to marry men they only know from photographs. Arriving with diverse backgrounds, they quickly realize professional matchmakers have deceived them about their prospective spouses. They endure arduous labor and complicated marriages while working to preserve their cultural heritage in a foreign country.

The Japanese men who send for the picture brides. Though they present themselves as wealthy merchants or bankers in letters, they are actually manual laborers living in poverty. They enforce traditional patriarchal authority at home but face severe discrimination from the broader American society.

The first generation born in the United States to the picture brides. They grow up working alongside their parents but rapidly assimilate into American culture. Adopting fluent English and American customs, they actively distance themselves from their parents' foreign traditions.

The employers and neighbors who hold social and economic dominance over the Japanese immigrants. They range from wealthy women who treat their Japanese maids as exotic pets to hostile citizens who eagerly report on their neighbors. They rely heavily on the immigrants for cheap labor while maintaining strict racial hierarchies.

One of the picture brides who demonstrates quiet defiance regarding her cultural heritage. Rather than destroying all traces of her Japanese identity, she carefully places a laughing brass Buddha high in the corner of her house's attic.

An English passenger on the boat bringing the picture brides from Japan. He represents the first white person many of the women have ever seen, answering their eager questions about life in the United States.

A picture bride harboring a dark secret. She ultimately relieves her guilt by shouting the confession of an infanticide down into a well before leaving her property.

A practical wife who reacts proactively to rumors of men vanishing into government custody. Anticipating the authorities arriving for her spouse, she packs him a bag of essentials and leaves it by the front door.

One of the picture brides whose husband lives in terror of unexpected government raids. To avoid the profound shame of being arrested in his pajamas, her husband starts sleeping fully clothed.

A white medical professional who provides care to the pregnant picture brides. He stands out from other doctors of the era by kindly waiving his fees for the impoverished Japanese women.

One of the picture brides whose specific labor conditions highlight the harshness of their new lives. She delivers her child while lying on a thick bed of straw inside a barn in Maxwell.