Uncle Gunjiro's Girlfriend: A duet for storyteller
and acoustic bass, Brenda Wong Aoki is accompanied by award winning composer and
musician Mark Izu with a haunting original score.
The TRUE story of the first Japanese/Caucasian marriage in California
A secret family shame is unraveled to reveal an incredible tale of forbidden
love. In 1909, Brenda Wong Aoki's great uncle Gunjiro, son of a legendary
samurai, fell in love with Helen Gladys Emery, the daughter of the Archdeacon
of San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. Their announced engagement triggered
a media blitz of yellow peril headlines, provoked public outrage, death
threats and culminated in the loss of Ms. Emery's citizenship. Uncle
Gunjiro's Girlfriend tells the tale of their epic love and its impact
on descendants three generations later. |
