Suitcase, circa 1922
Japan played a minor role for European emigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, the German emigrant Johanna Dietrich finds herself there. In early 1920s Berlin, she meets and falls in love with Max Dietrich, who was born in Japan. Together, they emigrate to Yokohama in 1922. Johanna and her husband have two children together, both born in Japan. After World War II, Johanna obtains a residence permit for herself and her family in Japan. Many other German nationals are not as fortunate and are expelled from Japan at the end of the war. However, Johanna’s husband secures a job as a coordinator between the Japanese authorities and the American occupation, enabling him to support their small family. Johanna Dietrich takes the brown leather suitcase with her on her emigration to Japan. The travel item is adorned with various travel stickers, including one from ‘Yokohama’. The Japanese city is a significant trading city on the Asian continent. It is part of the Tokyo metropolitan area and serves as a political, economic, and cultural center of Japan.
