The Buddha in the Attic begins with the boat journey taken by the young women who emigrated to America from Japan in the early 1900s as part of an arranged marriage market. The migrating women come from all parts of Japan but interact with one another and form friendships during the voyage. When they dock in San Francisco, they realize that the men awaiting them are older and shabbier versions of their photographed selves. It transpires that the women fell victim to the schemes of matchmakers, who lured them to America with the promise that they would marry silk merchants and reside in spacious homes.