Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire: Fragmenting History

This book examines the lives of women who did not or could not adhere to the Japanese imperial ideology of good wives, wise mothers, and supporters of male empire-building. It explores memories, semi-autobiographical stories, and newspaper articles from Japan, Shanghai, Manchukuo, colonial Korea, and the Pacific, focusing on marginalized women such as sex workers, women entertainers, hostesses, and hibakusha. It also includes the first English translation of a statement on comfort women by former Japanese propaganda actress Ri Kōran / Yamaguchi Yoshiko.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 108 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the lives of women who either did not or were unable to adhere to the Japanese imperial ideology of being good wives and wise mothers, who were expected to support male empire-building. While many feminist critics have highlighted the active roles of women as dutiful collaborators for the Japanese empire, male-dominated narratives of empire-building have largely been accepted and reinforced. In contrast, the roles of marginalized women, such as sex workers, women entertainers, hostesses, and hibakusha (women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II), have received limited analysis. To address this intellectual gap, this book closely examines memories, semi-autobiographical stories, and newspaper articles, drawing from lived experiences in Japan, Shanghai, Manchukuo, colonial Korea, and the Pacific. Chapters also explore the voices of diasporic Korean women (Zainichi Korean women born in Japan and Korean American women born in Korea) who were impacted by the ethnocentric narratives that were central to the Japanese empire. An appendix features the first English translation of a poignant statement on comfort women by former Japanese propaganda actress Ri Kōran/Yamaguchi Yoshiko.

Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of the Japanese Empire will be of interest to students and scholars of Japanese literature and film studies, as well as gender, sexuality, and postcolonial studies.

Weight: 226g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367648428