Yoko Hayashi

インターセクショナリティの視点が切り拓く〈帝国とジェンダー〉についてのあらたな視座について解説し、帝国の周縁に置かれた人々—獄中の人々、娼婦、炭鉱労働者、ハンセン病患者・回復者、地域の女性たち—の歴史的経験について再検証した。

Session 41: Confined but Illuminative Marginality in the Japanese Empire: Perspectives from Prisons, Hansen’s Disease Sanatoriums, Licensed Prostitution Quarters, and Coal Mines Organizer: Kazumi Hasegawa, Nagoya Gakuin University Chair: Akwi Seo, Fukuoka Women’s University Discussant: Curtis Anderson Gayle, Waseda University

This presentation analyzed international emancipation movements for Japanese prostitutes that took place around 1900. In the late 19th century Japan, although movements against licensed prostitution had begun, there was a lack of concrete methods on how to rescue licensed prostitutes being treated like sex slaves. This presentation is based on the following historical materials: books by U. G. Murphy, Japanese and British periodicals of the Salvation Army, Japanese periodicals of Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and Japanese newspapers. This will introduce types of international efforts made for these movements, and how the situation of Japanese prostitutes changed. The above-mentioned emancipation movements rescued many Japanese prostitutes and also reports in newspapers assisted in the wide-spread understanding of red-light districts issues. However, because it was not an abolishment movement, Japanese licensed prostitution systems remained. This became the foundation of “comfort women” system for the military and many women in Japanese colonies became victims. The aim of this presentation is to analyze the definition and limitations of these movements and to further the current discussions regarding the history of sex-slavery issues.