Author: Governor of Gunma Prefecture
Date: January 19, 1938
File: Documents for Approval, Office of the Minister of Home Affairs (1938, Vol. 1)
Locations: Shanghai (China), Gunma Prefecture (Japan)
Keywords: Mobilization
Annotation by: Hye-in Han, Ph.D. Researcher, Asia Peace and History Institute
Image link:
http://wam-peace.org/ianfu-koubunsho/pdf/K-PDF/K_P_001-5.pdf
ANNOTATION
This is a notification (Bulletin no. 242) from the Governor of Gunma Prefecture to the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of the Army, Ministers of each administrative district, the Police Commissioner, and so on. The purpose of this document is to verify the validity of the statements of a “comfort women” broker who claimed that he is conducting the first recruitment in Japan of “comfort women” between the ages of 16 and 30, as instructed by the Expeditionary Army in Shanghai.
At the time, it was against Japanese criminal law to recruit women under 18 for prostitution, because the minimum legal age for women entering the licensed brothel system was 18. This development caused the Ministry of the Home Affairs to revise its policy and issue a new ordinance in 1938 (see JS-9 Matters Concerning the Handling of Women Traveling Overseas to China (February 18, 1938), a.k.a. Notification from Home Ministry) that limited the recruitment of “comfort women” to those over 21 years old, among women who were already working in the brothel system. However, this ordinance was only issued in mainland Japan, and not in colonial Korea, where Korean women between the age of 16 and 30 were forcibly recruited, as initially planned by the military.
Notable in this document is the statement of the broker Ouchi. Ouchi stated that after the Japanese Army arrived in China, the medical bureau became very concerned about the spread of venereal diseases among soldiers who were visiting Chinese prostitutes. In order to respond to this situation, the military authorities decided to install comfort stations for the troops. The Secret Military Agency in Shanghai contacted the broker, and he began to recruit women. Ouchi also stated that he obtained permission from the prefectural authorities of the Hyogo Prefecture and the Kansai region. Further, as for the business of comfort stations, the military accounting department pays the fees for soldiers to visit comfort stations from the allocated “comfort” expenses of the military.
This document illustrates the situation at the time -the police in the Gunma Prefecture made an inquiry to the military, out of concern that illegal activities were taking place there, but the same recruitment activities were permitted in other regions. This indicates that women were illegally recruited in other regions in violation of the law at the time.
Attached as reference materials are templates of the contract, a written consent, a promissory note, and the contract details (including the age range of 16 to 30) for recruitment within Japan.
Details:
Attachments:
-Report relating to the conduct and statements of Toushichi Ouchi, a recruiting agent of “comfort women” for the Japanese Army
-Contract, written consent, promissory note, contract details for recruitment within Japan
Sources:
WAM Collection (Police_002)
Collection of the Asian Women’s Fund, Vol. 1, p. 11-21
Sourcebook by Suzuki, Yamashita, and Tonomura, Vol. 1, p. 127-130
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, A05032040800
Note:
This is one of the attachments to the report, Matters Concerning the Handling of Women Traveling Overseas to China (from the director of the Police and Security Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs, February 18, 1938).
#recruitment #Shanghai #Gunma #Ouchi #Home_Affairs #Internal_Affairs
QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the annotation:
- prefecture: an administrative division or unit in Japan
- broker: a person who buys and sells goods or assets for others
- prostitution: the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment
- brothel: a building in which prostitutes are available
- ordinance: an authoritative order
- venereal disease (VD): a sexually transmitted disease
- consent: agreement
- promissory: implying a promise
After reading the annotation, please answer the following questions:
1. What kind of document is this?
2. Who wrote it?
3. What year was it created?
4. What was the historical context in East Asia during the time?
5. Where was it created?
6. What's the title of the document? What does the title tell you?
7. Who's the audience of the document?
8. What's the purpose of this document?
9. According to the Japanese criminal law at the time, what was the minimum legal age for women to enter the licensed brothel system?
a. Due to the criminal law, what change did the Ministry of the Home Affairs make regarding the age of "comfort women"?
b. Did this new change apply to all lands under the Japanese control? Explain.
10. What did broker Ouchi do to persuade the Japanese military authorities decide to install comfort stations in Shanghai?
11. What is one important piece of information in this annotation? Why is it important to you?
12. The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on this document, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
13. What other questions do you have for this document?
14. How/Where can you find the answers?
*Questions for Students section was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.