Recipient: Military Police Squad in Iloilo
Author: Iloilo Office, Vijaya Branch, Military Administration Bureau
Date: November 22, 1942
File: The File of Miscellaneous Documents at the Military Police Dispatched in Iloilo (1942)
Location: Panay, Iloilo (the Philippines)
Keywords: Management and supervision
Annotation Source: Northeast Asian History Foundation
Click HERE to see the annotation in Korean
Image link: http://wam-peace.org/ianfu-koubunsho/pdf/K-PDF/K_D_018-2.pdf
ANNOTATION
This document provides the regulations for the “comfort stations.” The main points are as follows:
1) The Military Administration Bureau will be in charge of supervision and guidance of the “comfort stations”;
2) The medical officer of the guard will be in charge of supervision and guidance relating to sanitation;
3) Medical exams of the prostitutes will be done every Tuesday from 3 pm;
4) The use of comfort stations will be limited to soldiers and civilians attached to the military in uniform;
5) The matters to be strictly observed by the operators of comfort stations (including 8 items below)
i) To reject services to those who refuse to use condoms;
ii) To strictly control the “comfort women” from going outside;
iii) And to make daily reports on the business status of the comfort station to the military government
Strict rules for the users of the “comfort stations” are as follows (5 items):
iv) Strict protection against espionage in the strongest terms;
v) Prohibition of the use of violence or threat;
vi) Prepayment using the military currency;
vii) A map of walkways is attached as a measure to restrict the “comfort women” from moving about at will;
viii) Business hours and the rates for [different military ranks]
This document establishes that the military managed and supervised the comfort stations and that the “comfort women” were confined in coercive conditions.
Details:
-Regulations for the “comfort stations” (“comfort station” no. 1, Asia Hall)
-Annex 2, Business hours and rates
Sources:
WAM Collection (Military_162)
Collection of the Asian Women’s Fund, Vol. 3, 187-193
Sourcebook by Yuji Hosaka, Vol. 1, p. 304-307
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, C13071909600
#management #supervision #rules #regulations #Iloilo #Philippines
QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the annotation:
- sanitation: conditions relating to public health, especially the provision of cleaning drinking water and sewage disposal
- prostitute: a person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment
- espionage: the practice of spaying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information
- coercive: relating to or using force of threats
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 Ease 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. Use one sentence to summarize this document.
9. Who was in charge of the comfort stations?
10. Who was in charge of the sanitation of the comfort stations?
11. Who could use the comfort stations?
12. What were the responsibilities of the operators of the comfort stations?
13. What were the rules that the users of the comfort stations must follow?
14. What were the "comfort women's" living conditions based on the document? Use examples from the document.
15. The "comfort women" deniers tend to claim that the government or military 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?
16. What other questions do you have for this document?
17. 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.