Annotation source: Seoul Metropolitan Archive
Annotation and image link: https://archives.seoul.go.kr/item/84
ANNOTATION
Allied Forces including U.S., Britain, and the Netherlands collected information regarding Japan while fighting against the Japanese military in the Asia-Pacific War. They collected information from local communities, interrogated former Japanese soldiers captured as POWs, seized and translated Japanese documents, and established systematic knowledge on the enemy.
This document was taken from the binder of various documents belonging to Japan's Dokyo Tai, the 23rd Infantry Regiment. It was captured in Torokina on Bougainville Island, by the Combat Intelligence Center (CIC) of the South Pacific Force, an intelligence agency of the U.S. Navy.
This document is a translation of the “Regulations Governing the use of the Special South Sector Brothel and Regulations Governing the Operation Thereof,” in the South Sector Guard Headquarters probably in the Shanghai area, written on December 10, 1942. The regulations include detailed information relating to the operation of the comfort stations, such as what is forbidden at comfort stations, the different rates depending on the nationalities of the “comfort women,” the business hours and schedule depending on ranks and units, the venereal examination of “comfort women,” and the regulations for the operators of comfort stations. It reveals how the Japanese military managed and controlled the “comfort station” system.
According to the regulations, the operators were required to be equipped with facilities from the Japanese military and provided with tools to prevent venereal disease. The military inspected and managed these measures through medical officers. The operators were supposed to strictly observe the regulations, including applications for permission to operate comfort stations, provision of the personal information of employees (other than “comfort women”) under contract to the comfort station, and the submission of weekly reports of business. The rates and schedules for soldiers and officers to use the comfort stations were also controlled by the military.
Contributors
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] National Archives and Records Administration 1934~
[Organization] City of Seoul, Women and Family Policy Affairs Office 2011~
#Dokyo_Tai #CIC #US_Navy #translation #Shanghai #regulations #operation #venereal_disease
LESSON PLAN
Note to teachers:
1. The discussion questions below are designed based on the original document, not the annotation. Teachers are recommended to use the primary document in teaching, instead of the annotation. However, the annotation provides useful background information for teachers when they prepare for the lesson.
2. Direct students to read the cover page and the first two words on page 15. Before showing students the document, it is necessary to let students know this is a dictionary for the Allied troops. Teachers can find related information in the annotation (first two paragraphs).
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the document:
- billet: a place, usually a civilian's house or other nonmilitary facility, where soldiers are lodged temporarily
- brothel: a house where men can visit prostitutes. It refers to the "comfort stations" in the document.
- cuspidor: a spittoon (a metal or earthenware pot typically having a funnel-shaped top, use for spitting into)
- M.I.S.L.S.: Military Intelligence Service Language School
- prostitute: a person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment. It refers to the "comfort women" in the document.
- romaji: English pronumciation
- kanji: Chinese characters
- PVT: private
- NCO: non-commissioned officer
- Venereal disease: sexually transmitted disease
This document is multipage long. It would not be practical to ask students to read all. These pages show how the Japanese military oversaw every aspect of the "comfort women" system. To help students understand this point, teachers can follow the following steps:
Step 1: Based on the number of students in class, pick some regulations/rules from the reading.
Step 2: Print them out and cut each regulation/rule into a separate slip.
Step 3: Give each student a slip in class. Allow 1-2 minutes for students to read their slips on their own and understand the meaning.
Step 4: Start from the first student. Ask him/her to read the slip out loud and explain what it means so the rest of the class can hear. Move on to the next student until all students read and explain their slips.
Step 5: After everybody reads their slips, pose this question to the entire class for discussion:
- Which regulation/rule most interests you? Why do you think so?
- The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on what you've just read and heard, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
*This lesson plan was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.