Comfort women were women and girls forced into a prostitution
corps created by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The name
"comfort women" is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu (). Ianfu
is a euphemism for shfu () whose meaning is "prostitute(s)".
Estimates vCary as to how many women were involved with numbers
ranging from as low as !"""" from some Japanese scholars to as high
as #$"""" from some %hinese scholars but the e&act numbers are
still being researched and debated. 'any of the women were from
(orea %hina and the )hilippines although women from *urma Thailand
+ietnam 'alaysia Taiwan Indonesia and other Japanese,occupied
territories were used for military "comfort stations". -tations
were located in Japan %hina the )hilippines Indonesia then 'alaya
Thailand *urma .ew /uinea0ong (ong 'acau and 1rench Indochina.
2ccording to testimony young women from countries under Japanese
Imperial control were abducted from their homes. In many cases
women were also lured with promises of wor3 in factories or
restaurants. 4nce recruited the women were incarcerated in "comfort
stations" in foreign lands.Establishment of the %omfort Women
-ystem%hinese and 'alayan girls forcibly ta3en from )enang by the
Japanese to wor3 as 5comfort girls5 for the troops-tudio portrait
of Jan 6uff 450erne ta3en shortly before she her mother and sisters
as well as thousands of other 7utch women and children were
interned by the Japanese Imperial 2rmy in 2mbarawa. 4ver the
following months 450erne along with si& other 7utch women were
repeatedly raped day and night by Japanese military
personnelJapanese military prostitution'ilitary correspondence of
the Japanese Imperial 2rmy shows that the aim of facilitating
comfort stations was the prevention of rape crimes committed by
Japanese army personnel and thus preventing the rise of hostility
among people in occupied areas./iven the well,organi8ed and open
nature of prostitution in Japan it was seen as logical that there
should be organi8ed prostitution to serve the Japanese 2rmed
1orces. The Japanese 2rmy established the comfort stations to
prevent venereal diseases and rape by Japanese soldiers to provide
comfort to soldiers and head off espionage. The comfort stations
were not actual solutions to the first two problems however.
2ccording to Japanese historian 9oshia3i 9oshimi they aggravated
the problems. 9oshimi has asserted "The Japanese Imperial 2rmy
feared most that the simmering discontentment of the soldiers could
e&plode into a riot and revolt. That is why it provided
women."OutlineThe first "comfort station" was established in the
Japanese concession in -hanghai in $:;!. Earlier comfort women were
Japanese prostitutes who volunteered for such service. 0owever as
Japan continued military e&pansion the military found itself
short of Japanese volunteers and turned to the local population to
coerce women into serving in these stations. 'any women responded
to calls for wor3 as factory wor3ers or nurses and did not 3now
that they were being pressed into se&ual slavery. In the early
stages of the war Japanese authorities recruited prostitutes
through conventional means. In urban areas conventional advertising
through middlemen was used alongside 3idnapping. 'iddlemen
advertised in newspapers circulating in Japan and the Japanese
colonies of (orea Taiwan'anchu3uo and %hina. These sources soon
dried up especially from Japan. The 'inistry of 1oreign 2ffairs
resisted further issuance of travel visas for Japanese prostitutes
feeling it tarnished the image of the Japanese Empire. The military
turned to acitgeveri= )lanti=nstraat. LTweede (amer vergader=aar
:;,$::# !; E"@ nr. $.M;@. Jump up * )oelgeest *art van. "6eport of
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"kkfg_f_h " L2nswer to the ntil $::! only two people had 3nown of
her secret her late mother and her dead husband. 2fter coming out
publicly with her story Aola 6osa decided to write about her
war,time e&perience. The result was the boo3 Comfot Woman. 3
Sla*e of 5estin!.In Comfot Woman. 3 Sla*e of 5estin! Aola 6osa
provided an achingly straightforward voice to the erstwhile silent
and invisible e&istence of 1ilipino comfort women. 2lmost !""
1ilipino women soon followed 6osaSs e&le as they decided to
reveal themselves and their personal stories for the first timeTnot
only to the world but to their families as well. 4ther victims
including those from (orea and %hina =oined the 1ilipino women to
file a class action lawsuit against the Japanese government.
Together they demanded =ustice in the form of a formal apology from
the Japanese government? the inclusion of all the war,time
atrocities committed by the Japanese into JapanSs school history
boo3s? and monetary reparations to compensate for all the abuses
and violence committed against the women.0owever the Japanese
government denied legal responsibility and refused to pay the
victims. Aater responding to the growingpressure of continued
protests and appeals by the survivors and their supporters Japan
finally set up the 2sian WomenSs 1und(2W1) in $::B to collect money
from private Japanese citi8ens and offered them to the victims as
Gatonement payments.H 0enson died of a heart attac3 in $::@ a year
after her autobiography was published and after she decided to
accept the money from the 2W1.-ee also Timeline of )hilippine
history Walterina 'ar3ova6eferences %omfort WomanF -lave of 7estiny
'aria 6osa Auna 0ensonF Woman of %ourage (2-2'2 +ol. $$ .o. ;
-olidarity )hilippines 2ustralia .etwor3 %pcabrisbane.org
JulyO2ugustO-eptember $::@ and )hilippine %enter for Investigative
Journalism 'anila retrieved onF $" June !""@ 'aria 6osa Auna 0enson
($:!@ , $::@) 2teneo Aibrary of Women5s Writings (2AIWW) 2teneo de
'anila >niversity )hilippines and 6i8al.Aib.2dmu.edu.ph
retrieved onF $" June !""@ %omfort Women -lam Japan 2pology
.ewsbits +ol. :.D 6euter and 'IT.edu retrieved onF $" June !""@
/oguingco Aeonor 2rts and 'ind 4pinionIEditorial 'anila *ulletin
and 'anila *ulletin 4nlineI'*.com.ph !""$ retrieved onF $" June
!""@http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_HensonMaria Rosa Luna Henson:
Woman of CourageKASAMA -ol. // No. 0 1 July2August23eptember /445 1
3olidarity 6hilippines Australia Networ%'2.IA2 , 'aria 6osa Auna
0enson died of a heart attac3 at the )asay %ity hospital on the
rain,swept night of 2ugust $D $::@. -he was E:.'rs. 0enson burst
into the national consciousness in $::! when she bro3e
half,a,century5s silence to tal3 about her ordeal as a "comfort
woman" in a World War II rape camp. 0er e&le inspired other
women to come out with their own stories belying earlier claims
that the Japanese forces did not set up "comfort stations" in the
)hilippines as they did in (orea Taiwan and Indonesia.Aola 6osa was
an outspo3en intelligent and courageous woman who overcame great
odds to become a champion of =ustice for the most secret and silent
victims of World War II. 0er widely read autobiography Comfot
Woman. Sla*e of 5estin! published by the )hilippine %enter for
Investigative Journalism in $::E is a touchingly honest account of
her life and times and is the only autobiography ever written by
any of the over !""""" se& slaves 3ept by the Japanese in 2sia.
Comfot Woman is a finalist in this year5s .ational *oo3 2ward for
*est *iography.Aola 6osa wrote Comfot Woman in her own unsteady
hand on ruled pad paper using the English she had learned in
school. The effort too3 over a year and entailed a great deal of
painful recollection of a life that has seen epic suffering. In
Comfot Woman Aola 6osa wrote of her own mother5s rape by the
wealthy landlord who was to become her father. -he recalled growing
up as the hidden illegitimate daughter of a young mother who could
barely read or write. *ut the young 6osa managed to do well in a
%atholic school in )asay %ity and was in seventhgrade when the war
bro3e out.0er ordeal began when she was raped by Japanese soldiers
while gathering firewood in what is now 1ort *onifacio. 1earful for
her safety her mother brought her to a village in )ampanga where
Aola 6osa =oined the 0u3balahap guerrillas gathering food and
medicine for them and acting as a courier for messages. While
transporting a cartload of guns she was stopped by a Japanese
sentry who forcibly too3 her to a hospital in 2ngeles %ity which
had been turned into a garrison. There at the age of $# her life as
a comfort woman began. 1or nine months until her rescue by 0u3
guerrillas scores of Japanese soldiers raped her everyday.Aola 6osa
told no one but her mother of what had been done to her. .ot even
the man she later married 3new?her children found out only after
she had come out into the open in $::!. 2bandoned by her husband
she raised three children on her own wor3ing as a laundrywoman and
later as a sweeper in a cigarette factory. -he did not gomad only
through faith and the sheer effort of will she said. -he also vowed
to remember. To her dying day Aola 6osa had a prodigious memory for
dates and events. -he once said that for her remembering was the
best revenge.Aola 6osa5s story is one of survival rather than
victimhood. In the five years since she went public with her secret
she fought hard for =ustice for comfort women =oining marches
appearing in %ongress even filing a lawsuit in a To3yo court. -he
was independent and outspo3en. -he also had the courage to brea3
away from the ./4s wor3ing on her behalf. When she disagreed with
their policies and methods of wor3 she =ust opted out. -he was the
first to accept unofficial compensation from the Japanese although
she was adamant in the belief that they owed her official indemnity
as well.Aola 6osa was buried in the saya with autumn,leaf design
that she had made herself and wore to her boo3,launching last year
at the historic 1ort -antiago. "2utumn leaves li3e me" she said
then with the mere Distor The life of 'aria 6osa 0enson or "Aola
6osa" classically depicts the cruelty of poverty and powerlessness.
9et amidst the sadness of it all Aola 6osa breaths courage. In her
autobiography Aola 6osa survivor of Japanese war atrocity leads the
readers to visit her life through the boo3 with her own
illustrations and vivid descriptions of people and events long
gone. 0er story begins as the daughter of the landlordSs illiterate
mistress Julia. 6osaSs mother Julia is the eldest of the children
who began her Uwor3ingS life as 7on )epe 0ensonSs housemaid despite
her protestations. The seeming 3indness of the landlord to help
JuliaSs family was not without motive.2 man whose words were
command a man who fre(*2A202) 6osa ris3ed her life to inform a
passing villager. 2I was in luck that +a! because the gua+s took us
+ownstais so we coul+ ha*e some sunshine- The fiel+ fonte+ the
steet$ but the &apanese ha+ fence+ it off with babe+ wie so no
one coul+ escape- I walke+ close to the steet an+ saw an ol+ man
pass b!- 6isface looke+ familia to me$ an+ I knew he li*e+ in ou
baio-2 There was not a single soul in the village when the troops
arrived. The officer readily suspected 6osa who was in the same
room during their planning. -he was dragged to the garrison tied
and beaten senselessly.When the Japanese Imperial 2rmy withdrew its
troops from the )hilippines 6osa was freed from the garrison and
only regained consciousness after two months. 0er recovery was as
traumatic as her ordeal. 2M! mothe nuse+ me back to health$
spoon-fee+ing me as if I wee a bab!- I coul+ neithe stan+ no walk-
I cawle+ like an infant- I coul+ not focus m! e!es well$ an+
e*e!thing I saw was blue+-2 2fter a remar3able recovery at the age
of $D 6osa met 7omingo who later become her husband and father to
two daughters. In another twist of fate 7omingo =ust disappeared
one day without a word. It was not until nearly a year when she
discovered her husbandSs location T in a =ungle with the 0'* an
armed group fighting the governmentSs army for land redistribution.
The pain of discovery was made more unbearable for two different
reasons T 6osa was abducted while buying medicine for their very
ill daughter and 3ept for days by 7omingoSs men and secondly
7omingo already had a new woman.If one were an ordinary mortal
there is more probability that youSd loose your sanity halfway if
you were in Aola6osaSs shoes or wooden clogs for that matter. -he
started life painfully with only faith in /od and love for her
mother in her heart. -he was stripped of her dignity as a Japanese
comfort woman. -he was betrayed by her husband who hid under the
shield of the resistance movement. -he single,handedly raised her
family. -he mourned she struggled she survived.Aola 6osa started
writing her autobiography in $::B two years after she came out in
public to protest against Japanese war atrocities. 0er manuscript
has already been translated in Japanese by 9u3i -higa,1ugime a
professor of contemporary history at (yoto >niversity.%oming out
in public as a comfort woman was a most courageous thing to do.
'any people are sympathetic but some are sneering and even
suspicious. In 2pril $::; along with other surviving comfort women
from the )hilippines and other countries she filed a lawsuit in the
To3yo 7istrict %ourt demanding compensation from the Japanese
government. 7uring the visit of the Japanese )rime 'inister to the
)hilippines in $::# Tomiichi 'urayama brought out the idea of a
WomenSs %entre as a form of compensation. >ntil now the Japanese
government insists that compensation was already given in the form
of reparations to the )hilippines government after WW II.KASAMA
-ol. /0 No. / 1 January/0 ?@A> 6+ B :pdated as of //1=/1=>/0
?@A/ 6+T2%A4*2. %IT9 )hilippines , 2 group of 1ilipino women who
were se& slaves for the then Imperial Japanese 2rmy during
World War II e&pressed fear at the arrival Thursday of Japanese
troops to help with emergency relief operations on the typhoon,hit
island Aeyte in the central )hilippines.)ointedly noting their
demand for =ustice for the crimes committed against them seven
decades ago remains unsettled they also e&pressed fear the
abuse they went through may be repeated on the present generation
of 1ilipino women in Aeyte.6ichilda E&tremadura e&ecutive
director of Aila )ilipina told (yodo .ews by telephone that while
they appreciate the 3indness of Japan for sympathi8ing with the
victims of supertyphoon 0aiyan the "comfort women" do not welcome
the presence of the Japanese troops and their ships."We are
allergic to them. We all 3now the Japanese government still owes
our lolas (ageing se& slaves). 2s victims of wartime se&ual
slaverythe lolas find the presence of Japanese troops a threat to
their emotions and to the present generation who might
e&perience the abuses again" E&tremadura said."It5s all the
more sensitive for the lolas because Aeyte is historical. In fact
many of our members are from Aeyte and (many) have all died without
getting =ustice" she said.Japan is sending around $$D" personnel
from its -elf,7efense 1orces to the )hilippines to provide medical
support asu1i B-a&ura, at that ti&e the Vice #hie* o* (ta**
o* the (hanghaiC).editionar" Force, who *irst .ro&oted the
estalish&ent o* co&*ort stations *or theJa.anese
ar&".7here were a..arentl" a nu&er o* reasons *or
estalishing the&: Ja.anese &ilitar".ersonnel had ra.ed
#hinese ci8ilian wo&en in occu.ied areas on nu&erous
occasions,and the &ilitar" ho.ed to .re8ent a worsening o*
anti5Ja.anese *eelings on the .art o* the#hinese .eo.leD there was
a need to .re8ent the s.read o* 8enereal diseases a&ong
o**icers and &en, as otherwise &ilitar" e**ecti8eness would
e reducedD and it was also *eared that contact with #hinese
ci8ilian wo&en could result in the lea-ing o* &ilitar"
secrets.Okamura Yasuji taisho shiryo I: senjo kaisohen, 7o-"o,
197