In the United States, people tend to think of race as the primary factor in discordant human relations. In particular, the divide between black and white Americans is seen as a central one, with historical antecedent and difficult prospects for the future. In other regions of the world, however, ethnicity, religion, and tribal background are equally divisive factors.
In thinking about Japan and Korea, and the development of the comfort woman concept, ethnicity is an important factor. Although gender is the most salient factor, ethnicity also probably plays a role in the horrific nature of the Japanese enslavement of the Korean women.
One of the most useful books for understanding the background to Japan's actions during the middle part of this century is a compilation of Japanese documents that shows the cultural, political, and economic assumptions of the dominant classes in Japan during the early part of this century (Tsunoda et al., 1958). During the last part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, Japan underwent a reaction against Western influences and a return to some of its core stories and beliefs. There was a revival of Shinto, which is a fundamentally shamanistic religion, and a reemphasis on some of the moral and spiritual values of Confucianism. Along with this there was a rejection of Western ideas, including the Western ideal of democracy. Instead, the focus was on the emperor as a divine ruler, and as the people of Japan as children of divinity, specifically of the goddess Amaterasu who was considered to be the direct descendant of the ruling family. The land of the rising sun was a divinely ordained land, with rulership and hierarchy also divinely ordained (Tsunoda et al., 1958).
There was not simply one vision of Japan, but several visions. They had some characteristics in common, however, including some similarities with German fascism. In particular, there was somewhat of a r...