The Comfort Woman & Japan

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 emp

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ay that the emperor was head of the country, fathers head of families, Japan was considered to be the natural head of the region. It did not seek to throw off imperialism in order to experience democracy, but to replace imperial Britian and the United States with its own headship. Some of this is stated in the Conservative reaffirmation of the "Fundamentals of Our National Policy" (Tsunoda, 1958, p. 280). According to this document, the fundamental organization of Japan is a religious one, based on an understanding of the "way." This way requires subsuming of the individual to the larger purpose, to the one. Loyalty is due to the emperor as personification of the way, and sacrifice is seen as unimportant. It is the whole that is important, not the individual parts. What resulted from the Japanese focus on national character was a worldview which placed the Japanese at the top of the pyramid and other countries in a lesser position. The Koreans were placed in a lower position because the Japanese believed that they were lazy and inferior. They were destined, according to the Japanese viewpoint, to serve their superiors. Again, it is important to remember that this was understood as being part of a spiritual system, as well
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Sociocultural Background, Policy Tsunoda, Comfort Women, Current Context, Confucianism Japan, Introduction United, Korean Japanese, Jews German, Japan Korea, Amur Society, comfort woman, et al, tsunoda et al, tsunoda et, comfort woman concept, comfort women, al 1958, divinely ordained, et al 1958, national character, woman concept, development comfort, development comfort woman, keller 1997,
Approximate Word count = 1212
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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