July 27, 2025
Akahata ‘current’ column (excerpts)
Among the mountains of Gifu stands a monument called “maiden’s cenotaph” in a sacred shrine forest. The inscription on the monument recounts the historical fact that 15 Japanese women were forced to give sexual favors in order to save the lives of the others.
In the late stages of WWII, Kurokawa Village (now Shirakawa Town, Gifu Prefecture) sent a group of settlers to Manchuria (now provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, China) as land cultivators. With Japan’s defeat in the war, the lives of the Kurokawa emigrants were in danger. In order to return to Japan alive, the group sought protection from Soviet troops. In exchange, 15 young women were offered as payment to the Soviets.
Although they had moved to Manchuria as a national policy to farm the land, they were ultimately left behind in Manchuria by the Imperial Japanese Army and abandoned by the Imperial government. These young Japanese women were sex offerings made under this hopeless situation.
After returning to Kurokawa Village, the women who had been deeply hurt both physically and emotionally were exposed to slander and prejudice.
To the Manchurian people, Japanese pioneer groups were invaders. With the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII approaching, it is important to take a careful look back at Japan’s history of both perpetration and victimization.
The poem written by one of the 15 women is carved on the maiden’s cenotaph. It reads, “Next time I am born, I want to be born in a peaceful country. I want to nurture love, cherish each moment, and enjoy my youth blossoming like a flower.”
Among the mountains of Gifu stands a monument called “maiden’s cenotaph” in a sacred shrine forest. The inscription on the monument recounts the historical fact that 15 Japanese women were forced to give sexual favors in order to save the lives of the others.
In the late stages of WWII, Kurokawa Village (now Shirakawa Town, Gifu Prefecture) sent a group of settlers to Manchuria (now provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, China) as land cultivators. With Japan’s defeat in the war, the lives of the Kurokawa emigrants were in danger. In order to return to Japan alive, the group sought protection from Soviet troops. In exchange, 15 young women were offered as payment to the Soviets.
Although they had moved to Manchuria as a national policy to farm the land, they were ultimately left behind in Manchuria by the Imperial Japanese Army and abandoned by the Imperial government. These young Japanese women were sex offerings made under this hopeless situation.
After returning to Kurokawa Village, the women who had been deeply hurt both physically and emotionally were exposed to slander and prejudice.
To the Manchurian people, Japanese pioneer groups were invaders. With the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII approaching, it is important to take a careful look back at Japan’s history of both perpetration and victimization.
The poem written by one of the 15 women is carved on the maiden’s cenotaph. It reads, “Next time I am born, I want to be born in a peaceful country. I want to nurture love, cherish each moment, and enjoy my youth blossoming like a flower.”
