Summary
* This was an inteterrogation
report from 20 Korean comfort girls and two Japanese brothel owners (house master)
* A
"comfort girl" is nothing more than a prostitute or
"professional camp follower".
* The average Korean "comfort girl" was about
twenty-five years old.
* Many
girls enlisted for overseas duty were rewarded with an advance of a few
hundred yen.
* The contract that comfort girls
signed bound them to Army regulations and to war for the "house master
" for a period of from six months to a year depending on the family debt
for which they were advanced. The girls who had paid
their debt off could return home.
* The
girls had plenty of money and were able to
buy cloth, shoes, cigarettes, and cosmetics
* The
girls were able to amuse themselves by participating in sports events, picnics, entertainments, social dinners.
* The
girls were allowed the prerogative of refusing a customer.
* There were numerous instances of proposals of marriage from soliders to Comfort
Women and in certain cases marriages actually took place.
The
transcripts of the report are following.
The following document is available at the National Archives. Please see the proof.
Page 1
OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION
Psychological Warfare Team
Attached to
U.S. Army Forces
India-Burma Theater
APO 689
Japanese Prisoner
of War Interrogation
Report No. 49.
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Place interrogated: Ledo Stockade
Date Interrogated: Aug. 20 - Sept. 10, 1944
Date of Report: October 1, 1944
By: T/3 Alex Yorichi
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Prisoners: 20 Korean Comfort Girls
Date of Capture: August 10, 1944
Date of Arrival: August 15, 1944
at Stockade
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PREFACE
This
report is based on the information obtained from the interrogation of
twenty Korean "comfort girls" and two Japanese civilians captured around
the tenth of August, 1944 in the mopping up operations after the fall
of Myitkyin a in Burma.
The
report shows how the Japanese recruited these Korean "comfort girls",
the conditions under which they lived and worked, their relations with
and reaction to the Japanese soldier, and their understanding of the
military situation.
A "comfort girl" is nothing more than a prostitute or "professional
camp follower" attached to the Japanese Army for the benefit of the soldiers. The word
"comfort girl" is peculiar to the Japanese. Other reports show
the "comfort girls" have been found wherever it was necessary
for the Japanese Army to fight. This report however deals only with the
Korean "comfort girls" recruited by the Japanese and attached
to their Army in Burma. The Japanese are reported to have shipped some
703 of these girls to Burma in 1942.
RECRUITING;
Early in May of 1942 Japanese agents arrived in Korea for the purpose of
enlisting Korean girls for "comfort service" in newly conquered
Japanese territories in Southeast Asia. The nature of this "service"
was not specified but it was assumed to be work connected with visiting
the wounded in hospitals, rolling bandages, and generally making the soldiers
happy. The inducement used by these agents was plenty of money, an opportunity to pay off the family debts, easy
work, and the prospect of a new life in a new land, Singapore. On the basis
of these false representations many girls enlisted for overseas duty and
were rewarded with an advance of a few hundred yen.
The
majority of the girls were ignorant and uneducated, although a few had
been connected with "oldest profession on earth" before. The contract
they signed bound them to Army regulations and to war for the "house
master " for a period of from six months to a year depending on the
family debt for which they were advanced ...
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Approximately
800 of these girls were recruited in this manner and they landed with
their Japanese "house master " at Rangoon around August 20th, 1942. They
came in groups of from eight to twenty-two. From here they were
distributed to various parts of Burma, usually to fair sized towns near
Japanese Army camps.
Eventually four of these units reached the Myitkyina. They were,
Kyoei, Kinsui, Bakushinro, and Momoya. The Kyoei house was called the
"Maruyama Club", but was changed when the girls reached Myitkyina as
Col.Maruyama, commander of the garrison at Myitkyina, objected to the
similarity to his name.
PERSONALITY;
The interrogations show the average Korean "comfort girl" to
be about twenty-five years old, uneducated, childish, and selfish. She
is not pretty either by Japanese of Caucasian standards. She is inclined to be egotistical and likes to talk about herself. Her
attitude in front of strangers is quiet and demure, but she "knows
the wiles of a woman." She claims to dislike her "profession"
and would rather not talk either about it or her family. Because of the
kind treatment she received as a prisoner from American soldiers at Myitkyina
and Ledo, she feels that they are more emotional than Japanese soldiers.
She is afraid of Chinese and Indian troops.
LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS;
In Myitkyina the girls were usually quartered in a large two story house
(usually a school building) with a separate room for each girl. There each
girl lived, slept, and transacted business. In Myitkina their food was
prepared by and purchased from the "house master" as they received
no regular ration from the Japanese Army. They lived in near-luxury in Burma in comparison to other places. This was especially true of their second year in Burma. They lived well because their food and material was not heavily rationed
and they had plenty of money with which to purchase desired articles. They
were able to buy cloth, shoes, cigarettes, and cosmetics to supplement
the many gifts given to them by soldiers who had received "comfort
bags" from home.
While
in Burma they amused themselves by participating in sports events with
both officers and men, and attended picnics, entertainments, and social
dinners. They had a phonograph and in the towns they were allowed to go
shopping.
PRIOR SYSTEM;
The
conditions under which they transacted business were regulated by the
Army, and in congested areas regulations were strictly enforced. The
Army found it necessary in congested areas to install a system of
prices, priorities, and schedules for the various units operating in a
particular areas. According to interrogations the average system was as
follows:
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1. Soldiers
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10 AM to 5 PM
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1.50 yen
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20 to 30 minutes
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2. NCOs
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5 PM to 9 PM
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3.00 yen
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30 to 40 minutes
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3. Officers
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9 PM to 12 PM
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5.00 yen
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30 to 40 minutes
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These
were average prices in Central Burma. Officers were allowed to stay
overnight for twenty yen. In Myitkyina Col. Maruyama slashed the prices
to almost one-half of the average price.
SCHEDULES;
The
soldiers often complained about congestion in the houses. In many
situations they were not served and had to leave as the army was very
strict about overstaying. In order to overcome this problem the Army set
aside certain days for certain units. Usually two men from the unit for
the day were stationed at the house to identify soldiers. A roving MP
was also on hand to keep order. Following is the schedule used by the
"Kyoei" house for the various units of the 18th Division while at
Naymyo.
Sunday
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18th Div. Hdqs. Staff
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Monday
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Cavalry
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Tuesday
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Engineers
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Wednesday
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Day off and weekly physical exam.
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Thursday
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Medics
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Friday
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Mountain artillery
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Saturday
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Transport
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Officers were allowed to come seven nights a week. The girls complained that even with the schedule congestion was so great
that they could not care for all guests, thus causing ill feeling among
many of the soldiers.
Soldiers would come to the house, pay the price and get tickets of cardboard
about two inches square with the prior on the left side and the name of
the house on the other side. Each soldier's identity or rank was then established
after which he "took his turn in line". The girls were allowed the prerogative of refusing a customer. This was often done if the person were too drunk.
PAY AND LIVING CONDITIONS;
The
"house master" received fifty to sixty per cent of the girls' gross
earnings depending on how much of a debt each girl had incurred when she
signed her contract. This meant that in an average month a girl would
gross about fifteen hundred yen. She turned over seven hundred and fifty
to the "master". Many "masters" made life very difficult for the girls
by charging them high prices for food and other articles.
In
the latter part of 1943 the Army issued orders that certain girls who
had paid their debt could return home. Some of the girls were thus
allowed to return to Korea.
The
interrogations further show that the health of these girls was good.
They were well supplied with all types of contraceptives, and often
soldiers would bring their own which
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had
been supplied by the army. They were well trained in looking after both
themselves and customers in the matter of hygiene. A regular Japanese
Army doctor visited the houses once a week and any girl found diseased
was given treatment, secluded, and eventually sent to a hospital. This
same procedure was carried on within the ranks of the Army itself, but
it is interesting to note that a soldier did not lose pay during the
period he was confined.
REACTIONS TO JAPANESE SOLDIERS;
In
their relations with the Japanese officers and men only two names of
any consequence came out of interrogations. They were those of Col.
Maruyama, commander of the garrison at Myitkyina and Maj. Gen.Mizukami,
who brought in reinforcements. The two were exact opposites. The former
was hard, selfish and repulsive with no consideration for his men; the
latter a good, kind man and a fine soldier, with the utmost
consideration for those who worked under him. The Colonel was a constant
habitué of the houses while the General was never known to have visited
them. With the fall of Myitkyina, Col. Maruyama supposedly deserted
while Gen. Mizukami committed suicide because he could not evacuate the
men.
SOLDIERS REACTIONS;
The
average Japanese soldier is embarrassed about being seen in a "comfort
house" according to one of the girls who said, "when the place is packed
he is apt to be ashamed if he has to wait in line for his turn". However there were numerous instances of proposals of marriage and in certain
cases marriages actually took place.
All
the girls agreed that the worst officers and men who came to see them
were those who were drunk and leaving for the front the following day.
But all likewise agreed that even though very drunk the Japanese soldier
never discussed military matters or secrets with them. Though the girls
might start the conversation about some military matter the officer or
enlisted man would not talk, but would in fact "scold us for discussing
such un-lady like subjects. Even Col. Maruyama when drunk would never
discuss such matters."
The
soldiers would often express how much they enjoyed receiving magazines,
letters and newspapers from home. They also mentioned the receipt of
"comfort bags" filled with canned goods, magazines, soap, handkerchiefs,
toothbrush, miniature doll, lipstick, and wooden clothes. The lipstick
and cloths were feminine and the girls couldn't understand why the
people at home were sending such articles. They speculated that the
sender could only have had themselves or the "native girls".
REACTION TO THE MILITARY SITUATION;
It appears they knew very little about the military situation around Myitkyina
even up to and including the time of
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REACTION TO THE MILITARY SITUATION;
It appears they knew very little about the military situation around Myitkyina
even up to and including the time of
their retreat and capture. There is however some information worth nothing:
"In the initial attack on Myitleyna and the airstrip about two hundred
Japanese died in battle, leaving about two hundred to defend the town.
Ammunition was very low.
"Col.
Maruyama dispersed his men. During the following days the enemy were
shooting haphazardly everywhere. It was a waste since they didn't seem
to aim at any particular thing. The Japanese soldiers on the other hand
had orders to fire one shot at a time and only when they were sure of a
hit."
Before
the enemy attacked on the west airstrip, soldiers stationed around
Myitkyina were dispatched elsewhere, to storm the Allied attack in the
North and West. About four hundred men were left behind, largely from
the 114th Regiment. Evidently Col. Maruyama did not expect the town to
be attacked. Later Maj. Gen. Mizukami of the 56th Division brought in
reinforcements of more than two regiments but these were unable to hold
the town.
It
was the consensus among the girls that Allied bombings were intense and
frightening and because of them they spent most of their last days in
foxholes. One or two even carried on work there. The comfort houses were
bombed and several of the girls were wounded and killed.
RETREAT AND CAPTURE;
The
story of the retreat and final capture of the "comfort girls" is
somewhat vague and confused in their own minds. From various reports it appears
that the following occurred: on the night of July 31st a party of sixty three
people including the "comfort girls" of three houses (Bakushinro was
merged with Kinsui), families, and helpers, started across the Irrawaddy River
in small boats. They eventually landed somewhere near Waingmaw, They stayed
there until August 4th, but never entered Waingmaw. From there they followed in
the path of a group of soldiers until August 7th when there was a skirmish with
the enemy and the party split up. The girls were ordered to follow the soldiers
after three-hour interval. They did this only to find themselves on the bank of
a river with no sign of the soldiers or any mea ns of crossing. They remained
in a nearby house until August 10th when they were captured by Kaahin soldiers
led by an English officer. They were taken to Myitleyina and then to the Ledo
stockade where the interrogation which form the basis of this report took place.
PROPAGANDA
unreadable part……
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REQUESTS
None
of the girls appeared to have heard the loudspeaker used at Myitkyina
but very did overhear the soldiers mention a "radio broadcast."
They
asked that leaflets telling of the capture of the "comfort girls"
should not be used for it would endanger the lives of other girls if the
Army knew of their capture. They did think it would be a good idea to
utilize the fact of their capture in any droppings planned for Korea.
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APPENDIX
Followings are the name of twenty Korean "Comfort girls" and the two Japanese civilians interrogated to obtain the information used in this report. The Korean names are phonoticized.
