Occupying Power

Sex Workers and Servicemen in Postwar Japan

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Japan
Cover of the book Occupying Power by Sarah Kovner, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah Kovner ISBN: 9780804783460
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: February 8, 2012
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Sarah Kovner
ISBN: 9780804783460
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: February 8, 2012
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

The year was 1945. Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops poured into war-torn Japan and spread throughout the country. The effect of this influx on the local population did not lessen in the years following the war's end. In fact, the presence of foreign servicemen also heightened the visibility of certain others, particularly panpan—streetwalkers—who were objects of their desire. Occupying Power shows how intimate histories and international relations are interconnected in ways scholars have only begun to explore. Sex workers who catered to servicemen were integral to the postwar economic recovery, yet they were nonetheless blamed for increases in venereal disease and charged with diluting the Japanese race by producing mixed-race offspring. In 1956, Japan passed its first national law against prostitution, which produced an unanticipated effect. By ending a centuries-old tradition of sex work regulation, it made sex workers less visible and more vulnerable. This probing history reveals an important but underexplored aspect of the Japanese occupation and its effect on gender and society. It shifts the terms of debate on a number of controversies, including Japan's history of forced sexual slavery, rape accusations against U.S. servicemen, opposition to U.S. overseas bases, and sexual trafficking.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The year was 1945. Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops poured into war-torn Japan and spread throughout the country. The effect of this influx on the local population did not lessen in the years following the war's end. In fact, the presence of foreign servicemen also heightened the visibility of certain others, particularly panpan—streetwalkers—who were objects of their desire. Occupying Power shows how intimate histories and international relations are interconnected in ways scholars have only begun to explore. Sex workers who catered to servicemen were integral to the postwar economic recovery, yet they were nonetheless blamed for increases in venereal disease and charged with diluting the Japanese race by producing mixed-race offspring. In 1956, Japan passed its first national law against prostitution, which produced an unanticipated effect. By ending a centuries-old tradition of sex work regulation, it made sex workers less visible and more vulnerable. This probing history reveals an important but underexplored aspect of the Japanese occupation and its effect on gender and society. It shifts the terms of debate on a number of controversies, including Japan's history of forced sexual slavery, rape accusations against U.S. servicemen, opposition to U.S. overseas bases, and sexual trafficking.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Breakthrough Problem Solving with Action Learning by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Breakdown in Pakistan by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Palestinian Village Histories by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Five Plays by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book What Is Real? by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Flowers That Kill by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Palestinian Commemoration in Israel by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book The Full Severity of Compassion by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Decentering Citizenship by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Serial Innovators by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Collective Action and Exchange by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Better Safe Than Sorry by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Security Assurances and Nuclear Nonproliferation by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book The Invisible War by Sarah Kovner
Cover of the book Values in Translation by Sarah Kovner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy