The Treatment of Asian Women in World War II

Asian societies (specifically Chinese and Japanese) harbor a sense of female inferiority that many other cultures dismissed long ago. During World War II, though, this subordination was even more apparent. Women were still treated as property, and fathers still reserved the right to tell their daughters who to marry, and even whether or not to take their lives, in some cases. However, this treatment cannot compare to the vicious manipulation of Japanese women during the onslaught of the war. In areas where the war was being fought, lack of caring and respect towards women was horrifying. Women were beaten, raped, and then killed for pleasure. Examples of the treatment of both Chinese and Japanese women during World War II can be found in the works of Gail Tsukiyama (The Samurai's Garden), Iris Chang (The Rape of Nanking), and Roy Brooks (When Sorry Isn't Enough).

The Samurai's Garden is a fictional account of a young Chinese boy named Stephen. During the eve of World War II, Stephen contracts tuberculosis and is sent to a seaside town in Japan to recover. In the town of Tarumi, Stephen meets Sachi and Keiko, two women with completely different lives. He also keeps contact with his family in Hong Kong, and discovers that his father has been having an extra-marital affair. Although a relatively minor character, his mother's response to this is also an interesting take on the Chinese treatment and regard for women.

Sachi is a middle-aged woman who contracted leprosy as a young girl. She lives in the mountain town of Yamaguchi, where Stephen's friend, Matsu, often comes to visit her. Although Matsu treats Sachi like any human being, her family felt that she had dishonored them by contracting a disease. Sachi explains that "my father would no longer look at me and my mother simply cried. My father was afraid it might spread to my younger brother" (Tsukiyama, 136). Regardless of family ties, they are not concerned with taking care of Sachi and trying to make what remains of her life pleasant. Rather, her father seems more concerned that she might infect her siblings. Her family did try to cure. Her father "dragged [her] to the Tama Shrine to pray and be purified by a curing priest. When everything else proved fruitless, he resorted to...igniting...[her] skin to burn the rash away" (136). However, these were done more for the sake of the family's honor and safety than any concern for Sachi. In the end, her family decides that the best thing for Sachi to do is to end her life.

Sachi's fiancé, Kenzo, feels much the same way as her parents. They had been betrothed before Sachi contracted her illness, and she explains that when she tried to tell Kenzo about her disease, "he quickly dropped my hand and without a word, backed away from me and walked out" (Tsukiyama, 163). Again, we see that, regardless of the love that Kenzo may feel for Sachi, it cannot overcome his fear of the disease or his fear of dishonor. During this time period, women often entered into arranged marriages where their sole purpose was to look pretty and take care of any children. Kenzo's love, if we can call it that, cannot conquer the idea that Sachi may not always be beautiful. He was attracted to Sachi by her beauty, but when this beauty was blemished, he no longer desired her. Instead, he walks out on her, leaving her to decide between taking her life or trying to salvage what is left of it.

In the end, Sachi does not have the courage to commit suicide, and she takes refuge in Yamaguchi. Matsu often comes to visit here there. He does not fear the disease or loathe the people who have it, possibly because his sister had suffered from it, but he is an exception to most Japanese males at this time.

The other prominent female character in The Samurai's Garden is Keiko. Keiko is Stephen's love interest. He meets her on the beach one day, and they have several clandestine meetings before Stephen discovers exactly why they have to be so secretive. At a town funeral, Stephen glimpses Keiko and her family. Although Stephen had never met her family, Keiko's father "turned.... with a look so full of hate I simply bowed my head and walked quickly away" (Tsukiyama, 110). Stephen never does figure out what has caused Keiko's father to dislike him, but he has his suspicions. The first is that he is a Chinese man in a Japanese town and the Japanese are fast advancing upon China. Another concern is that possibly, when Stephen's family used to live in Tarumi, there was a grievance between the families. Other possibilities are the fact that Stephen has tuberculosis, or that he is just a rich man's son, looking for a good time while he is staying in Tarumi. Finally, the dislike may stem from the fact that Stephen is trying to introduce a Westernized idea of love and "us" and it is conflicting with Keiko's father's traditional values.

Regardless of the reason, Keiko is eventually forbidden to see Stephen. He meets her on the beach just before he returns to Hong Kong. Although it is never directly addressed, she is fingering a silver chain around her neck, which leads the reader to believe that she may have been betrothed. However, her reason for telling Stephen that she can no longer see him is that her brother was killed in Hsuchowfu. In spite of her explanation, it seems apparent that whether or not her brother had been killed, Keiko's father would have found some way of coming between her and Stephen. Judging from the tears shed at their parting, Keiko's opinion on the matter was of little importance to her father. He wanted her to marry a Japanese man, regardless of her sentiments. His word was law and she had to obey.

The case of Stephen's mother also shows how men in 1940's China had little regard for a woman's feelings. Soon after Stephen's arrival in Tarumi, he receives a letter from his mother. In it, she expresses her concern that his father may have another woman in Japan. Stephen's father has been living away from home for 12 years, and Stephen's mother admits that she has "always known that there might be someone else. A man can't be so far from his family without seeking comfort elsewhere" (Tsukiyama, 50). Her resignation seems odd to the modern American reader, but in those times (and even in these times, in some parts of the world), it was not uncommon for a man to have a mistress. A wife's job was to take care of the children and keep the home clean and comfortable. Although some may argue that the affair was successfully kept from Stephen's mother, thus showing a concern for her feelings, the fact of the matter is that it was inconsiderate to do it in the first place. Stephen's father seems to show little remorse when he discusses his current marital situation with Stephen. He explains to Stephen, "Yoshiko works at a department store near my office and is a very good woman. She has devoted her life to me, and I wanted to make sure she would be comfortable enough through this insane war" (Tsukiyama, 84). In order to make her "comfortable," Stephen's father has borrowed money against his family's home in Hong Kong. Although his first duty is to his family, it would seem that he cares more about how his mistress will fare during wartime than his wife and children.

This man's disregard for his wife's feelings is quite frustrating, but it is nothing compared to the trauma that many women experienced during World War II. Although there are always accounts of mistreatment of women in any war, The Rape of Nanking reveals the sheer brutality and disregard Japanese soldiers had for the people of China. The Rape of Nanking tells the story of a six-week massacre and the destruction of China's former capital. Before the rape, Nanking was home to about 750,000 people. It is believed that as many as 350,000 people were killed during the devastation of the ensuing six weeks. Any women who were not murdered were used as sexual outlets for the Japanese soldiers. "An estimated 20,000-80,000 Chinese women were raped. Many soldiers went beyond rape to disembowel women, slice off their breasts,