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| Japanese Women in Saigon in 1903 |
Recently, I saw a postcard which a Japanese woman wearing kimono in Saigon during French Indochina. It lets me wonder to find out the story of those Japanese women. Why there were Japanese women wearing kimono in Saigon? What were they doing over there?
Actually, I have been interesting in the book “Sandakan Brothel No. 8: An Episode in the History of Lower-Class”(『サンダカン八番娼館-底辺女性史序章』) by Yamazaki Tomoko, and I wrote a review essay of “Sandakan Brothel No. 8:An Episode in the History of Lower-Class Japanese Women,”(
『山打根的八番娼館之讀後心得』) on 2005. Thus, my intuition remind me the women on the postcard should be Karayuki-san in French Indochina.
“Sandakan Brothel No. 8: An Episode in the History of Lower-Class” was published on the 1972. The author researched an article on the history of Japanese women who were forced to work as prostitutes in Asian brothels during the early 20th century. She went to Amakusa, to stay with Osaki-san who was a prostitute in Brothel No. 8 Sabah, Malaysia in the early 1920s. Then, she wrote the book to record the life of Osaki-san; the book raised awareness of Karayuki-san and encouraged further research and reporting in Japan. Besides, it was a best-seller and won the Oya Soichi Prize for Non-Fiction Literature. In 1974, the Toho film company (東宝株式会社) based on the book in to a screenplay for a film “Sandakan No. 8” (サンダカン八番娼館 望郷) to relate the story of Osaki-san’s life.
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| Une Horizontale à Saigon |
A Japanese woman is smoking in Saigon; the photo
seems to be appearing she is a prostitute.
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| Saigon—Dexu Femmes Japonaise in 1906 |
In the late of the 19th century, “Karayuki-san” (唐行きさん) was a dialect was used in West and North Kyushu, Japan, literally “someone who goes to China”. While there were mass exoduses both Male and female from North Kyushu went to China as labors or prostitutes. So it was called “Karayuki-san”. But the term referred more generally to multitude of Japanese young women, mostly from impoverished zones of Western Japan, especially Amakusa and Shimabara—who almost after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, undertook an exodus from their homes to ply their newly adopted trade of prostitution in Japanese-run brothels throughout China, the Western pacific and Indian Ocean. As time passes, "Karayuki-san" becomes a synonym on behalf of Overseas Japanese prostitutes. Due to the number of women were more than men, so people used the Karayuki-san to describe the Japanese prostitutes in overseas.
Generally speaking, Karayuki san is Japanese women who traveled to in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century to work as prostitutes. They were the daughters of poor farming or fishing families. Mediators searched for those of appropriate age in poor farming communities and pay their parents, telling them they were going overseas on public duty. Then, the mediators would then make money by passing the girls on to people in the overseas brothels, or their own overseas brothels. They sought to supplement the meager income of their families in Japan on the basis of the thriving economies of these burgeoning port cities of colonial cities in Southeast Asia. : Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Port Swettenham, Sandakan, Kuching, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bangkok, Saigon, Haiphong, and Hanoi.
However, most people deem that all of "Karayuki-san" is from Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture and the islands of Amakusa, Kumamoto, Kyushu, actually they were from all over Japan not only from Amakusa. The research of female Karayuki-san in Amakusa " ("天草の海外出稼女の研究") by Japanese Historian, Mori Katsumi森克已(1952) had been detail discussed this topic, for your reference.
Until now, beside the articles and books to discuss the topic of Karyuki-san, some information about Karayuki san were in Amakusa and Shimabara are kept in " Hamanashi Matsu Gosoku literature museum (濱名志松五足の靴文学資料館)and Tennyoto(大師堂天如塔), Kuchinotsu Historic Folklore Museum(口之津歴史民俗資料館).
Karayuki-san in French Indochina
According to Japanese official record, we can find out two Japanese whose lived in French Indochina in 1897, Mr. Takanashi lived in Haiphong, and Mr. Wada lived in Hanoi, both of them were owner of the brothel. However, the first Japanese settlers were Karayuki-san or prostitutes and their pimps to service the European military contingent.
Another evidence is the report of Japan the First Consul, Mr. Nakamura in Haiphong, French Indochina, Japanese woman were in Haiphong during 1884 to 1885. In 1885, Japanese traveler also found the Japanese women's grave in Haiphong.
During 1884 to 1885 Sino-French War, a large of the French military contingent came to North Vietnam to join the war. For the reason of their physiological needs, the French military contingent demanded Japan to send Japanese women to the North Vietnam to solve their problems, then Japanese women came here as prostitutes to service the European military contingent.
French colonial government set up lots of brothels for French Garrisons in French Indochina; Karayuki-san serviced them in those brothels lots Karayuki-san were mainly in both Haiphong and Saigon; especially in Haiphong.
In 1908, according to the official record, the vast majority of Japanese living in French Indochina were prostitutes, there were 20 Japanese prostitutes in Phnom Penh, more than 30 peoples lived in the area near Hue, Tonkin, the border of Vietnam and Yunnan Province also can find Japanese prostitute. Meanwhile, where the French military station had should be have Japanese prostitutes.
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| Japanese Women in Tonkin, French Indochina |
In the Human trafficking business, mediators played very important roles. However, Muraoka Iheizi (村岡伊平治) is the most famous, notorious mediators in Amakusa and Shimabara regions. He did this business from 1885 to 1919; and managed the Japanese woman to all over China, Singapore, Kolkata, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Taiwan, East India islands and other places. According to his notes, he managed 3,222 women from all over Japan to Southeast Asian during 1889 to 1894. He did the business nearly 35 years, and managed countless Japanese women to South Asia.
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| Karyuki san in Haiphong |
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| Karayuki san in Hanoi |
Usually, Amakusa female had to go to Nagasaki first and departure from the port of Nagasaki to Haiphong, Saigon and other places.
By the way, the management system of Japanese brothel in the overseas were similar to Japan, prostitutes were wearing the kimono to work. Thus, that’s why Japanese women were wearing kimono in French Indochina on photos.
In the following the table of population at Saigon and Cholon in 1898 as below, Japanese population had 98 people in Saigon, including male 32 persons, female 51 persons, children 15 person. There had 6 people in Cholon, including male 1 person, female 5 persons. Obviously, in1898, the Japanese women population was more than Japanese men.
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The table of population of Cholon in 1898
sourece：CH. Lemire(1899), p126 |
Japanese population had 98 people in Saigon, including male 32 persons, female 51 persons, and children 15 persons in 1989.
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The table of population of Cholon in 1898
sourece：CH. Lemire(1899), p126 |
Japanese population had 6 people in Cholon, including male 1 person, female 5 persons.
We can understand the profession of Japanese in French Indochina through the report of Kimura Saburo, who was a Navy Lieutenant Colonel inspected the situation of Japanese in French Indochina in 1913.
"The situation in French Indochina was same as the other place in Southeast Asia. The first Japanese settlers were prostitutes and pimps. Later, the small shopkeeper moved to here to offer the commodity and needs to prostitutes, ex: Kimono shop, laundry shop, hairdressing shop, and photographer. After they understand the local situation, merchants follow their step arrived, then intellectuals and other Japanese individual who would like to refer to himself to move to here.”
Then, after World War I that big Japanese firms established branches in Hanoi or Saigon, more Japanese moved to here. However, in 1920, the balance in the Japanese population had begun to change rapidly from women to men—from prostitutes to businessmen. At the same time, Japan’s home government increasingly viewed the presence abroad of so many “ladies of disrepute" as a source of national embarrassment. In 1920, Japan government issued a decree to abolish the legal prostitution ordinance; the numbers of brothels were gradually reduced.
In April 1923, all of Japanese brothels were closed in French Indochina. Thus, it the prostitute would not back to Japan, and she had to find the job in order to stay over there. Beside 5 prostitutes married with French as a wife or concubine, they worked in the restaurant, massage parlors; older ones went to the local Japanese home to be a housekeeper.
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| The prostitute Oki Kou and her companions in Saigon |
Usually, Japanese regarded “karayuki san” as a humiliation, their family did not welcome them back home, and most of them could not get any support from their family after they backed to Japan. It is very ironic, their family did not take care them after they backed to hometown, but very enjoy using the money from Karayuki-san.
Some of them seemed to foresee their fate in the future. In1906, when the Buddhist monk Hirota through Southeast Asia to India Tour tin, he accepted and promised the money from prostitutes and pimps whose were living in Southeast Asia. After he backed to Japan, he established "大師堂" in Shimabara to be cemetery for the karayuki-san whores died in overseas. In 1909, he established a pagoda “Tenyodo", to comfort the soul of the karayuki-san who both death in overseas and in Japan.
Because 90% finance was donated by karayuki-san, so he inscribed donors’ name, residence and country, and donation amount on the 286 stone columns around the tower in order to memorize the donors. However, some of them were from French Indochina, including Tonkin, Haiphong and Saigon etc.
As above mentioned, there were both male and female Karayuki-san worked in French Indochina. The most successful male Karayuki san should be Mitsuhiro Matsushita (松下光廣). He arrived in French Indochina in l912. He worked hard and established a big company group大南公司 in Saigon. Perhaps he was the most enigmatic figure in the long involvement of Japan with the Vietnamese independence struggle. Maybe the day later I will write his story.
References:
陳碧純，「山打根的八番娼館」之讀後心得，亞太研究論壇卷期:28 2005.06，頁309-315。
http://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/capas/publication/newsletter/N28/2806.pdf
佐藤トゥイウェン，「第 4 章「孝」に殉じた天草の「からゆきさん」」，『周縁の文化交渉学シリーズ 8天草諸島の歴史と現在』，関西大学文化交渉学教育研究拠点，2012年。
柏木卓司，『戦前期フランス領インドシナにおける邦人進出の形態-「職業別人口表 」を中心として-』 ， (アジア経済 ) 31(3) 1990 3: p. 78-98。
柏木卓司，「ベトナムのからゆきさん」，『歴史と人物』10月号，中央公論，1979，208頁。
神坂次郎，『おれは伊平次』，講談社文庫，2002/8。
平田豊弘，「松下光廣と大南公司」，『周縁の文化交渉学シリーズ 4 陶磁器流通と西海地域』，関西大学，荒武賢一朗編，2011年。
Ch. Lemire, Les cinq Pays de l'Indo-Chine française, l'établissement de Kouang-Tchéou, le Siam，Juillet 1899．
Dean Meyers and My-Van Tran, The Cao Dai, Prince Cuong De and the Japanese in 1937–1939, THE CRISIS OF THE EIGHTH LUNAR MONTH, University of South Australia, IJAPS Vol. 2 (May) 2006.
