BOOK REVIEW
“Chain of Tears” — the History of Japanese Prostitution
Kristine Ohkubo’s new book recounts the tragic story of institutionalized prostitution in Japan
Even people who know little about Japan have heard of geisha, believing them to be high-class prostitutes for powerful and wealthy men. This image has been seared into popular culture through such movies as Memoirs of a Geisha.
But were they actually prostitutes? Certainly, nowadays they are not. But the history is both complicated and fascinating, saying much about Japanese history, government bureaucracy, and attitudes over the ages towards women and sex.
Kristine Ohkubo, a prolific writer on Japanese culture, distills this complicated and frequently tragic history into her latest book, Chain of Tears: Selling our Daughters.
If you’re expecting a barnburner romance of love and sex, you’ll be disappointed. The life of girls sold into sexual slavery, usually from a young age by indigent parents, was gritty, sad, and frequently short.
Prostitution has been a part of nearly every culture from the prehistoric times, earning it the moniker of the world’s oldest profession. What makes Japan unique are the ways in which the government institutionalized…
