A Social History of Japnese Prostitution in the Anglo-American Pacific World

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12622
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 80030:Gender studies-related
• Research Institution: Seinan Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Oharazeki Kazuhiro 西南学院大学, 国際文化学部, 准教授 (00749880)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ジェンダー / 性 / 労働 / 移住 / 人種

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study explored the history of Japanese prostitution in English-speaking regions (Hawaii, Australia, Alaska, and North America) during the Meiji-Taisho periods. In these so-called "white settler societies" where Anglo-American whites held dominant social and political power, labor-intensive industries (such as agriculture, fisheries, and mining) developed and created a strong demand for prostitution among large male populations. Although the federal government opposed prostitution, local authorities tolerated it as a necessary evil in order to keep the social order. Although public prostitution visibly declined in North America and Australia in the early twentieth century, local authorities in Hawaii tolerated it in order to meet the demand for prostitution among American soldiers throughout the period before and during World War II, and Japanese women continued to be engaged in prostitution.

Free Research Field

アメリカ社会文化史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

海外の日本人売買春女性の歴史は、山崎朋子や森崎和江による著作によって一般に知られるようになり、東南アジアのヨーロッパ植民地や中国・朝鮮半島における日本人売買春に関する研究は蓄積されてきたが、アングロ系が定住し，社会的・政治的に支配的な地位を占めた白人定住社会（white settler society）における日本人売買春に関する学術研究は進んでいない。本研究は、各地における日本人売買春に関連する具体的な法律の作用を明らかにし、同時期のその他の太平洋地域（東南アジア、朝鮮・北東中国、極東ロシアなど）における日本人売買春と比較する上で役立つ分析の視点を複数提示することができた。