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Primary Sources
The section provides a comprehensive look into the historical evidence and testimonies surrounding the Comfort Women. Here, you'll find a collection of essential documents that provide firsthand insights into the of these women during wartime. Each document is accompanied by explanations to contextualize its significance.
Interrogation Report No.49
Date: Oct 1944
Description: Written by United States Office of War Information, Psychological Warfare Team Attached to U.S. Army Forces India-Burma Theater. This source reveals the Japanese government’s systemic involvement in the operations of the “comfort stations,” the coercive and deceptive tactics used to recruit the Comfort Women, and the sheer scale of the Comfort Women system.
Description: Written by United States Office of War Information, Psychological Warfare Team Attached to U.S. Army Forces India-Burma Theater. This source reveals the Japanese government’s systemic involvement in the operations of the “comfort stations,” the coercive and deceptive tactics used to recruit the Comfort Women, and the sheer scale of the Comfort Women system.
Military Medical Office at Iloilo “On the Result of Examination of Sexual Diseases”
Date: 23 June 1942
Description: Report from Military Medical Office at Iloilo,a city in the Philippines, “On the Result of Examination of Sexual Diseases” written on 23 June 1942. This document proves the existence of underage girls as young as 16 in the “comfort stations."
Description: Report from Military Medical Office at Iloilo,a city in the Philippines, “On the Result of Examination of Sexual Diseases” written on 23 June 1942. This document proves the existence of underage girls as young as 16 in the “comfort stations."
Revisions of the regulations on the field canteens, such as Comfort Stations
Date: 21 Sept 1937
Source: The Grand Records of the Ministry of Army (Rikugunsho Dainikki), Collection A (Kou-juu), 1937
Description: An official Japanese government document detailing changes to the PX (where soldiers bought snacks and meals). In Article 1 of this document it states, “comfort facilities may be created at the field canteens if necessary, in addition to what is previously provided.” The document demonstrates the government's direct involvement in managing facilities and amenities, including the system of forced prostitution.
Source: The Grand Records of the Ministry of Army (Rikugunsho Dainikki), Collection A (Kou-juu), 1937
Description: An official Japanese government document detailing changes to the PX (where soldiers bought snacks and meals). In Article 1 of this document it states, “comfort facilities may be created at the field canteens if necessary, in addition to what is previously provided.” The document demonstrates the government's direct involvement in managing facilities and amenities, including the system of forced prostitution.
Letter from the Chief of prefectural police at Wakayama Prefecture involving an alleged abduction of women
Date: 7 Feb 1938
Source: WAM Collection (J_001) Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, C01001469500
Description: Letter from the Chief of prefectural police at Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the Director of the Policy and Security Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Chiefs of Police Offices in the Prefecture.
The document is titled “Concerning the attempted abduction of a mother and daughter." On Jan 6, 1938, three men were arrested for an attempted kidnapping of a mother and daughter. They later confessed that they were in Wakayama to recruit 3,000 Comfort Women for the Imperial Military in Shanghai. The men were originally interrogated because of their suspicious tactics in recruitment, including coercion and deceptive advertising. This is the first public document that shows a Japanese police investigation on the concerning nature of Comfort Women recruitment. In response to the letter, an officer from the External Affairs Division of Nagasaki Prefecture confirmed that the men were sanctioned to recruit Comfort Women for the Imperial Army and should not be charged. He mentions that such attempts are also occurring in Shanghai and Korea and asks that anyone who is officially verified to ‘recruit’ Comfort Women should not be arrested.
Source: WAM Collection (J_001) Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, C01001469500
Description: Letter from the Chief of prefectural police at Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the Director of the Policy and Security Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Chiefs of Police Offices in the Prefecture.
The document is titled “Concerning the attempted abduction of a mother and daughter." On Jan 6, 1938, three men were arrested for an attempted kidnapping of a mother and daughter. They later confessed that they were in Wakayama to recruit 3,000 Comfort Women for the Imperial Military in Shanghai. The men were originally interrogated because of their suspicious tactics in recruitment, including coercion and deceptive advertising. This is the first public document that shows a Japanese police investigation on the concerning nature of Comfort Women recruitment. In response to the letter, an officer from the External Affairs Division of Nagasaki Prefecture confirmed that the men were sanctioned to recruit Comfort Women for the Imperial Army and should not be charged. He mentions that such attempts are also occurring in Shanghai and Korea and asks that anyone who is officially verified to ‘recruit’ Comfort Women should not be arrested.
Photograph of four girls taken prisoner by troops of Chinese 8th Army village on Sung Shan Mountain on the Burma road
Date: 3 Sept 1944
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photo taken by Private Charles H. Hattfield of four Comfort Women and one Chinese soldier in Burma Road, an area retaken from Japanese control. The photo is taken immediately after fierce fighting between Chinese and Allied forces against the Japanese military. The pregnant woman on the right was later identified as Korean Comfort Woman Park Young Shim.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photo taken by Private Charles H. Hattfield of four Comfort Women and one Chinese soldier in Burma Road, an area retaken from Japanese control. The photo is taken immediately after fierce fighting between Chinese and Allied forces against the Japanese military. The pregnant woman on the right was later identified as Korean Comfort Woman Park Young Shim.
American newspaper clipping describing ‘Jap Girls’ in Sung Shan Mountain
Date: 30 Nov 1944
Source: CBI Roundup https://www.cbi-theater.com/roundup/roundup113044.html
Description: A clipping of newspaper article written by Walter Rundle in C.B.I Round Up on November 30, 1944. The CBI Round Up was a newspaper made by and for all the servicemen who served in the China-Burma-India theater. The newspaper reports on a Comfort Station found after a skirmish in Sungshan mountain. As the border between Myanmar and China, Sungshan was a key strategic location in Allied forces’ operation to assist Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist forces against Japan. Fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces took place for three months until Allied forces captured the area in September 1944. In the process, ten Comfort Women were taken as prisoners of war, five of whom were Korean. Rundle describes how the Korean Comfort Women were recruited and their conditions in Sungshan.
Source: CBI Roundup https://www.cbi-theater.com/roundup/roundup113044.html
Description: A clipping of newspaper article written by Walter Rundle in C.B.I Round Up on November 30, 1944. The CBI Round Up was a newspaper made by and for all the servicemen who served in the China-Burma-India theater. The newspaper reports on a Comfort Station found after a skirmish in Sungshan mountain. As the border between Myanmar and China, Sungshan was a key strategic location in Allied forces’ operation to assist Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist forces against Japan. Fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces took place for three months until Allied forces captured the area in September 1944. In the process, ten Comfort Women were taken as prisoners of war, five of whom were Korean. Rundle describes how the Korean Comfort Women were recruited and their conditions in Sungshan.
Personal war diary of a Japanese officer
Date: 6 July 1942
Description: Entry about the transfer of 130 Comfort Women to Burma, under the direction of a woman named Tsutako. July 1942 saw the mass creation of Comfort Stations in Burma, and it is presumed that the women mentioned in the letter were Comfort Women traveling through Singapore to get to the military base in Burma.
Description: Entry about the transfer of 130 Comfort Women to Burma, under the direction of a woman named Tsutako. July 1942 saw the mass creation of Comfort Stations in Burma, and it is presumed that the women mentioned in the letter were Comfort Women traveling through Singapore to get to the military base in Burma.
Report by Captain McMillin in Guam
Date: 4 Oct 1945
Description: Report by U.S. Navy Captain G.J McMillin to the Secretary of the Navy.
the Secretary of the Navy Captain McMillin had been taken as a prisoner of war after Japan captured Guam. He identifies the crimes he has seen in this camp such as the 75 ‘geisha girls’ (the Comfort Women).
Description: Report by U.S. Navy Captain G.J McMillin to the Secretary of the Navy.
the Secretary of the Navy Captain McMillin had been taken as a prisoner of war after Japan captured Guam. He identifies the crimes he has seen in this camp such as the 75 ‘geisha girls’ (the Comfort Women).
Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service Report No.248 and 281
Date: 29 Aug 1944
Source: Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service(NEFIS) AI2/6139/G, AI2/5932/G
Description: A report produced by the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) based on the interrogation of locals who escaped Japanese captivity. Page 13 refers to “European women” in Batavia (Dutch East Indies), many of whom were taken to internment camps. The report alludes to the coercion that took place: “Eurasians as well as Europeans, have to serve the Japanese in hotels, both officers and other ranks, no distinction made in this cruelty between old and young, beautiful and ugly…”
Source: Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service(NEFIS) AI2/6139/G, AI2/5932/G
Description: A report produced by the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) based on the interrogation of locals who escaped Japanese captivity. Page 13 refers to “European women” in Batavia (Dutch East Indies), many of whom were taken to internment camps. The report alludes to the coercion that took place: “Eurasians as well as Europeans, have to serve the Japanese in hotels, both officers and other ranks, no distinction made in this cruelty between old and young, beautiful and ugly…”
Handkerchief with signatures from Dutch Comfort Women in Semarang, Java
Date: 26 Feb 1944
Source: Australian War Memorial (C343572)
Description: On 8 March 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Java, Indonesia. Jan Ruff O’Herne was initially interned in a prison camp with her mother and sisters in Ambarawa in Central Java. On 26 February 1944, Japanese officers selected the most attractive girls from the camp, including O’Herne, and took them to an old Dutch colonial house in Semarang. Upon arrival to the colonial house, subsequently referred as “the House of the Seven Seas,” the seven girls embroidered their names on the handkerchief that O’Herne had packed. This primary source contains the seven signatures embroidered on in different colors with the Date, ‘26-2-44’ stitched in the middle. The seven women were forced to service Japanese soldiers for four months in the military brothel and then transported to another camp in West Java. O’Herne was reunited with her family and transferred to a camp at Batavia, which was liberated on 15 August 1945.
Source: Australian War Memorial (C343572)
Description: On 8 March 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Java, Indonesia. Jan Ruff O’Herne was initially interned in a prison camp with her mother and sisters in Ambarawa in Central Java. On 26 February 1944, Japanese officers selected the most attractive girls from the camp, including O’Herne, and took them to an old Dutch colonial house in Semarang. Upon arrival to the colonial house, subsequently referred as “the House of the Seven Seas,” the seven girls embroidered their names on the handkerchief that O’Herne had packed. This primary source contains the seven signatures embroidered on in different colors with the Date, ‘26-2-44’ stitched in the middle. The seven women were forced to service Japanese soldiers for four months in the military brothel and then transported to another camp in West Java. O’Herne was reunited with her family and transferred to a camp at Batavia, which was liberated on 15 August 1945.
Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, ATIS Report 120 on ‘Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces’
Date: Feb 1945 and Nov 1945
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: The ATIS report series were meant to provide intelligence on prisoners of war, ammunition, oceans, psychological warfare. For example, ATIS report no. 131, published 1 December 1945 was on “Japan’s Decision to Fight.” The final report was titled, “Report on Surrender of Japanese Personnel in USSR Territories.” The report is notable for its extensive detail and accuracy in documenting the Pacific Theater, and was read all the way up to the highest command, including General Douglas MacArthur. ATIS report no. 120 is titled ‘Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces.’ It is notable that the Comfort Women are not dealt with in reports pertaining to Japanese prisoners of war or violations of international law (ATIS report no. 72), which reveals Allied Forces' perception of the Comfort Women as prostitutes, not victims. The report was initially produced in February 1945 in the height of the Pacific War, while the November section was produced after the end of the war. The latter document has significantly more information on the Comfort Stations (‘brothels’) since Allied forces gained access to Japanese documents in newly liberated territories. The November Report had new documents Appendix A and B regarding Comfort Stations in Manila. According to this Appendix, there was a total of 17 comfort station sin Manila and 1,064 comfort women for soldiers, and an additional designated 119 comfort women for higher level officers, making the total 1,183.
The Report references comfort stations in Chapters 2 and 9. The November report confirms that the stations were privately owned but under the direct supervision of the Japanese government. The report reveals the bureaucratization of sexual violence: Allied Forces found multiple documents on the division of profits from Comfort Stations, health reports on the Comfort Women, and on the day to day operations of the Comfort Stations. The report also analyzes Comfort Stations as potentially the only source of entertainment for Japanese soldiers. The Japanese government was unable to provide regular vacation days and soldiers lacked proper entertainment, amenities, and facilities. The government’s sponsorship of Comfort Stations is therefore attributed as one of the only ways to mitigate soldiers’ frustrations and boost morale.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: The ATIS report series were meant to provide intelligence on prisoners of war, ammunition, oceans, psychological warfare. For example, ATIS report no. 131, published 1 December 1945 was on “Japan’s Decision to Fight.” The final report was titled, “Report on Surrender of Japanese Personnel in USSR Territories.” The report is notable for its extensive detail and accuracy in documenting the Pacific Theater, and was read all the way up to the highest command, including General Douglas MacArthur. ATIS report no. 120 is titled ‘Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces.’ It is notable that the Comfort Women are not dealt with in reports pertaining to Japanese prisoners of war or violations of international law (ATIS report no. 72), which reveals Allied Forces' perception of the Comfort Women as prostitutes, not victims. The report was initially produced in February 1945 in the height of the Pacific War, while the November section was produced after the end of the war. The latter document has significantly more information on the Comfort Stations (‘brothels’) since Allied forces gained access to Japanese documents in newly liberated territories. The November Report had new documents Appendix A and B regarding Comfort Stations in Manila. According to this Appendix, there was a total of 17 comfort station sin Manila and 1,064 comfort women for soldiers, and an additional designated 119 comfort women for higher level officers, making the total 1,183.
The Report references comfort stations in Chapters 2 and 9. The November report confirms that the stations were privately owned but under the direct supervision of the Japanese government. The report reveals the bureaucratization of sexual violence: Allied Forces found multiple documents on the division of profits from Comfort Stations, health reports on the Comfort Women, and on the day to day operations of the Comfort Stations. The report also analyzes Comfort Stations as potentially the only source of entertainment for Japanese soldiers. The Japanese government was unable to provide regular vacation days and soldiers lacked proper entertainment, amenities, and facilities. The government’s sponsorship of Comfort Stations is therefore attributed as one of the only ways to mitigate soldiers’ frustrations and boost morale.
Sergeant Karl Yoneda questions Korean Comfort Woman in Myitkyina, Burma
Date: 3 Aug 1944
Source: Released by Pub Info Div 25 Aug 1948 Orig. Neg. lot 135681, National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Japanese-American sergeant Karl Yoneda questions Ms. Kim, a Japanese “comfort girl” at MP stockard on the Air Strip on the nature of her job. Around 20 Korean Comfort Women were discovered in Myitkyina, Burma.
Source: Released by Pub Info Div 25 Aug 1948 Orig. Neg. lot 135681, National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Japanese-American sergeant Karl Yoneda questions Ms. Kim, a Japanese “comfort girl” at MP stockard on the Air Strip on the nature of her job. Around 20 Korean Comfort Women were discovered in Myitkyina, Burma.
Film footage of scenes from Burma of rescued Comfort Women
Date: Aug 30, 1944 – Sept 15, 1944.
Source: National Archives https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24217 Local Identifier: 111-ADC-10455
Description: 12 minute film footage taken by Allied forces of the Pacific Theatre. Scenes of Comfort Women can be seen between 9:40 - 10:50. The film captures Allied forces composed of American, British, and Chinese soldiers in Burma. The Comfort Women appear injured as they exit Japanese military barracks taken by Allied forces. One of the women, a pregnant Korean Comfort Woman called Park Young Shim, is seen cheering upon realizing the Japanese defeat.
Source: National Archives https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24217 Local Identifier: 111-ADC-10455
Description: 12 minute film footage taken by Allied forces of the Pacific Theatre. Scenes of Comfort Women can be seen between 9:40 - 10:50. The film captures Allied forces composed of American, British, and Chinese soldiers in Burma. The Comfort Women appear injured as they exit Japanese military barracks taken by Allied forces. One of the women, a pregnant Korean Comfort Woman called Park Young Shim, is seen cheering upon realizing the Japanese defeat.
Photograph of Captain Chan with captured Comfort Women from Japanese garrison in Myitkyina, Burma
Date: 14 Aug 1944
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Captain Chan was in charge of prisoners of war in Myitkyina, Burma. The photograph was part of a series of reports regarding 20 Korean Comfort Women who were interrogated and filmed on August 14, 1944. These reports later culminated in the US Office of War Information, Psychological Warfare Team’s Interrogation Report No. 49.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Captain Chan was in charge of prisoners of war in Myitkyina, Burma. The photograph was part of a series of reports regarding 20 Korean Comfort Women who were interrogated and filmed on August 14, 1944. These reports later culminated in the US Office of War Information, Psychological Warfare Team’s Interrogation Report No. 49.
Photograph of G-2 Myitkyina Task Force interrogating three Korean Comfort Women
Date: 14 Aug 1944
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Captain Won Loy Chan, Tech Sergeant Robert Honda, Sergeant Hiraboya Shi, who are members of the G-2 Myitkyina Task Force in Burma, questions three Korean Comfort Women who were captured near a Japanese military base.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Captain Won Loy Chan, Tech Sergeant Robert Honda, Sergeant Hiraboya Shi, who are members of the G-2 Myitkyina Task Force in Burma, questions three Korean Comfort Women who were captured near a Japanese military base.
Photograph and caption of Korean Comfort Women in Okinawa Camp Koza
Date: Nov. 1945
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photograph of Korean Comfort Women in Camp Koza, Okinawa. The Deputy Commander for the Military Government in Okinawa notes that “these girls were a constant source of trouble to the Military Government…”
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photograph of Korean Comfort Women in Camp Koza, Okinawa. The Deputy Commander for the Military Government in Okinawa notes that “these girls were a constant source of trouble to the Military Government…”
Photograph and caption of Ten Korean 'Comfort Women' in Okinawa
Date: 30 April 1945
Source: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps., National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photo of ten Korean Comfort Women by American Staff Sergeant Connolly in Okinawa. Connolly states that the girls ended up in a Japanese military compound after being “sold into prostitution by their destitute families.”
Source: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps., National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photo of ten Korean Comfort Women by American Staff Sergeant Connolly in Okinawa. Connolly states that the girls ended up in a Japanese military compound after being “sold into prostitution by their destitute families.”
Photograph of Korean Comfort Woman captured as POW in Okinawa
Date: 14 June 1945
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photograph of a Korean Comfort Woman who was captured as a prisoner of war in Okinawa’s main island.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Photograph of a Korean Comfort Woman who was captured as a prisoner of war in Okinawa’s main island.
Extracts of Interrogations Japanese Volume. I
Date: Aug 21 - 23, 1943
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: This document contains the interrogation reports of two Japanese men, Kawamura Tameki and Nakayashiki Genjiro, who were captured in Attu in 1943. While the two men were civilian workers in a private company, they both testified on the existence of Comfort Women (referred to as ‘prostitutes’ in the report). The two men report seeing brothels that had Korean and Chinese women. Kawamura states that 60% of the profits from the brothels go to the Japanese government. In contrast, Nakayashiki claims that individual regiment commanders of the Army, not the central Japanese government, privately operated and managed the brothels.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: This document contains the interrogation reports of two Japanese men, Kawamura Tameki and Nakayashiki Genjiro, who were captured in Attu in 1943. While the two men were civilian workers in a private company, they both testified on the existence of Comfort Women (referred to as ‘prostitutes’ in the report). The two men report seeing brothels that had Korean and Chinese women. Kawamura states that 60% of the profits from the brothels go to the Japanese government. In contrast, Nakayashiki claims that individual regiment commanders of the Army, not the central Japanese government, privately operated and managed the brothels.
Weekly Report No.63 by Civil Affairs Service of the Allied Land Force South East Asia Headquarter regarding Burma
Date: 23 Dec 1944
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Report No. 63 produced by the Civil Affairs Service of the Allied Land Force South East Asia HQ. The report details the Japanese Army’s rule over Burmese politics and its societal impacts. For example, the report refers to how a movie theater in Lashio was turned into a Brothel frequented by Japanese officers. The report also references the Japanese Imperial Army's initial recruitment of local nurses aged between 15 and 30, who were subsequently raped and forced into prostitution (p. 416).
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: Report No. 63 produced by the Civil Affairs Service of the Allied Land Force South East Asia HQ. The report details the Japanese Army’s rule over Burmese politics and its societal impacts. For example, the report refers to how a movie theater in Lashio was turned into a Brothel frequented by Japanese officers. The report also references the Japanese Imperial Army's initial recruitment of local nurses aged between 15 and 30, who were subsequently raped and forced into prostitution (p. 416).
Report from US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) on ‘Comfort Girls’ captured in Kunming Base, China
Date: April 28 - May 31, 1945
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: A report produced by the US’s Office for Strategic Services (OSS). The report references 23 Korean Comfort Women and other prisoners of war discovered in Kunming, China. 15 out of the 23 Korean Comfort Women were deceived by false advertisements that promised factory employment but were instead taken to work in military brothels.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Description: A report produced by the US’s Office for Strategic Services (OSS). The report references 23 Korean Comfort Women and other prisoners of war discovered in Kunming, China. 15 out of the 23 Korean Comfort Women were deceived by false advertisements that promised factory employment but were instead taken to work in military brothels.
Testimonies
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