Keywords
Comfort Women, historical blindness, World War II, Japan, Tokyo War Crimes Trials, Cold War, gender, biopolitics, General Douglas MacArthur, rape, ill treatment, Reverse Course
Abstract
This essay analyzes why the comfort women were not mentioned until recent decades. The essay starts with an overview of Japan’s colonization and formation of the Comfort Women system; next, the history of the women and a comparison between the Korean and Dutch comfort women are being compared before going into the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. It discusses historical blindness through the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. There are three factors into how the United States government officials, including General Douglas MacArthur and Joseph Berry Keenan, manipulated the trials: United States government’s conduct, the general view on gender crimes, and the Cold War Discourse. General Douglas MacArthur and Joseph Berry Keenan manipulated the trials to gain an ally in the Far East. Their actions led to the silence of comfort women and other atrocities during World War II.
Cover Page Footnote
I would like to thank Dr. Heidi Morrison for her feedback, support, and recommending me to publish. I would, also, like to thank my history advisor, Dr. Gerald Iguchi, for his support and feedback in the process of publication.
First Page
17
Last Page
34
Recommended Citation
Witt, Kathryn J. Ms.
(2016)
"Comfort Women: The 1946-1948 Tokyo War Crimes Trials and Historical Blindness,"
The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History: Vol. 4:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/3
