1 This paper was prepared under the auspices of a major project dedicated to “Researching and collating materials on ‘comfort women’ from the period of the Japanese invasion of China”, supported by the Chinese National Foundation for Philosophy and Social Sciences (13&ZD094). It also constitutes an interim output of a larger project on the comfort women issue funded by the National Foundation for Social Sciences Special Research Program on the War of Resistance Against JapanG16KZD007).

2 Edward Vickers, “Slaves to Rival Nationalisms” (2021), in this issue of Japan Focus.

3 For more on Su’s travails as a history textbook editor, see Edward Vickers and Yang Biao, ‘Shanghai’s History Curriculum Reforms and Shifting Textbook Portrayals of Japan,’ China Perspectives 2013, No. 4 (December), 29-37. And for a fuller analysis of Su’s role in promoting commemoration of ‘comfort women’ in China and internationally, see Edward Vickers, ‘Commemorating “Comfort Women” Beyond Korea: the Chinese case,’ in Frost, Schumacher and Vickers (eds), Remembering Asia’s World War Two. (London and New York: Routledge, 2019), 174-207.

4 See Vickers, 2019 op. cit., p. 198.

5 Translator’s note: this paper was first published in Chinese in 2018.

6 Translator’s note: in his original text, Su uses quotation marks every time he refers to “comfort women”. Here I have removed these quotation marks from subsequent instances of this term.

7 Zhang Xiao-lin (张效林) (trans.), 《远东国际军事法庭判决书》 (Judgements of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East). (Beijing: Qunzhong Publishing House (群众出版社), 1986), p. 490.

8 The major works of Yoshimi Yoshiaki (吉見義明) on the comfort women include: 《從軍慰安婦資料集》 (Collected Documents on the Military Comfort Women) (Tokyo: Otsuki Shoten （大月書店). 1992) (edited); 《随軍慰安婦》 (The Comfort Women who Followed the Military) (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten （岩波書店), 1995) [published in English by Columbia University Press in 2002, under the title Comfort Women]; 《共同研究日本軍慰安婦》 (Collaborative Research into Japanese Military Comfort Women)[co-edited with Hayashi Hirofumi) (Tokyo: Otsuki Shoten (大月書店), 1995).

9 The Japanese scholar Matsuoka Tamaki (松岡環) has collected diaries and other testimony from over one hundred elderly Japanese military veterans. Centering mostly on Nanjing, these document incidents including rapes of Chinese women and the construction of military ‘comfort stations’. [Here Su proceeds to list Chinese translations of several of Matsuoka’s major works]: 松冈环著，新内如、全美英、李建云译：《南京战·寻找被封闭的记忆——侵华日 军原士兵102人的证言》（上海辞书出版社2002年版）；松冈环著，沈维藩译：《南京战·被割裂的受害者之魂——南京大屠杀受害者120人的证言》（上海辞书出版社2005年版） Matsuoka has also collaborated with the researcher Nishino Rumiko on fieldwork in various parts of China, including Hainan, Yunnan, Nanjing and Shanghai. Their joint publications include: 《從军慰安婦》 (Military Comfort Women), (Tokyo: Akashi Shoten （明石書店), 1992); 《從軍慰安婦と十五年戦爭》 (Military Comfort Women and the Fifteen-year War), (Tokyo: Akashi Shoten （明石書店), 1993); 《女性国際戦犯法廷全記録》 (Complete Proceedings of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal)[co-edited) (Tokyo: Ryokufu Shuppansha (绿風出版社), 2002); 《戦場の“慰安婦”——拉孟全滅戦を生き延びた朴永心の軌跡》 (Tokyo: Akashi Shoten[（明石書店), 2003).

10 The House of Sharing obtained its land through a donation from a Korean philanthropist, and has been supported by public donations, the Korean Buddhist Jogyejong (曹溪宗) Foundation, and other sources. It was initially established in 1992 and relocated to the outskirts of Seoul in 1996. It combines the functions of a care facility and a historical museum devoted to the ‘comfort women’ issue.

11 Countries that have erected comfort women statues include Canada, the United States, China, Australia and Germany. A comfort woman statue in the Philippines was taken down in 2018 [but another statue has since been erected in a private compound in the Philippines - translator’s note]. See Okamoto ((岡本) et al, 《<平和少女像>はなぜ座り續けるのか》) et al, (Why [the campaign for] erection of ‘Peace Statues of a Young Girl’ continues) . (Yokohama: Seori Shobo (世織書房)), 2016).

12 These survivors are Yang Gen-zhen (汤根珍), Liu Ci-zhen (刘慈珍), Peng Ren-shou (彭仁寿), Peng Zhu-ying (彭竹英), Luo Mian-hua (罗锦华), Ling Fang-zhen (凌芳贞), Zhang Si-zhen (张四珍), Chen Mei-ying (陈美英), Liu Nian-zhen (刘年珍), Yang Jia-Lan (杨桂兰), Xu Ai-zhen (余爱珍) and Wu Feng-zhen (吴俸贞).

13 Central Archives of the People’s Republic of China. Selected Confessions of War Criminals of the Japanese Invasion from the Collection of the Central Archives 《中央档案馆藏日本侵华战犯笔供选编》, 120 volumes, (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company (中华书局), published 2015-2016).

14 Jilin Provincial Archives (吉林省档案馆), 《铁证如山——吉林省新发掘日军侵华档案研究》 Mountain of Ironclad Proof: Research into Jilin Province’s newly-discovered documents relating to the Japanese Invasion),Volume 1. (Changchun: Jilin Province Publishing Group, 2014).

15 Works in Chinese include:[|Su Zhiliang (苏智良) 《慰安妇研究》 (Comfort Women Research), (Shanghai Bookstore （上海书店), 1999); Su Zhiliang 《日军性奴隶》 (Sex Slaves of the Japanese Military), (Beijing: People’s Publishing House (人民出版社), 2000); Chen Li-Fei (陈丽菲) 《日军“慰安妇”制度批判》 (Critique of the Japanese ‘Comfort Women’ System) (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company 张双兵), 2007); Zhang Shuang-bing 《炮楼里的女人——山西日军性奴隶调查实录》 (Women of the Blockhouse - Records of an Investigation into Japanese Military Sex Slaves of Shanxi), (Nanjing: Jiangsu People’s Publishing House （江苏人民出版社), 2011); Su Zhiliang and Chen Li-fei 《“慰安妇”与性暴力》 (“Comfort Women” and Sexual Violence), (Jinan: Shandong Pictorial Publishing House （山东画报出版社), 2015); Su Zhiliang, Chen Li-Fei and Yao Fei (姚霏) (Proof: The Secrets of Shanghai’s 172 Japanese Military Comfort Stations) 《证据：上海172个日军慰安所揭秘》, (Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaotong University Publishing House （上海交通大学出版社), 2018); Su Zhiliang and Zhang Jian-jun (张建军)《南京日军慰安所实录》(Records of the Japanese Military Comfort Stations of Nanjing), (Nanjing Publishing House （南京出版社), 2018); Qiu Peipei, Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei, Chinese Comfort Women: Testimonies from Imperial Japan’s Sexual Slaves, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

16 The Dai-Ichi Salon, originally called Dai-ichi (“first” in Japanese), in fact began as an early Kashizashiki (贷座敷) [an establishment that rented out rooms to private parties] opened by an overseas Japanese entrepreneur. This so-called Kashizashiki was a kind of traditional Japanese business that, apart from serving customers with food and drink, also provided girls or women for their (sexual) enjoyment. We cannot be certain regarding the nationality of all the customers of such an establishment, but they were mostly Japanese, and included soldiers and ordinary members of the Japanese expatriate community. The name Dai-ichi appears on the “Record of Overseas Japanese in Shanghai”《上海日侨人名录》 for 1920, and was originally managed by a certain Shirokawa. Originally located on Baoshan Road, it later moved to Dongbaoxing Road.

17 Translator’s note: A brief conflict between Imperial Japanese and Republic of China forces during which Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese navy. The conflict petered out in early March, with a formal truce in May that mandated the demilitarization of Shanghai.

18 Okabe Naozaburo (岡部直三郎 (The Diary of General Okabe Naozaburo), entry for March 14, 1932. (Tokyo: Fuyo Shobo (《岡部直三郎大将の日記》) 1982), p. 23. (In Japanese)

19 See Su Zhiliang, Chen Li-fei and Yao Fei, op. cit..

20 Kawata Fumiko (川田文子), 《皇军慰安所の女たち》 (Women of the Imperial Army’s Comfort Stations) (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo (筑摩書房), 1993), p. 222. (in Japanese)

21 Yoshimi (ed.) 1992, op. cit., p. 179.

22 Editorial Committee for Compiling the History of Wartime Nanjing (Editorial Committee) (南京戦史编集委員会): 《南京戦史資料集》 (Collected Documents relating to the History of Wartime Nanjing),(Tokyo: Kaikosha (偕行社), 1989), p. 211. (in Japanese)

23 Translator’s note: site of a battle with the Chinese forces on November 5-10, 1937.

24 Ibid., p. 411.

25 Ibid., p. 220.

26 Ibid., p. 228.

27 Yoshimi (ed.) 1992, op. cit., p. 105.

28 Ibid., p. 168.

29 Yoshimi (1995), op. cit., p. 37.

30 Army Ministry Logbook 《陸軍省業務日誌》, in the collection of the School of Hygiene of the Army Medical Corps (陸上自衞隊衞生学校藏). (in Japanese)

31 Ibid.

32 Telephone Records relating to the ‘Comfort Women’ Procurement Fund of the Anshan Branch of the Manchurian Central Bank 《满洲中央银行鞍山支店“慰安妇”采购资金电话记 录》， March 30, Kangde Year 12 (康德12年) (i.e. 1945), in the Jilin Provincial Archives (吉林省档案馆).

33 See Aso Tetsuo (麻生徹男),《上海より上海へ》 (From Shanghai to Shanghai), (Fukuoka: Sekifusha, 1993) (English translation published in 2004 by Eastbridge Books); Kako Senda, 《從軍慰安婦》 (Military Comfort Women), (Tokyo: Futabasha （双葉社), 1973); and Nishino Rumiko, 1993 (op. cit.).

34 Yoshimi (ed.), 1992 (op. cit.), p. 271.

35 See Yamada Seikichi (山田清吉). 《武漢兵站》 (Military Post at Wuhan) (Tokyo: Tosho Shuppansha (图書出版社), 1978) (in Japanese).

36 [i.e. the Japanese-sponsored regimes of Wang Jing-wei (based in Nanjing) and of former Qing Emperor Pu Yi in Manchukuo (Manchuria).]

37 Statement of Akita Matsuyoshi (1954) 《秋田松吉1954年呈供自述》 (Tokyo: Central Archives, unpublished document) (中央档案馆藏) (in Japanese).

38 Jinhua City Archives 金华市档案馆藏):《抄呈金华鸡林会会则及名簿文》(Transcription of the membership and regulations of the Jilin Association of Jinhua), January 30, 1945. Archive number: L001-001-636-020.

39 韩国慰安妇问题对策协议会 (Korean Association for Addressing the Comfort Women Issue): 《不可擦掉的历史，日军“慰安妇”》 (History that cannot be erased: Japanese Military “Comfort Women”),Chinese translation (details of publisher not provided), p. 68.

40 Sankei Shimbun 《産經新聞》 January 27, 2014.

41 Oral testimony of Zhu Yongze transcribed by Lei Dinghua (朱永泽口述雷丁华整理):《金江、石浮“慰安所”见闻》 (Testimony regarding the Shifu [Ishiue] “Comfort Station” in Jinjiang) in Fu Heji (符和积) (ed.), 1996. 《铁蹄下的腥风雪雨——日军侵琼暴行实录》 (Stinking winds and biting blizzards - Records of Atrocities Committed by Japanese Troops during the invasion of Hainan Island),(Sanya: Hainan Publishing House (海南出版社), 1996), Appendix, page 99.

42 Statement of War Criminal Ebato Takeshi (绘鸠毅): “Japanese soldiers not only raped ‘comfort women’ but killed and ate them” 《战犯绘鸠毅自述：日军强征慰安妇并杀掉吃肉》 People’s Daily 《人民日报》 September 5, 2014.

43 Central China Expeditionary Force Military Police Commander Ooki Shigeru (华中派遣军宪兵队司令官大木繁)：《关于南京宪兵队辖区治安恢复状况调查之件（通牒）》 (Regarding the matter of restoring order in the Nanjing Military District (Official Note)昭和十三年) G1938GFebruary 28. In the Jilin Provincial Archives (吉林省档案馆藏).

44 Central China Expeditionary Force Military Police Commander Ōki Shigeru (华中派遣军宪兵队司令官大木繁): 《关于南京宪兵队辖区治安恢复状况调查之件（通牒）》 (Regarding the matter of restoring order in the Nanjing Military District (Official Note)) 《中支宪高第二四一号》, 昭和十三年 February 29. In the Jilin Provincial Archives (吉林省档案馆藏). (In Japanese.)

45 The Japanese military comfort women system also extended to Burma (Myanmar), but the Burmese authorities or scholarly community has conducted almost no related research.

46 Mainly in Hainan, Hunan and Shanxi.

47 Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences. (Geneva: United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 1996). UN Doc.E/CN.4/1996/53.

48 The film Twenty-two 《二十二》, directed by Guo He (郭柯), for which Su Zhiliang acted as consultant, was released to cinemas all over China on August 14, 2017. Within a month, over six million people saw the film, with ticket sales reaching 170 million renminbi - a new record for a Chinese documentary film.

49 The documentary The Comings and Goings at One Comfort Station broadcast on December 17, 2016 on the CCTV News Channel, discussed the issue of whether the building of Shanghai’s “Ocean House” (《一座慰安所的去与留》) comfort station ought to be preserved, showing highly varying responses from officials, local citizens and students. This broadcast attracted considerable public notice.

50 The second Comfort Women Museums Symposium is due to be held in China in 2018. [Translator’s note: this event was cancelled at short notice by the Chinese authorities - see article by Vickers in this special issue.]