History of Japanese Military “Comfort Stations” Dates Back 130 Years

It is widely believed that the Japanese “comfort women” system was created in 1932 in the wake of the First Battle of Shanghai. But is this truly the case? As early as the 19th century, Japan had already been exploiting women’s sexuality to exert control over soldiers during wartime. Song Yeon-ok, professor emeritus at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan, argues—based on evidence from numerous historical sources—that Japan had been politically using women’s sexuality at the national level long before the First Battle of Shanghai.

State-Regulated Prostitution Quarters Established to Placate Laborers Mobilized for “National Prosperity and Military Strength”

It is widely acknowledged that the “comfort women” system, established by the Japanese military to sustain its war efforts, dates back to the First Battle of Shanghai in 1932. However, this raises an important question: Japan had already engaged in numerous wars of aggression overseas, including the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War—didn’t a similar “comfort women” system exist during those earlier conflicts?

In the mid-19th century, the Japanese Empire, still lacking a fully developed capitalist system, sought to compensate for its economic weaknesses by reinforcing militarism. In 1868, the Meiji government, under the banner of “national prosperity and military strength,” launched a colonization campaign in Hokkaido to secure resources and counter Russia’s southward expansion. As part of this effort, a state-regulated prostitution quarter was established to placate prisoners mobilized as laborers. This initiative was proposed by Kuroda Kiyotaka (黒田清隆), the director of the Hokkaido Colonization Office, who planned to fund the project through the office’s budget and entrust the management of the quarter to brothel owners in Yoshiwara, Tokyo. However, the 1872 Act for the Emancipation of Geisha and Prostitutes (芸娼妓解放令), along with the economic depression of 1873, forced these businesses to close shortly after their establishment.

The 1872 act ordered the emancipation of geisha (芸妓, geigi) and prostitutes (娼妓, shōgi) who were put into servitude by debt. It came as the Meiji government’s response to Western criticism that these women were victims of human trafficking and slavery. While some geisha and prostitutes benefited from this measure, it failed to dismantle the system of advance payments—essentially a form of indentured servitude—which continued to enslave women in prostitution quarters. Instead, the act provided the Meiji government with an opportunity to consolidate control over the sex trade and modernize the system by implementing mandatory STD testing and imposing taxes. Rather than abolishing exploitation, the government rebranded geisha and prostitutes as self-employed individuals who merely rented space from brothel owners, rather than being directly exploited. It was around this time that the neologisms “kashizashiki” (貸座敷, rented rooms for prostitution, i.e., brothels) and “kōshō” (公娼, licensed prostitution) were coined. Despite these terminological changes, the advance payment system, with its high interest rates, continued to subjugate women’s bodies.

In Japan, which lacked a strong capital base, the sex trade held significant economic importance, nearly functioning as a key industry. In Sapporo, Hokkaido, for example, tax revenues from the sex industry accounted for 44% of local tax income. To deflect international criticism of a state-run prostitution system, the central government transferred administrative control over these licensed, modernized prostitution businesses to local governments. However, from 1900 onward, the central government began directly overseeing prostitutes in a unified manner, leaving local governments only responsible for regulating brothel owners.

Why a Brothel from Yoshiwara Was Established in the Newly Opened Port of Busan

In 1876, Japan coerced Korea into signing the unequal Japan–Korea Treaty (Treaty of Ganghwa) under the pretext that Korea had fired upon the Japanese gunboat Un'yō, despite its clear identification under the Japanese flag. It was Kuroda Kiyotaka, the director of the Hokkaido Colonization Office, that led the treaty negotiations as Japan’s plenipotentiary. In 1880, a brothel known as Nakagomeru, which Kuroda had frequented in Yoshiwara, Tokyo, was established in Busan. It is speculated that Kuroda’s guarantee or direct intervention facilitated the brothel’s entry into Busan despite the instability that followed the port’s opening.

The brothel’s owner, Akagura Tokichi (赤倉藤吉), arrived in Busan with a three-year passport under the official pretext of engaging in “commercial activities” [Photo 1]. Accompanying him were ten women under his control, whom he brought under the condition that their debts would be forgiven. The Japanese government’s Rules on Kashizashiki Business were extended to regulate the sex trade in Busan, marking the formalization of the licensed prostitution system within the designated Japanese residential district of the city. After three years, Akagura returned to Japan in 1882. Japan’s position in Korea weakened following the Imo Incident (1882) and the Gapsin Coup (1884) as Korea established diplomatic relations with Western powers through a series of treaties. In response, Japan officially terminated the licensed prostitution system in Busan to preserve its national prestige. In another open port, Incheon, the establishment of kashizashiki businesses was prohibited from the outset.

The Hidden Battles and Sexual Violence in Korea during the Sino-Japanese War

In the following years, Japan expanded its military capabilities in an effort to reassert its dominance and prepare for war on the continent. The Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894) presented Japan with a timely, strategic opportunity. When Korea’s Joseon government sought military assistance from the Qing dynasty to suppress the uprising, China dispatched troops in response. Japan, citing the Treaty of Jemulpo, deployed a force over three times the size of the Qing army. However, wary of foreign intervention, the peasant army reached a peace agreement with the Korean government and disbanded. Subsequently, Korea requested the withdrawal of both Chinese and Japanese troops. Japan, however, refused to withdraw its forces, escalating its interference in Korea’s internal affairs. This culminated in the seizure of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the launch of a full-scale war.

A contemporary Japanese source titled An Account of the Japanese-Sino Battle (日清戦争実記) [Photo 2] reflects the prevailing narratives of the time. It includes an illustration portraying Qing soldiers raiding civilian homes in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, and committing acts of violence against women. However, this depiction was politically motivated, intended to visually highlight Qing atrocities while framing the Japanese military as a force of justice and order.

Contrary to such a portrayal, other sources reveal that Japanese forces themselves were perpetrators of outrageous crimes. In Moving Stories of the Japanese-Sino War (日淸戰爭美談), Yamagata Aritomo (山県有朋), founder of the Imperial Japanese Army and its highest-ranking officer, acknowledged: “There were cases where Japanese troops burned civilian homes, plundered their possessions, and subjected women and children to humiliation. I will not only impose severe punishments on those responsible but will also hold their commanding officers accountable.” As Japanese forces advanced northward into China, they engaged in both sex trade and sexual violence, while simultaneously massacring members of the peasant army and assaulting women in southern Korea. Following Japan’s victory in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was annexed as its colonial territory. There, Japan established “sexual comfort facilities” for its troops. In 1896, the enactment of Taipei Prefectural Ordinance No. A-1, Rules for the Regulation of Kashizashiki and Prostitutes, formalized and expanded the licensed prostitution system in Taiwan.

The Invention of Specialty Restaurants

One of the reasons Japan was unable to overtly introduce a licensed prostitution system in Korea in the late 19th century, as it did in Taiwan, was the presence of Western powers. At the time, Korea had signed treaties of amity and commerce with 11 major countries, nine of which maintained legations in Seoul. Notably, a Westerner residing in Seoul witnessed and reported the assassination of Empress Myeongseong in an English magazine. Aware of Western scrutiny, Japan devised “specialty restaurants” as an alternative to licensed prostitution facilities. Women working in these establishments were referred to as “geigi” (geisha) or “shakufu” (酌婦, barmaids) in an effort to obscure the prostitution occurring within these spaces and shift moral responsibility onto individual business owners.

While the advertisement in Guide to Busan, Korea (1901) by Kazuki Kentaro [Photo 3-2] promotes some of these businesses as restaurants, it explicitly labels them as “kashizashiki” (i.e., brothels), providing clear evidence that prostitution was practiced in these establishments. What is more noteworthy is that Japanese operators were already “employing” Korean women even before the Russo-Japanese War. What advantages did classifying these establishments as restaurants rather than kashizashiki offer? The primary benefit was increased tax revenue. The tax rate for restaurants was higher than that for brothels, generating greater tax income. This suggests a possible hypothesis: while Japan sought to present an image of prohibiting licensed prostitution, it was strategically waiting for a political shift that would justify reintroducing the system, bolstered by the financial gains from increased taxation.

The Russo-Japanese War and the Establishment of Comfort Stations: Accounts from Military Surgeons

Two years after the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, Korea proclaimed itself the Korean Empire. However, Japan launched the Russo-Japanese War against Russia, which stood in the way of the occupation of Korea, and subjugated Korea by force of arms, disregarding its declared neutrality. After capturing Seoul, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1904, which violated Korean sovereignty by compelling it to provide human and material resources for the war effort and accommodate military bases.

During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan established military-run “sexual comfort facilities.” Fujita Tsuguakira (藤田嗣章)^[1], who served as the surgeon general of the Fourth Army, provided crucial testimony in his memoir Retrospect of the War and Postwar Management (戦役の回顧と戦後の経営, 1934):

Although Fujita did not explicitly use the term “comfort station,” the facility and its management closely resemble those later known by this term. Fujita also noted that such facilities had been in operation since Japan’s occupation of Taiwan in 1895.

Another military surgeon, Nakamura Ryokuya (中村緑野), who served near Fengtian (now Shenyang), also mentioned comfort stations. His descriptions share similarities with Fujita’s but convey disdain for the soldiers, even though these facilities were established by the military for their benefit.

It is noteworthy that different authors referred to the military-run prostitution system using various terms: Fujita used “private prostitution” (shishōsei, 私娼制), Nakamura used “prostitution” (baishōsei, 売笑制), and others used “licensed prostitution” (kōshōsei, 公娼制). This inconsistency suggests that the terminology for the system was not unified at the time. However, these varying terms should not lead to wrong implications. Both Fujita’s and Nakamura’s memoirs, published in 1934, were intended as references for the Japanese military following the Mukden Incident.

Comfort stations often utilized makeshift wooden structures but sometimes occupied existing buildings. The illustration in [Photo 4-1] depicts Japanese soldiers selecting women at the Faku Gate (法庫門), a historic site in Fengtian where a shrine dedicated to Guan Yu, a revered figure from China’s Three Kingdoms period, was located. Establishing a comfort station at such a sacred site is akin to setting one up at a shrine dedicated to General Eulji Mundeok or Admiral Yi Sun-sin in Korea. The profound insult felt by the local people about the Japanese’s disrespectful act is easily imaginable.

Beyond temporary stations, the Japanese military also established dedicated prostitution quarters by developing new urban areas [Photo 5]. Centralizing these brothels would ensure efficiency in management and improve hygiene. The first of such brothels, established in 1904 in Andong (now Dandong, Liaoning), was termed an “amusement park.” Women were regularly tested for STDs, and those infected were hospitalized for treatment. The minimum legal age for prostitutes was set at 16—two years younger than in Japan—but younger girls were allowed to work as long as they underwent STD screenings. Regulations implemented in 1905 required women to pay a monthly tax to the military: 4 yen for geigi, 3 yen for shakufu, 2 yen for nakai (仲居, women serving in inns/restaurants), and 1 yen for habi (下婢, maidservants). Effectively, the military acted as their pimp. Following the transition from military to civilian administration, these facilities were entrusted to civilian operators and opened to non-military clientele as well. At the time, there was no regulation on the minimum legal age for prostitutes, but in 1930, it was set at 17.

“Comfort Women” System as an Extension of Colonial Sexual Control Policies

During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan used Korea as a logistical base, stationing Japanese troops within the country. Later, in 1907, the Japanese Empire dispatched more troops and military police to suppress the resistance of the Korean militia following Emperor Gojong’s forced abdication and the dissolution of the Korean military. After the revolt was subdued to a degree, Japan enacted the Gisaeng Control Decree and Prostitute Control Decree, marking the beginning of systematic sexual control policies, including mandatory STD testing in Korea. While these measures were intended for the welfare of Japanese soldiers, Japan strategically framed them as responses to alleged Korean concerns about STD epidemics, aware of their anti-Japanese sentiment. Later, Japan gradually established sexual control regulations for the Japanese outside of Seoul, and in 1916, it fully implemented a “colonial licensed prostitution system.” Unlike in mainland Japan, the minimum legal age for prostitutes under this system differed based on colonial hierarchy: 18 years in mainland Japan, 17 in Korea, and 16 in Kwantung and Taiwan. In short, Japan continuously adapted its sexual control policies to changing political situations by introducing different terms and regulations. However, it should be noted that its consistent focus was to obscure the state’s responsibility in perpetuating the institutionalized sex trade.