Japanese Literary Awards

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Tomoko Yamazaki

やまざき ともこ

Yamazaki Tomoko

Profile

Gender
Female
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
non-fiction writer, journalist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sandakan No. 8 Brothel: A Prelude to the History of Marginalized Women

1972 non-fiction

A nonfiction investigation into the lives and trajectories of karayuki-san—Japanese women who went overseas to work as prostitutes from the prewar to postwar periods. Based on interviews and historical materials, the book reveals the realities of marginalized women and examines poverty, commodification of female labor, and structural issues of colonialism and capitalism.

women's historykarayuki-sanpovertycolonialism / overseas laborcommodification of sex work
Adaptations
  • [film] Sandakan No. 8 Brothel: Longing / 熊井啓 (1974)

Bibliography

  • Sandakan No. 8 Brothel: A Prelude to the History of Marginalized Women (1st ed. 1972)

Adaptations

  • Sandakan No. 8 Brothel: Longing (1974 film adaptation, dir. Kei Kumai)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
reportagefact- and testimony-based narrativedirect treatment of social issues
Recurring Motifs
perspectives of marginalized womenaccumulation of oral testimoniescritique of state and capitalist structures

Legacy

Sandakan No. 8 Brothel: A Prelude to the History of Marginalized Women brought visibility to issues in modern Japanese women's history and marginal labor from the prewar and postwar periods. The 1974 film adaptation amplified public and international discussion, and the book has had scholarly and social impact by recovering the histories of karayuki-san.