Sexuality and the Japanese empire: a contested history

Abstract

Sexuality in modern Japan represented the nation’s struggles to compete with Western imperialist powers and to establish its own empire in the Asia-Pacific. The regulation of sexual and reproductive activities was integral to Japan’s imperialist endeavors. At the same time, exposure to new norms of gender and sexuality in the process of modernization led to the rise of a grassroot culture expressing so-called deviant forms of sexuality, such as homosexuality, non-procreative sexuality, and interracial sexuality. Studies on sexuality in modern Japan have demonstrated both the top-down, state regulation of sexuality and the diverse movements of the masses. Scholarship of recent decades has highlighted, in particular, the military’s role in sexual slavery and the exploitation of women—referred to as “comfort women.” Attention to oral history and women’s own testimonies has helped to uncover the hidden and silenced voices of these women. These new narratives in history, however, have also triggered backlash and international controversies over sexuality against the backdrop of the Japanese empire.