Listening to the Voices of "Other" Women in Japanese North America: Japanese Prostitutes and Barmaids in the American West, 1887-1920.

UNITED States; WEST (U.S.); CANADA

The article discusses Japanese women immigrants who worked as prostitutes and barmaids in the North American West, focusing on the period 1887 to 1920. It comments on conditions in Japan that led to emigration and reflects on prostitution in Japan in the Meiji period, which lasted from 1868 to 1912. The author explores economic conditions that led to prostitution, including debts owed from ocean passage and loans from masters or husbands. These women's practices of divorcing abusive husbands, running away from brothels, and entering Protestant rescue missions are also addressed. Both U.S. western cities, such as Seattle, Washington, and Canadian western cities, such as Victoria, British Columbia, are considered.