HILD 12 wk6 section discussion

What do you think are some of the impacts of being labeled as spies, or national traitors by the state and military for internal relations within Okinawan society? How do you think this impacted Okinawans’ treatment/views toward Korean women who were brought to the islands as “comfort women” beginning in 1941?

As Tomiyama discusses on his piece, “‘Spy’: Mobilization and Identity in Wartime Okinawa”, the Okinawans were labeled as spies, or national traitors by the state and military, with a motive to expand its military law to the civilians (Tomiyama 128). The impact of this is profound, as it creates a border between the Okinawans and the Japanese, and creates suspicion of the Okinawans, even if they did nothing wrong. As in Professor Matsumura’s lecture on “War and Civilian Mobilization”, the dialect that the okinawans used were assumed to the Japanese military as a way to communicate conspiracies against the empire. Additionally, this accusation enabled the military to have a reason to create more control over these peoples. According to Tomiyama, “the 32nd Army issued the order that ‘those speaking Okinawan are to be seen as engaged in espionage and should be executed’”. This took a toll on the Okinawans, and certainly many were discriminated and killed because of the labeling as a “spy”. In regard to the Okinawans views toward Korean women who were brought to the islands as “comfort women”, they may have expressed pity as they knew that they were kept there forcefully (Matusmura lecture). However, there were no acts by the Okinawans to protest these comfort women, so it is difficult to determine the certain view they had toward theses Korean Women forced into being a comfort woman.