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Set in Bronze: Examining the Women’s Movements and the Politics of Comfort Women Memorialization

Author: Kim Kelsey

Vol Master of Arts in Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2018, pp. 47

After decades of silence, many surviving ‘comfort women’ – sex slaves for the Imperial Japanese Army in World War Two - have publicly come forward to demand justice through apologies and reparations. The Japanese government has continued to deny responsibility. In response, supporters of ‘comfort women’ have created public memorials throughout the world, particularly in the US. These memorials have led to Japanese diplomatic intervention and demands for their removal, sparking a battle for recognition in the public sphere. This thesis explores the ‘comfort women’ movement and the controversy surrounding the memorials, reexamining these memorials as a form of recognition, reparations and reconciliation.

The thesis can be accessed here https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5h71r542#article_main