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This history describes and analyses brothel prostitution in Singapore between 1870 and 1940. The vital role of Chinese and Japanese prostitutes in sustaining Singapore's pre-war economy and society has not been fully recognized.
Starting with village backgrounds in rural China and Japan, and the hazards of the trade in women and children, the author follows the prostitutes through their encounters with brothel life in general, and in particular explores their routines and crises of earning, spending, social relations, leisure, mobility, disease, and death. A rare portrait of the daily lives of the ah ku and karayuki-san emerges. It is also a historical account of human nature, of human relationships compelled by the pride and prejudice of the human spirit.
The author has used Coroners Inquests and Inquiries, statistical and other records, as well as photographs and oral reminiscences to resurrect the lives of the ah ku and karayuki-san.
By organizing the case material around themes relating to the workplace and working conditions, the author has converted a mass of depositions into an 'inner history', evoking a milieu and sentiment whose details were often clouded by an atmosphere of unease, irony, and danger: of Loh Sai Soh's fatal objection to Lam Loh Suh leaving the brothel: of Otoyo and her penalized client of two years, Lance-Corporal Albert Chacksfield; of the beautiful Duya Hadachi, her experiences of a relationship strained beyond endurance, and the deadly struggle between her paramours; and many, many others.
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19th century, 20th centuryShowing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
Ah ku and karayuki-san: prostitution in Singapore, 1870-1940
2003, Singapore University Press, National University of Singapore
in English
9971692678 9789971692674
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2
Ah Ku and Karayuki-San: Prostitution in Singapore 1880-1940
May 2003, Singapore University Press
Paperback
in English
9971692678 9789971692674
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3
Ah ku and karayuki-san: prostitution in Singapore, 1870-1940
1993, Oxford University Press
in English
019588616X 9780195886160
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [414]-428) and index.
Maps on lining papers.
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Work Description
"Among the many groups of workers whose labor built Singapore in the 20th century, there may be none as marginalized in memory as the women who travelled from China and Japan to work in Singapore as prostitutes. This study sketches in the trade in women and children in Asia, and - making innovative use of Coroner's Inquests and other records - hones in on the details of the prostitutes lives in the colonial city: the daily brothel routine, personal crises and violence, social relations, leisure, mobility, disease and death." "The result is a powerful historical account of human nature, of human relationships, of pride, prejudice, struggle and spirit. Ordinary people tumble from the pages of the records: they talk about choice of partners, love and betrayal, desperation and alienation, drawing us into their lives." "This social history is a powerful corrective to the romantic image of colonial Singapore as a city of excitement, sophistication, exotic charm and easy sex."--BOOK JACKET
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