The Poignant Tales of Ianfu

Tukiyem, 82 years old, from Karanganyar, Central Java

Her father died when Tukiyem was still very little. Her mother worked on a small rice field and sold stuff at the market to support her children. One day, when Tukiyem was 15 years old, five Japanese soldiers came to her house and offered Tukiyem to work for the Japanese. Her mother agreed because in other villages, many young girls were asked to work as romusha.

It turned out that Tukiyem was put in a Japanese dormitory in Solo. There, she cleaned the dormitory, washed clothes, and cooked. After two months working there, Tukiyem began to be harassed by a Japanese soldier. Some of her friends experienced the same thing.

One day, Tukiyem, who was resting in her bedroom, was attacked by five Japanese soldiers. They gagged and threatened to kill her if she dared to scream. Then, they took turns raping Tukiyem. After the horrific incident, Tukiyem could only cry. Since then, she was raped by the five Japanese soldiers at different times.

After three months that felt like forever, before Japan's defeat, Tukiyem and her friends were finally released. She then returned home.

Dali, 82 years old, from Gowa, South Sulawesi

When she was 15 years old, Dali’s father passed away. To help her family survive, Dali left her house in Gowa, moved to Makassar, and worked in a coffee house as a server. A Japanese man named Tanaji, who often came to the coffee house, was fond of Dali's beauty. The terrified coffee house owner handed Dali over on the pretext that she would be employed as a housemaid at Tanaji's house which was not far from the coffee house.

In reality, Dali never received pay. Instead, she was raped and became Tanaji's sex slave. She was locked up in a house in Kokolojia for 18 months. When Dali was heavily pregnant, Japan lost the war and Tanaji left right away. She then gave birth to a child from the rape who was named Ontong.

Dali chose not to return to her parents' house because she was ashamed of having a child outside of marriage. Dali and her son lived in economic hardship. She had to work hard as a porter at a market to survive. Due to grievously heavy loads on top of her head she had to endure every day, her hearing nerves were damaged and her hearing was impaired.

Rumini, 87 years old, from Tulungagung, East Java

A few months after the Japanese arrived, the Subangun village chief gathered the villagers. The chief apparently had received an order from the Japanese to gather unmarried girls to learn Japanese language and dance in Boyolangu Subdistrict, about an hour away. There were around 17 young girls selected, including Rumini. 

In the Boyolangu Dormitory, a large Dutch building, Rumini met around 80 girls aged 10-12 years. Rumini was elated knowing that she'd make many new friends. There, they learned taiso or calisthenics and sewing. 

After 15 days, one night the taiso teacher came to Rumini. Rumini remembered that right after the taiso lesson, the Japanese man said he would pick her up before bed. Rumini was confused. When she followed him to his room, she was raped by the Japanese man. She was then given a small blue pill that she had to take. The rape took place many times, and that harrowing experience also befell the other women there. All were helpless. After two months, they were told they could go home.

Emah Kastimah, 87 years old, from Cimahi, West Java

Emah was 17 years old when a Japanese soldier seduced her, promised her a job, and eventually took her by force and put her in an ianjo on Jalan Simpang Cimahi in Bandung. At the ianjo, there were already eight girls who had also been tricked into jobs.

On Friday at eleven, Emah was given a medical examination by Dr. Tanaka. After the examination, many Japanese soldiers arrived at the ianjo. They could take any girl who they desired.

Each soldier brought a brownish domino-sized ticket. Emah was often forced to serve up to ten soldiers in one single day. Once, she fell unconscious. After a few months, Emah was transferred to an ianjo on Jalan Kalidam. Every time she finished serving a man, Emah was given a reddish-colored liquid medicine to wash her private parts.

The ianjo was closed after the Japanese were defeated. Emah then returned home. She got married, but her husband died without leaving any children. After learning that Emah was a former ianfu, she was shunned by her late husband's family. Carrying the heavy and bitter burden of her past, Emah had to survive at the mercy of others.