every stitch represents one of the estimated 800,000 children and young women who were victims of the Japanese “comfort women” system, a term that attempts to hide and gloss over the truth: a sex trafficking system that preyed on children as young as 9.

this number is an estimate, with the true toll being unknown. the bibs and small hats are in reference to jīzo, or jīzo botatsu, the buddhist guardian of travelers, women, and children in the living world, who guides them to safety in the afterlife. jīzo also protects the unborn in their journey to the afterlife.

young girls, children with families and futures were kidnapped from their homes in countries Japan was occupying in East and SouthEast Asia.
these children were forced to dress in traditional Japanese clothing, in kimono’s, and had to adopt Japanese names, as the imperial government erased their native monikers and clothing.

these children were sexually exploited and trafficked by military & civilians.

the Japanese government still refuses to acknowledge and give reparations to victims, many of whom are elderly and have faced significant health issues as a result of this sexual trauma and abuse. the generational trauma and impact of this system is still felt today. my family history touches this. my paternal great grandfather ran a brothel in Tokyo, and i cannot help but wonder and mourn for those harmed at the hands of my ancestors. sex workers at the time were typically young women from nations in East and Southeast Asia that Japan had colonized or brutalized. i wish to reignite the conversations around Japanese atrocities of this era, in an attempt to get formal recognition of these crimes, as well as reparations for victims and their families.