A More Miserable Life than Living in the Jungle: A Japanese ‘Comfort Woman’ Story

This article analyses the recollection of a Japanese ‘comfort women’ survivor published in 1975. By applying the analytical concept of gender and trauma, this study draws on the ‘politics of integrity’ theorised by Aurora Levins Morales (1998) as well as the theory of ‘coherence of the self’ proposed by Charlotte Linde (1993). The social, political and psychological analysis of her life story reveals the complexity of the politics of integrity in telling a story of trauma. It concludes how strongly her silent voice of trauma required societal acknowledgement of her sense of self to regain human integrity and dignity.