She never said her true age or told anyone her name.
When you walk the streets of Yokohama, Japan in the 90s, you will see a special old man with pure white lace gloves on his arms and a vintage lace gauze skirt.
Her face was covered with thick white powder makeup, dark and rich eyeshadow, and her lips were smeared with bright lipstick, and she could smell the aroma emanating from her body when she stood not far away.
People were extremely curious to see her, but the people around her avoided her and looked at her with contempt.
She was known as "Miss Mary" and was a prostitute.
The people around him did not have a good impression of Mary, an old man who was about to pass the age of old age, but wearing a young man's costume, with a heavy makeup on his face and dressed like a queen, which made people feel strange and exaggerated.
Under the eyes of thousands of people who did not understand, Mary did not care at all about the opinions of others, she was a person with strong self-esteem.
Although Mary was in her seventies and could barely make money by walking on her back, the boss never drove her away and gave her an exclusive resting place, a bench in the hall of the building.
Mary knew in her heart that she had been doing the job for 60 years and that she would not be able to attract guests. Still, she was reluctant to leave the place, perhaps for her own thoughts or other reasons.
Mary herself confessed: "If I am a prostitute, then I will always be a prostitute." As a prostitute, I will always do it. ”
In the eyes of people, Mary was a shameless person, but anyone who had done her business knew that Mary was a different woman. Mary's most common sentence to her guests was, "I can give you anything, but you can't kiss me." ”
Mary had a beautiful name called "Yukiko Nishioka". Yukiko has also been young and has youth, and only those who know her understand that in fact, she is waiting for her lover here, hoping to be reunited with her lover one day and recognize him at a glance.
The hate of the lost
Mary was born noble, the family conditions are superior, her parents in order to cultivate her, but also specially asked someone to teach her to play the piano and draw, it is worth mentioning that Mary speaks fluent English. Her noble origin and profound cultural heritage make Mary stand out from her peers, exuding pride from the inside out.
When Mary was 24 years old, a sudden catastrophe broke all the good things. His father died on the battlefield because of the war, and his mother was sad and over-contracted with illness, and died shortly after.
Not only was Mary's family persecuted due to the war, but it also brought the harm of family destruction to countless families, and the grief caused by the war was not able to be stopped, and the era was in the period of the Second World War.
Mary's family collapsed, and her brother ruthlessly drove her away in order to compete for the family property. The cold family changes have made Mary very painful, because the status of Japanese women is already low, under the ingenuity of her brother, Mary has to go out to find a job to survive.
Whenever and wherever, it is always much easier for men than for women to find work. At first, Mary looked for many places, and all of them returned empty and happy. When she gradually lost her mood, an advertisement on the street made her eyes light up, especially the words "package food, live, high income", which firmly attracted her. The content of the advertisement is that foreign-related clubs are recruiting waitresses.
The official background of the government coupled with the generous treatment was very tempting, and Mary, who had lost her cool, quickly found the person in charge and signed up, and what she did not expect was that she would no longer be able to climb out after this trip.
Due to Mary's versatility, she quickly passed the examination. They first dressed Mary in makeup and costumes, and at the same time gave the candidates a special name, "Comfort Women", and let them wait quietly in the room.
Unexpectedly, all the American soldiers who were waiting for her realized that she had been deceived. Mary and the deceived women were ravaged day and night, and gradually became the tools of the American soldiers. These women want to run and can't run, want to cry and cry, and can only obediently compromise under helplessness.
Since it is a government sign, the reason why these women should be tricked into serving the American soldiers is absurd and ridiculous.
At that time, after Japan's defeat in the war, it tried to move closer to the US military, so it had to focus on the US military and finally decided to let the US troops enter Japan. Japan wanted to use the chastity of these women to curry favor with the American soldiers.
When the US military first entered Japan, it often acted like a wolf and a tiger, wandering in the streets and alleys of Japan, and violence and the robbery of people's women occurred from time to time.
In this way, it not only objectively curbs the wanton wandering and brutal style of the US military, but also allows most women to avoid being violated by the US military.
The comfort women lived their daily lives in the comfort stations, and these American soldiers ravaged them like flood beasts, never taking safe contraception measures for their own comfort and happiness.
However, this erosion of life is destined not to last long, and the long-term lack of attention to hygiene and misconduct will eventually make them suffer the consequences of their own, and it is not long before the disease of the willow is soon spread from the comfort station.
In order to control the emergence of the disease and effectively cut off the spread of the disease, the Japanese government has closed all comfort places.
Ostensibly, the Japanese government claims that the comfort women earn a lot of money, enough to dominate their lives and consumption for the rest of their lives. In fact, these comfort women have received very little, not even the next month's life, and the high salaries they say have been basically deducted.
The imprint of love
After the comfort station was closed, the comfort women were mercilessly thrown away like garbage. Although they regained their freedom, they were also mentally devastated, and for them, this shame was difficult to erase for a lifetime. If you want to return to normal life, it is almost difficult to do, and you are bound to be subject to all kinds of discriminatory eyes.
Women, including Mary, had to learn survival skills if they wanted to get back on the track of life. Mary had no choice, and in order to live, she chose a wind moon place in Kansai and started a business of soliciting customers.
Although Mary fell into the red dust again, her heart was already like ashes, but the only thing worth holding on to her was to let her already numb body continue to live. When others talked to her, Mary said the most: "My life is already dead."
Mary, who has lost confidence in life, gives a unique impression, she often wears a retro lace gauze skirt, holds a white umbrella, and behaves very elegantly. Most people always deliberately play a charming posture, in contrast, Mary is more charming, and the guests will be more willing to do her business.
At Mary's peak, guests would wait in long lines for her to choose, and would call her "Her Majesty the Queen" in the way they liked. For a prostitute, it is nothing more than the most beautiful time, and there are always guests who come after hearing her title, and they are often jealous and red-eyed by other prostitutes.
Still, Mary hadn't really laughed in a long time. There may be many prostitutes pursuing this honor, but in the eyes of Mary, who has lost her soul, everything seems so dim and dull that she has no purpose in life.
Until one day, the appearance of an American officer made a calm backwater in Mary's heart wave again, full of color and revitalization.
Never did the guest care about Mary's feelings, but the American officer treated her like a friend, talking about her as if she were friend, not only did not discriminate against her, but showed sincerity. Mary had never felt this way in years, and she felt the truth about the person in front of her.
The American officers did not dislike Mary's identity, and often came to her, and it was not long before they fell in love. This was the happiest moment in Mary's life, and it was also the most memorable marriage, and from then on, she could no longer hold anyone else in her heart.
However, this love stayed for a short time, and soon after, the American officer received an order to be summoned back to China, and all the past of the lovers on the streets of Yokohama could only be sealed in each other's memories.
When she learned that he was leaving, Mary shed tears. As they parted, the American officer gave her an emerald ring and told Mary that it was a promise and that when she was done, she would come back and marry her.
The two kissed each other on the dock for a long time, and the American officer hesitated to give up Mary, and with the sound of the whistle sounding one after another, they had to hurry to board the ship. At the moment when the ship started, Mary was instantly soaked with tears, watching the ship until it disappeared, and the corners of her mouth were still saying from time to time: "I am waiting for you."
The American officer lived forever in Mary's heart, and Mary never let any man kiss her on the mouth again. This agreement became Mary's spiritual domination, but what Mary did not expect was that this agreement actually made her hold on to it for half a lifetime.
Looks old
Mary has remained in Yokohama since the pier separation and has never left. As her face grew older, Mary in her fifties was no longer popular, but she still wore that strange outfit, maintaining a noble and elegant temperament.
Although the people around her looked at her with strange eyes and avoided her, she would not take the initiative to chat with others, nor would she easily accept handouts from others.
Once, Mary walked into her frequent hair salon, and the lady, in a pleading tone, advised Mary not to come back in the future, on the grounds that the other guests did not want to use the same set of barber tools as her. Mary felt puzzled, and after cutting her hair, she left without a sound.
When Mary passed the coffee shop, the lady of the coffee shop would occasionally wave to Mary through the glass and invite Mary to come in and sit down, and Mary understood what she meant, but still twisted her head back and continued to walk forward.
Because the customers in the coffee shop also disliked her, but the lady looked at her pitifully, and specially prepared a special coffee cup for her, and the reason why Mary refused to go in was that she did not want to involve people who had good intentions towards her.
Mary walked past the store door, looked affectionately out the window at a bottle of perfume, and refused to leave for a long time, as if she had seen love. Although she hid her feelings very deeply, from the appearance, she was still so arrogant and cold.
Meet a confidant again
When Mary was approaching her old age, the 70-year-old Mary met a young man named "Motojiro", but the young man and Mary were not the kind of relationship they imagined, but saw the epitome of their mother in Mary.
When Motojiro was young, when he learned that his mother was a prostitute, he hated his mother's work very much, so he had a quarrel with his mother, and until his mother died, Motojiro still had a grudge against his mother.
Later, in order to live, Motojiro embarked on the old path of his mother and became a male prostitute, only to understand that everything his mother did at that time was actually forced by life, mostly to avoid his son being wronged.
Motojiro cherished this friendship with Mary and always regarded her as his own mother. Motojiro would sing for her in front of Mary, open his heart to chat with her, and be filial to Mary like a son.
After the news spread about Mary, a director invited her to shoot a documentary, and Mary did not refuse, and Mary became a household name.
In 1995, after a heavy snowfall, Mary suddenly disappeared. The old lady could no longer be seen on the streets of Yokohama, no one knew where she had gone, and people around the streets felt as if something was missing more than usual.
At the age of 74, Mary decided to end her career on the street and never solicit customers again. This time, no one knows, but a person silently stepped on the train back to his hometown and disappeared into the field of vision of everyone.
A few years later, Motojiro, who was terminally ill, suddenly received a letter from Mary: "I want to go back to Yokohama..." After learning Mary's address, Motojiro disregarded his body and rushed to Mary's hometown with only time.
When he meets Mary again, Motojiro understands the cause and effect of the incident.
On the day Mary left Yokohama, knowing that she could not wait for her beloved, she discarded her long skirt and some rouge gouache from many years in Yokohama and decided to be an ordinary old man.
And this time, Mary's appearance has also changed dramatically, no longer the Mary who likes to wear clothes, and her face is no longer makeup, looking like an amiable grandmother.
Motojiro sang in front of Mary as always, and Mary smiled and admired Motojiro's performance, and finally, Motojiro held Mary's hand and agreed to live together until they were 100 years old.
In 2005, at the age of 84, Mary passed away forever, still wearing the emerald ring on her finger.
Mary of Yokohama
After the release of the documentary "Mary yokohama", this film with a tragic story as the background and an evocative love story as the clue has aroused countless people to discuss.
At that time, due to the low status of Japanese women, Represented by Mary was only an example, and the women behind them who were abandoned or even sacrificed became the remnants of an era.
With the release of this documentary, mary's image has been respected by countless Japanese people, and people have also understood that under the appearance of Japan's seeming prosperity and self-improvement, there are some unsightly things hidden, like thousands of sharp knives, which have pierced into the hearts of every Japanese.
Towards the end of the shoot, it was clear in the camera that Mary was full of silver hair and her face was much older. The crew was curious and wanted to interview her, but when they met Mary, they didn't want to say anything.
Mary did not complain about anything until her twilight years, but in exchange for the promise of the American officer, but in exchange for Mary's lifelong wait, I don't know if the man who gave Mary the emerald ring is also thinking of Mary? Will you see this film in the United States?
-Ends-