On the streets of Yokohama Customs Street in Japan, there was a woman who stood on the street for 60 years, her name was Yukiko Nishioka, and more people were willing to call her Yokohama Marie. She was a wandering prostitute who evoked a history of humiliation that Japanese people do not want to remember.
For 60 years, she was also respected by the Japanese with a love story. What happened to this woman? Why did her experience become a microcosm of an era?
In this issue, the childlike character Kiki is about Yukiko Nishioka, a prostitute who survived gracefully after Japan's post-war period.
Yukiko Nishioka was born into a wealthy family in Japan and grew up in a prosperous life.
Changes
Around 1945, the war that spread to many parts of the world burned millions of homes, and Nishioka's family was devastated. It was also affected, and there were no parents at the age of 24.
In order to seize all the family property, the younger brother ruthlessly expelled the girl from the house, and she has since become a street wanderer.
At that time, Japan's hundred industries were depressed, unemployment rates were alarmingly high, and Japanese women with low social status could be said to be as difficult as climbing to the sky if they wanted to find a regular job.
Young girls are young and beautiful, standing alone on the street, and it is naturally easy to attract the attention of others. Yukiko, who has a good skin bag, was thus pulled into the foreign club and became a female clerk.
And when she really came into contact with the inside of this job, she learned that this was a special place organized by the relevant local departments to provide services for the US troops in Japan and avoid local women from being harassed and even persecuted by The American soldiers.
Knowing the truth, Yukiko could not break free. In her old days, she only learned how to become a qualified bridesmaid if she took care of the housework. And here, her dignity and chastity seemed worthless.
Relying on her outstanding appearance and english skills, Yukiko gradually became famous, she was sought after by many foreign soldiers, and soon became the top card of foreign clubs.
But in the midst of the comings and goings, no one noticed the woman's muddy nightmares and empty shells, and she closed her soul in the hope of redemption.
Life in U.S. forces in Japan was chaotic, and they transferred their post-war wounds to countless Japanese women. During that year, Mary and her companions were devastated mentally and physically.
In order to temporarily comfort the US military, this temporary emergency comfort station is doomed to not last long, and under the oppression of many parties, foreign-related clubs are banned.
Originally a group organized by the relevant departments, but after being banned, Yukiko and her companions did not receive any resettlement and compensation. They are like the "shame" of a period, being ruthlessly swept out of the house.
Some argue that the women in the foreign-related clubs were originally worth all but to protect more local women from persecution. And now these worthless women are dirty and should die quietly and immediately, so as not to be disgraced.
There are so many such remarks that a group of women who want to return to normal life cannot be integrated into society. With no one to rely on and not being accepted by others, Yukiko once again faced the problem of survival after some struggle, and she chose to continue to roll in the mire.
Unlike the other street girls, Yukiko is very different. Dressed as a classical Japanese geisha, holding a small umbrella, standing on the street so coldly, it has hooked the hearts of many customers.
She's still the head card, or the queen of the street, although this is not publicized.
meet
It was also at this time that Yukiko met the love of her life. The other was a personable American officer who walked past Yukiko with no naked desire or contempt in his eyes.
After the two met, the officer was very frank and admired Yukiko's talent. He can talk to him on an equal footing. After several interactions, Yukiko fell in love.
The dry heart field is watered with love, and the woman's eyes glow with the radiance of a twenty-year-old girl.
The American officer gave Yukiko an emerald ring as a promise, and he was recalled by the military department shortly thereafter. Before leaving, the officer left a promise that he would take the beloved woman back to the United States for marriage.
Yukiko returns to Yokohama, and after the sweet love, the harsh reality still exists.
await
Stubbornly waiting in the same place as the outfit she first met, unwilling to be the ring representing the love in her heart, unable to find a job to make a living, Yukiko had to return to her old business and open her arms to the men who came on a brightly lit night in Yokohama.
As the days passed, Yukiko's long-awaited lover never appeared, but her costume became a topic of discussion among the locals, and "Marissan" became another name for her.
Even though life is extremely difficult, Yukiko still has her own simple and childish persistence, she always insists on not letting guests kiss her, she thinks that is what a real lover can do.
This wait lasted until she was in her fifties, and was almost interrupted. Because she was old and fading, with no guest patronage, and anachronistic geisha attire, her presence became "glaring".
The people around her began to dislike this strangely dressed old woman, so that Yukiko began to live a wandering life in the streets and alleys.
The Japanese of the Showa period were intoxicated by the economic prosperity of the new period, and they instinctively repulsed Yukiko, who was like a mirror that could reflect the past's unbearable and criminal history.
But even though society kept telling her about its hate, Yukiko still maintained a gentle and kind heart. She would quietly pick flowers on the side of the road in the early morning as a gift for the boss who would let her sleep peacefully on the benches in the hall.
She is grateful to everyone who helps her, but doesn't pay much attention to the bad words of others. And until this time, Yukiko did not give up the insistence in her heart waiting for love to return to her side.
At the age of 74, Yukiko is still standing on the street in full costume. The famous director Takahiro Nakamura discovered her, and after learning the story of her life, the director had the idea of making a documentary. Yukiko gladly agreed.
In front of the camera, Yukiko Nishioka is not beautiful, she is more than 70 years old, her face is painted with fat powder, her eyes are painted with black marks, and she is wearing a white skirt.
She slowly talked about her life, and also revealed to people the society of her youth, and the history that today's young people do not know.
Some people think that Yukiko's life is full of tragic meaning, and some people say that she believes too much in men and believes in such a nihilistic thing as love.
But Yukiko doesn't think so, saying that she has a dramatic life derived from romantic love, and she always misses it.
This woman is just an inconspicuous presence on the streets of Yokohama, as if ordinary to dust, but her story is very exciting.
Half of her life has been spent in darkness and waiting, and Yukiko has been blinded and not respected, but she has her own rich spiritual world, and she has a pure heart that believes in love. There is nothing wrong with loving someone, it may be wrong with that world, and that era.
"Mary Yokohama" appeared on the screen
In 2005, Mary died peacefully in a nursing home. At 84, she wears an emerald ring and closes her eyes.
After her death, the documentary called "Forgotten Truth", also called "Mary yokohama", broke through the restrictions and came to the screen, "Mary" was like magma sealed in the ground, completely gushing out, she caused a sensation in Japan, but also a sensation in the world.
Wrapped in the cloak of love, people are not only deeply moved, but also begin to think deeply.
Behind Japan's brilliant economy, those Japanese women who were sacrificed and abandoned, their miserable past, the memory that was forcibly erased should be recorded, confirmed, and confronted.
Yukiko Nishioka became a Yokohama postcard and a testament and a benchmark for a period in Yokohama.
For this love story, I heard that there is another version. The American officer did not abandon Yukiko, he only fell seriously ill and died shortly after returning home, so he did not keep his promise.
Do you believe the end of this version? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss. If you like my article, please follow me, like and retweet for me, every encouragement from you will be the motivation for me to make better works.