Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Prologue: A Murder Grips the Nation 1. An Unremarkable Family History 2. Early Childhood 3. Maidens or Harlots Only 4. Geisha and Prostitutes 5. Acquaintance Rape 6. Acting Up 7. Becoming Professional 8. Changing Saddles 9. Legal Prostitution and Escape 10. From Prostitute on the Lam to Mistress 11. A Search for Stability 12. Discovering Love 13. Loveis Intoxication 14. Murder 15. No Longer Private 16. Interrogation and Investigation 17. Judgment 18. Imprisonment and Release 19. Celebrity, Hardship, and Escape Epilogue: A Trail of Re-creations Notes from the Police Interrogation of Abe Sada Endnotes Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

In 1936, Abe Sada committed the most notorious crime in twentieth-century Japan-the murder and emasculation of her lover. This detailed account of Sada's personal history, the events leading up to the crime, and its aftermath steps beyond the simplistic view of Abe Sada as a sexual deviate or hysterical woman to reveal a survivor.

About the Author

William Johnston is associate professor of Japanese history at Wesleyan University. He is the author of The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan. He lives in Middletown, Connecticut.

Reviews

"valuable introduction and prolog alert readers to the culturally and historically relative nature of gender roles, love, and sex...Recommended" -- Library Journal "A smart, compelling examination...This well-researched, scholarly work is a service to women's studies as well as Asian cultural history." -- Whitney Scott, Booklist "An important book about a fascinating topic... magnificently salacious... Johnston's account is succinct and compelling." -- Ronald P. Loftus, Journal of Asian Studies "Johnston's ground-breaking study will satisfy a wide spectrum of readers." -- Valerie Durham, Monumenta Nipponica, 61:2 "...a gripping contribution to stories woven about Abe Sada over the twentieth century and her attempt to tell her own story through testimony." -- Christine Marran, University of Minnesota, Journal of Japanese Studies "If only all history books were this much fun to read."