Film Screening: Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue (2019)

 

The Debartolo Performing Arts Center will host a film screening of “Shusenjo” (2019) on February 20, 2020 in the Browning Cinema. 

 

Director Miki Dezaki scheduled to appear!

The “comfort women” issue is perhaps Japan’s most contentious present-day diplomatic quandary. Inside Japan, the issue is dividing the country across clear ideological lines. Supporters and detractors of “comfort women” are caught in a relentless battle over empirical evidence, the validity of oral testimony, the number of victims, the meaning of sexual slavery, and the definition of coercive recruitment.

This film delves deep into the most contentious debates and uncovers the hidden intentions of the supporters and detractors of comfort women. Most importantly it asks the biggest questions for Japanese and Koreans: Were comfort women prostitutes or sex slaves? Were they coercively recruited? And, does Japan have a legal responsibility to apologize to the former comfort women?


This is a free but ticketed event. Tickets will only be available for pick-up one hour prior to the performance. To guarantee your reservation please pick-up your Will Call tickets at least 15 minutes prior to the performance. In the event of a sell out, unclaimed Will Call tickets will be used to seat patrons waiting on standby.

Directed by Miki Dezaki
With Kent Gilbert, Koichi Nakano
Not Rated, 120 minutes, DCP
In English and Japanese, Korean with English subtitles

Sponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Department of History, and East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Originally published at asia.nd.edu.