 | Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: A Woman, Sex, and Morality in Modern Japan Subjects: Abe Sada 1905–; Murder -- Japan -- Tokyo -- History -- Case Studies; Sex crimes -- Japan -- Tokyo -- History -- Case studies; Women murderers -- Japan -- Tokyo -- Biography; Prostitutes -- Japan -- Tokyo -- Biography; 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. William Johnston is professor of Japanese history at Wesleyan University. He is the author of The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan. |
