The Real Tenko: Extraordinary True Stories of Women Prisoners of the Japanese
Mark Felton
The mistreatment and captivity of women by the Japanese is a little known and poorly documented aspect of the Second World War. In The Real Tenko, Mark Felton, who has a fast growing reputation as an authority and author on the war in the Far East, redresses this omission with a typically well-researched yet necessarily gruesome account of the plight of Allied service-women, female civilians and local women in Japanese hands. Among the atrocities shamefully committed by the Emperor's forces were numerous massacres of nurses; that at Alexandra Hospital, Singapore being perhaps the best known. The lack of respect for their defeated enemies extended in full measure to both European and Asian women and their vulnerability was all too often shockingly exploited. Those who found themselves imprisoned fared little better and suffered appalling indignities and starvation. Also covered are the hardships of gruelling marches under extreme conditions. Whereas the sexual enslavement of so called 'Comfort Women' has been regarded as affecting only Asiatic women, it transpires that this horror was experienced by whites as well. The Real Tenko is a disturbing and shocking testimony both to the callous and cruel behaviour of the Japanese and to the courage and fortitude of those who suffered at their hands.
Book Details:
- Author: Mark Felton
- On Submission
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Rights Sold
- UK: Pen & Sword
- US: Naval Institute Press
Mark Felton
Being born in the army garrison town of Colchester in 1974, it was perhaps inevitable that Mark Felton should develop an interest in military history. After university and a stint in the civil service he later gained a master’s degree and a PhD at the University of Essex.
After working as a university lecturer he moved with his wife to China in 2005 where he continued to teach.
He has authored over a dozen books, many receiving national and international attention and also writes regularly for several major history magazines on both sides of the Atlantic.
After living and wor...
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Book Reviews
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"Writing in a narrative, highly emotional style, Felton (Fudan University, China) describes the fates of female military nurses and civilian women and children from English-speaking countries who were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific region during WWII. Many of the women and children were held in prison camps in terrible conditions and forced on death marches. Some women were killed on sight and others were raped, beaten, and forced to become sex slaves. Much of the book showcases the words of the people who lived through this period."
Book News -
"The Real Tenko has to be read but be warned, such is the grim nature of its contents, reaching the end of this disturbing and harrowing account is a relief."
Soldier