City Guide: Singapore through the eyes of the forgotten Karayuki-sans

We love to celebrate the likes of Sir Stamford Raffles, Lee Kuan Yew, David Marshall and other national heroes. But peel back the layers of Singapore's rich history and one is bound to meet prostitutes, convicts and other forgotten characters who are just as much a part of our national fabric.

Wesley Leon Aroozoo, an author and lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, was drawn to one such forgotten group. In his research, he stumbled across the stories of the Karayuki-san, Japanese girls and women in the 19th and 20th centuries who were ripped from poor agricultural provinces in Japan and sold into the flesh trade all over the world – Britain, Australia, East Asia and Southeast Asia among others. 

"As a storyteller, I felt it was my responsibility to tell these stories of the forgotten ones," says Wesley. The result of this drive is his latest book The Punkhawala and The Prostitute, where he explores and reimagines the lives of the Karayuki-san. A finalist in the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize, the book follows two forgotten and destitute souls, the young karayuki Oseki and an Indian convict Gobind. Forced by fate and circumstance into lives of servitude in Singapore, they begin a journey of healing when their paths cross. 

Evidence of the Karayuki-sans' lives still lurk in corners of Singapore, some papered over and cleaned up in the name of development. Here, Wesley takes us through these familiar places and introduces us to its unfamiliar histories. 

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How did you first discover the history of the Karayukis?

I have always been fascinated with spaces in Singapore and what used to inhabit them. In a fast-moving country like Singapore, our landscape changes rapidly and it is hard to hold onto these spaces and their original intentions. In 2017, after I had completed my previous novel I Want to Go Home, I spent much of my time in the library reading up about Singapore history. It was there I chanced upon the limited stories of the Karayuki-sans. I was surprised that even as a Singaporean, I was clueless that we once had Japanese prostitutes here. I began to realise that the stories in our textbooks mainly covered a side of our history. In particular, stories about British masters, philanthropists and success stories, but not the lesser-known ones like the Karayuki-sans. 

In a fast moving country like Singapore, our landscape changes rapidly and it is hard to hold onto these spaces and its original intentions.

Why were you drawn to their story? 

I was drawn to their stories as they were limited and not well documented. I felt a strong desire to tell the stories of forgotten ones in history, the ones who did not have the chance to tell their stories. I was eager to find out more about the lives the Karayuki-sans led and cherished any amount of information I could find about them. These came in the form of journal articles, history books, documentaries and even audio clips.  

Can you tell us more about the challenges writing The Punkhawala and The Prostitute, if any? 

Finding time to write was one of the challenges. With the responsibilities of my full-time job as a lecturer, I had to wake up at 5am to do some writing and research before heading to teach classes at 9am. The other challenge was finding confidence. Writing a novel was a daunting task. Prior to writing this novel, I had only written short novellas. I am also trained as a filmmaker and not in writing novels. It was scary as I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was the right way to go about writing. I spent a year doing research and another year doing up the structure for the book. After two years into the project, I had written zero words into the novel. This was nerve-wracking as I had nothing to show for working hard at it. Thankfully the last year of writing went smoothly and the novel was completed in time for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize competition where it was selected as a finalist. 

As the saying “History is written by the victors” goes, I found it important to remember and celebrate the forgotten ones in early Singapore history. 

Why do you think it is important for Singaporeans today to remember the Karayuki-sans' stories? 

As the saying “History is written by the victors” goes, I found it important to remember and celebrate the forgotten ones in early Singapore history. The Karayuki-sans were never cared for nor had anyone document their stories back then. They led harsh lives and were regarded as dispensable and taboo. When they passed away, their remains were buried in unmarked graves in the Japanese Cemetery without any care. It is important for us to remember and celebrate them as they too helped to shape Singapore’s early history, and not just the British masters and success stories of our land. 

How has your work on the novel shaped or changed how you see Singapore? 

It made me realise how fascinating Singapore truly is. It’s little in size but bursting with so much history and flavour. Much of it may be hidden and out of sight, but if you look close enough and dig deeper, there is so much to discover. From my research of early Singapore history I learnt so much about Singapore’s past. Amazing stories that were never covered in school. We have so many amazing stories waiting to be discovered and they could be told in so many different forms. I hope this novel inspires others to also look back to Singapore’s past and discover these stories. For example, in 1902, a tiger escaped from a live show and found its way to the Raffles Hotel where it wandered and scared the guests.