6.125 × 9.25 SPINE: 0.9688 FLAPS: 3.5 (continued from front flap) her role as political provocateur. China holds M her responsible for unspeakable crimes, while A Japan has forgiven her transgressions. this n biography presents the richest and most c Phyllis accurate portrait to date of the controversial Praise for h U princess spy, recognizing her truly novel role MAnchU PrinceSS , JAPAneSe SPy Birnbaum in conflicts that transformed east Asia. P r Aisin Gioro Xianyu i “Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy is an even-handed biographical n MAnchU study of a fascinating woman who may have been a secret agent during the c (1907–1948) was the fourteenth daughter pacific War. phyllis Birnbaum covers Kawashima Yoshiko’s background e of a Manchu prince and a legendary figure S in China’s bloody struggle with Japan. After n as a Manchu princess and her further adventures after being S PrinceSS, o the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1912, s adopted in Japan in detail, using virtually every primary source n , h Xianyu’s father gave his daughter to a Jap- o available, as well as novels based on her life.” r J J anese friend who was sympathetic to his o —Janine Beichman, Daito Bunka University, tokyo A JAPAneSe v e P efforts to reclaim power. this man raised r t © A Xianyu, now known as Kawashima Yoshiko, o “richly illustrated with rare photos, and enlivened by numerous n ot SPy to restore the Manchus to their former glory. h interviews, phyllis Birnbaum’s book is a balanced, well-written biography e p S The Story of her fearsome dedication to this cause ulti- Phyllis Birnbaum is a novelist, of one of the most notorious figures to emerge in the early twentieth- e mately got her killed. biographer, journalist, and translator. her century contest for empire in northeast Asia. Anyone interested S Kawashima yoshiko, Yoshiko had a fiery personality and loved P work has appeared in The New Yorker, The in the personal dimension of sino-Japanese relations during the period the limelight. she shocked Japanese society by y the cross-Dressing Times Literary Supplement, and other pub- of their most problematic intensity will find much profit in reading dressing in men’s clothes and rose to promi- lications. her books include Modern Girls, these stories of the life of Kawashima Yoshiko, many told nence as Commander Jin, touted in Japan’s Spy Who commanded Shining Stars, the Skies of Tokyo: Five Japa- through the memories of the men and women who loved B media as a new Joan of Arc. Boasting a short, i nese Women and a biography, Glory in a Line: her and hated her, often at the same time.” r handsome haircut and a genuine military uni- her Own Army n A Life of Foujita—the Artist Caught Between form, Commander Jin was credited with many —Mark C. elliott, harvard University b East and West. she recently edited an english a daring exploits, among them riding horseback translation of Clouds Above the Hill: A Histor- u as leader of her own army during the Japanese m ical Novel of the Russo-Japanese War. she lives occupation of China. outside of Boston. While trying to promote the Manchus, Yoshiko supported the puppet Manchu state established by the Japanese in 1932—one rea- son she was executed for treason after Japan’s 1945 defeat. the truth of Yoshiko’s life is still a source of contention between China Jacket image: © the Asahi shimbun/ Asia Perspectives: History, Society, and Culture and Japan: some believe she was exploited the Asahi shimbun via Getty Images Columbia University Press New York by powerful men, others claim she relished Jacket design: Catherine Casalino cup.columbia.edu Printed in the U.S.A. cOlUMBiA (continued on back flap) Manchu Princess, JaPanese sPy asia PersPectives Weatherhead east asian institute, columbia university Kawashima Yoshiko, around 1933 Courtesy Hokari Kashio Phyllis Birnbaum Manchu Princess, JaPanese sPy the story of Kawashima yoshiko, the cross-Dressing spy Who commanded her Own army columbia university Press new york asia PersPectives: histOry, sOciety, anD culture A Series of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University carOl GlucK, eDitOr Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military During World War II, by Yoshimi Yoshiaki, trans. Suzanne O’Brien The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society, by Pierre François Souyri, trans. Kathe Roth Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion: The Creation of the Soul of Japan, by Donald Keene Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: The Story of a Woman, Sex, and Moral Values in Modern Japan, by William Johnston Lhasa: Streets with Memories, by Robert Barnett Frog in the Well: Portraits of Japan by Watanabe Kazan, 1793–1841, by Donald Keene The Modern Murasaki: Writing by Women of Meiji Japan, ed. and trans. Rebecca L. Copeland and Melek Ortabasi So Lovely a Country Will Never Perish: Wartime Diaries of Japanese Writers, by Donald Keene Sayonara Amerika, Sayonara Nippon: A Geopolitical Prehistory of J-Pop, by Michael K. Bourdaghs The Winter Sun Shines In: A Life of Masaoka Shiki, by Donald Keene FOr ashOK cOntents Main Characters ix Chronology xi A Note on the Text xiii 1. BOrn tO chaOs 1 2. little sister 7 3. rOyalty in exile 13 4. cOntinental aDventurer 23 5. a neW liFe in JaPan 34 6. Manchu Prince, JaPanese WiFe 39 7. schOOl Days 43 8. the Beauty in Men’s clOthinG 54 9. extreMe Measures 69 10. rePercussiOns 77 11. On her OWn 83 12. POisOnOus Devil’s BreW 91 13. aDvance intO Manchuria 96 14. an eMPerOr in Flux 100 15. the reluctant eMPress 105 16. POWerFul cOnnectiOns 112 17. WOMan OF inFluence 123 18. a GrOWinG aWareness 132 19. cOMManDer Jin 138 20. startinG Over in ManchuKuO 146 21. in the BriGht liGht 152 22. WilD chilD 160 23. a DauGhter lOOKs BacK 170 24. china niGhts 175 25. eMerGency helP 184 Contents 26. an OlD lOve 190 27. aDriFt in FuKuOKa 196 28. hOPeFul tO the enD 200 29. narrOW escaPes 203 30. POstWar Justice 209 31. GO With a sMile 220 Notes 225 Acknowledgments 243 Index 245 | viii Main characters Chizuko: Yoshiko’s assistant Doihara Kenji: notorious agent provocateur of the Kwantung Army, whose many dark acts furthered Japanese advances in China; said to be one of Yoshiko’s financial backers Fuku: Yoshiko’s adoptive mother; wife of Kawashima Naniwa Fukunaga Kosei: only surviving daughter of Hiro and Pujie Ganjurjab: son of Mongol military leader Babujab; married Yoshiko in 1927 Harada Tomohiko: Naniwa’s relative, who knew Yoshiko in her youth Hiro: see Saga Hiro Itō Hanni: speculator, Yoshiko’s lover Iwata Ainosuke: ultranationalist activist and Yoshiko’s onetime suitor Jin Bihui: another name for Kawashima Yoshiko Jin Moyu: Yoshiko’s younger sister Kamisaka Fuyuko: author of 1984 biography of Yoshiko Kawashima Naniwa: Yoshiko’s adoptive father Kawashima Renko: Yoshiko’s niece; adopted by Kawashima Naniwa Kawashima Shōko: Yoshiko’s grand-niece, Renko’s daughter Kawashima Yoshiko: also known as Aisin Gioro Xianyu, Eastern Jewel, Radiant Jade, Jin Bihui Kosei: see Fukunaga Kosei Mariko: Yoshiko’s fictional counterpart in Muramatsu Shōfū’s novel The Beauty in Men’s Clothing Matsuoka Yōsuke: foreign minister of Japan 1940–1941 Moriyama Eiji: ultranationalist and Yoshiko’s onetime suitor Muramatsu Shōfū: author of best-selling novel about Yoshiko, The Beauty in Men’s Clothing Muramatsu Tomomi: Muramatsu Shōfū’s grandson; also wrote about Yoshiko Naniwa: see Kawashima Naniwa Ogata Hachirō: Yoshiko’s assistant in the latter part of her life