Banners drawing attention to 'comfort women' memorial go up in San Francisco

In a stand against sexual violence, banners juxtaposing San Francisco’s controversial “comfort women” statue with slogans like “standing tall” and “courage, resilience, justice” unfurled from lampposts throughout the city this week.

The “Comfort Women” Justice Coalition put up 40 banners all over the city Friday directing onlookers to the memorial, hot on the heels of this week’s letter from Osaka mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura to San Francisco Mayor London Breed ending their ‘sister city’ relationship.

The purpose is to drive attention to the Chinatown memorial, which pays tribute to victims of sexual slavery in Japanese military brothels during World War II.

“There’s still a lot of issues remaining regarding World War II and the current day issues of victimization of women, sexualization, the #MeToo movement, and how all these cases evolved after many, many years,” said Julie Tang, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge who spearheaded the statue and banners.

Although the advertisements had been in the works for months before Yoshimura’s letter, Tang said it was a timely statement, especially with the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh and the #MeToo movement.

Funding was provided by the coalition, which raised $7,000 from donors that included a small monetary gift from some Osakan residents who visited the memorial.

The 40 banners will stand on display until next September on city streets, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Works.

Tang said that putting them on high-traffic streets like Divisadero, Geary and Lombard will hopefully bring tourists and locals alike to the statue.

Few visitors came to the bronze memorial of four comfort women in a quiet corner of St. Mary’s Square on Friday afternoon. The ones who did found out from social media posts about the sister city fallout or were just using the park as a shady lunch spot.

Aveda Institute student Ricardo Ramirez saw a Snapchat story about the memorial and brought his classmates to the park on their break.

“It’s important to always have reminders because when we erase them, we might repeat them again,” Ramirez said. “Whether it’s beautiful or ugly, it’s important to remember history.”

While Japan apologized for its wartime treatment of Asian women in Japanese military brothels 25 years ago, its government now denies that the “comfort women” were forced into sexual slavery.

“The San Francisco Comfort Woman Memorial is a symbol of the struggle faced by all women who have been, and are currently, forced to endure the horrors of enslavement and sex trafficking,” Breed said in a statement Thursday. “These victims deserve our respect and this memorial reminds us all of events and lessons we must never forget.”

Gwendolyn Wu is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: gwendolyn.wu@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @gwendolynawu

Let's block ads! (Why?)