Ep. 243 | Kawashima Yoshiko (Part 3)
In this final installment introducing the life and death of Kawashima Yoshiko, we look at the last decade and a half of her strange and tragic life. In the last episode, her star was on the rise, but after 1933 it’s one long slow steady decline into madness and despair.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Aìxīn Juéluó Xiǎnyú | 愛新覺羅顯玗 | The Manchu name of Kawashima Yoshiko |
| Bunraku | 文樂 | Also known as Ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃). This is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century |
| Chuāndǎo Fāngzǐ | 川島芳子 | Chinese name of Kawashima Yoshiko |
| Chángchūn | 長春 | Capital of Jilin Province and site of the capital of Manchukuo |
| Doihara Kenji | 土肥原 賢二 | 1883-1948, aka Lawrence of Manchuria…the man who brought us the Mukden Incident of 9-18-31 |
| Dà Hànjiān | 大汉奸 | A great traitor to the Chinese nation |
| Dōngzhēn | 东珍 | Eastern Jewel, one of Yamaguchi Yoshiko's several aliases |
| Empress Wǎnróng | 婉容 | 1906-1946, Empress Consort to Puyi. Also served as Empress of Manchukuo. Also known as Empress Xiaokemin 孝恪愍皇后 |
| Guāndōng Army | 关东军 | The Kanto Gun (in Japanese). Known popularly as the Kwantung Army, they were part of the Japanese Imperial Army that ran things in China |
| Hayao Tada | 多田騷 | 1882-1948, Chief Military Advisor to Pǔyí and to the Empire of Manchukuo |
| Jīn Bìdōng | 金壁東 | 1896-1941, one of Kawashima Yoshiko's brothers |
| Jīn Bìhuī | 金碧辉 | Commander Jin (one of Kawashima Yoshiko's aliases) |
| Kawashima Naniwa | 川島浪速 | 1865-1949, Adoptive father of Kawashima Yoshiko |
| Kawashima Yoshiko | 川岛芳子 | 1907-1948 Beijing-born Manchu princess of the Aisin Gioro clan. Kawashima |
| Lǐ Xiānglán | 李香兰 | The Chinese name of ethnic Japanese Yamaguchi Yoshiko |
| Mui Yim-fong | 梅艷芳 | Anita Mui, Méi Yànfāng, 1963-2003, beloved Hong Kong singer, actress and entertainer. She, like Kawashima Yoshiko, only lived to the age of 40. |
| Muramatsu’s Shōfū | 村松梢風 | 1889-1961, Japanese novelist who wrote "The Beauty in Men's Clothing" |
| Prince Sù | 肃亲王 | 1866-1922, the 10th generation Prince Su. Father of Kawashima Yoshiko |
| Pǔjié | 溥杰 | Brother of the Last Emperor Puyi |
| Pǔyí | 溥仪 | 1906-1967, The Last Emperor of China |
| Qī Dà Gēxīng | 七大歌星 | CHP episoe number 228 covering the lives of The Seven Singing Stars of Old Shanghai |
| Rèhé | 热河省 | Formewr homeland of the Khitan Liao, later became a province just nborth of Beijing that today is part of Inner Mongolia and Hebei |
| Sasakawa Ryōichi | 笹川 良一 | 1899-1995, Japanese businessman, politician, industrialist and philanthropist (and one-time lover of Yamaguchi Yoshiko |
| Shorinji Temple | 正麟寺 | Temple in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture where Kawashima Yoshiko's remains were interred |
| Sū Bǐngwén | 苏炳文 | 1892-1975, Nationalist military commander stationed up in Manchuria in the early 1930's |
| Yamaguchi Yoshiko | 山口 淑子 | 1920-2014, one of the "Seven Great Singing Stars" of old Shanghai. |
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Thanks everyone for listening to this History of Taiwan series. We'll conclude things here in Part 15.