Ama Museum of Comfort Women
The Ama Museum of Comfort Women near Dihua Street is dedicated to an extremely dark period in Taiwanese history: the thousands of women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War 2. It is the first of its kind in Taiwan and its aim is to bring light and justice to an issue that has been ignored, pushed aside, or even refuted. We personally feel that this is one of the most important museums to visit in Taipei, but please be warned that due to its heavy nature, anyone who struggles with stories about sexual violence will find this a very difficult experience.
The Ama Museum is located in a beautiful 90-year old house in Datong District, which is home to an abundance of heritage buildings. It is run by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation and is made up of a cafe/shop, exhibition space, and an area dedicated to holding seminars and workshops for women’s rights and general human rights. If you would like to support their project but feel that the exhibition would be too much for you, we respectfully suggest you pay a visit to their cafe, which sells fair-trade coffees, buy something at their shop, or make a small donation instead.
The museum may be small, with the exhibition areas only covering two floors, but it is packed with meticulously researched information that the foundation has been gathering for over 60 years. It is extremely upsetting. Whether you come with background knowledge on the topic or not, you should expect to leave somewhat traumatized, devastated that something like this ever happened, indignant that justice has never been achieved.
The exhibitions are very well set up, with plenty of written information, videos, audio recordings, and artwork. Most, if not all, information is available in Chinese, English, and Japanese. It costs $100 to enter, with discounts available to students, teachers, and some others.
There are photos and artist’s depictions of Japanese military brothels where innocent women were tricked and coerced into working.
Comfort women from all over Asia have opened up to share their stories at the Ama Museum. Some are told through video, some through art, some through interviews. They are all harrowing. Many held onto their stories for the better parts of their lives, only recently opening up to reveal the horrors they endured. What’s even more heartbreaking is that, out of the 2,000 comfort women in Taiwan, only 2 are still alive today. This statistic is sadly echoed all across Asia, and a real fear is that the remaining comfort women will not survive to see any real apology from the Japanese government. This has been one cause of increasingly strained relationships between Japan and its neighbours, and it is worth learning about to better understand the dynamics of Asian politics.
Although the Ama Museum is well-known for having launched a campaign to pressure the Japanese government into acknowledging and compensating the victims of their horrific regime, one thing we really respected was that it dedicates an area to showcase some of the other atrocities committed by many different countries, including the USA and UK. This exhibit explains that, throughout history, sexual violence has been used again and again as a tool of war, and almost each and every country has a dark past to be ashamed of. The war crimes committed by the Japanese military during World War 2 are unspeakable horror, but they are not isolated incidents. We all have something to learn about our own country’s past.
We’re not going to go into much more detail about the content of the museum, because it is incredibly well put together, and we would not do it justice. We visited the Ama Museum knowing it would be upsetting, having researched the topic quite thoroughly already. We still weren’t prepared for what we saw. That being said, we’re extremely glad that we had the opportunity to visit and learn more. This chapter of history has never been fully closed, and raising awareness is a huge step towards ensuring justice for the victims. We urge you to come, learn, pay your respects, and contribute to this movement.
Interested in reading up on comfort women before you visit? Read more about it on Wikipedia and History.com.
What’s the vibe?
A small, serious museum dedicated to an extremely disturbing topic. Their aim is to bring justice, educate people, and promote women’s rights.
Worth it?
Absolutely. It only costs $100 to enter, and it is packed with information. You will not find many museums like this one, and if you live in Taiwan, you owe it to yourself and the country to educate yourself on the topic.
Would you go back?
We will go back one day. We’d be lying if we told you that we entered and left the museum as the same people, and we need some time to truly process what we read and saw.
Last visited April 2019.
| Ama Museum |
| Chinese Name: 阿嬤家-和平與女性人權館 |
| Hours: Wed-Sun 10am – 5pm Closed Mon/Tues |
| Phone: 02 2553 7133 |
| English Address: No. 256, Section 1, Dihua St, Datong District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市大同區迪化街一段256號 |
