Ah Ku and Karayuki-San: Prostitution in Singapore, 1880-1940

James F. Warren

Among the many groups of workers whose labor built Singapore in the 20th century, there may be none as marginalized in memory as the women who travelled from China and Japan to work in Singapore as prostitutes. This study sketches in the trade in women and children in Asia, and--making innovative use of Coroner's Inquests and other records--hones in on the details of the prostitutes' lives in the colonial city: the daily brothel routine, crises and violence, social relations, leisure, mobility, disease and death.

The result is a powerful historical account of human nature, of human relationships, of pride, prejudice, struggle and spirit. Ordinary people tumble from the pages of the records: they talk about choice of partners, love and betrayal, desperation and alienation, drawing us into their lives.

This social history is a powerful corrective to the romantic image of colonial Singapore as a city of excitement, sophistication, exotic charm and easy sex.

In the years since its original publication in 1992, this book, and its companion Rickshaw Coolie, have become an inspiration to those seeking to come to grips with Singapore's past.

James F. WARREN is Professor of Southeast Asian History at Murdoch University, and has taught at Australian National Univeristy, Yale and Kyoto University. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and he is also the author of Sulu Zone, 1768-1898 (1981) and Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding, and the Birth of Ethnicity (2002).

« Together with Rickshaw Coolie, the most original and important books published on the history of Singapore since the Second World War» -Prof John Bastin

«In addition to providing gripping reading, Ah Ku and Karayuki-san raises profound issues about the human condition» -The Historian

« This exciting book represents all that is best in the 'history from below' genre of social history»
- Australian Historical Studies

[A Singapore: Studies in History and Society Series] 

publication year: 2003
249 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-267-4  Paperback  US$30.00  S$38.00