Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy

Phyllis Birnbaum is a novelist, biographer, journalist, and translator. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Times Literary Supplement, and other publications. Her books include Modern Girls, Shining Stars, the Skies of Tokyo: Five Japanese Women and a biography, Glory in a Line: A Life of Foujita-the Artist Caught Between East and West. She recently edited an English translation of Clouds Above the Hill: A Historical Novel of the Russo-Japanese War. She lives outside of Boston.

Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy is an even-handed biographical study of a fascinating woman who may have been a secret agent during the Pacific War. Phyllis Birnbaum covers Kawashima Yoshiko's background as a Manchu princess and her further adventures after being adopted in Japan in detail, using virtually every primary source available, as well as novels based on her life. -- Janine Beichman, Daito Bunka University, Tokyo Richly illustrated with rare photos, and enlivened by numerous interviews, Phyllis Birnbaum's book is a balanced, well-written biography of one of the most notorious figures to emerge in the early twentieth-century contest for empire in northeast Asia. Anyone interested in the personal dimension of Sino-Japanese relations during the period of their most problematic intensity will find much profit in reading these stories of the life of Kawashima Yoshiko, many told through the memories of the men and women who loved her and hated her, often at the same time. -- Mark C. Elliott, Harvard University Birnbaum presents a colorful portrait of the controversial figure as she participated in conflicts that transformed East Asia. Publishers Weekly Birnbaum does her utmost to unravel the threads that make up Yoshiko's legacy... in this thoughtful biography of a complicated woman. Library Journal Phyllis Birnbaum's book attempts to cut through the myths surrounding Kawashima, and is an excellent overview of her life. Japan Times [Yoshiko] emerges as a woman supremely in command of her own fiction, even to the last. New York Times Book Review Japanese expert Birnbaum brings both [Yoshiko's] life and myth to an English-speaking or Western audience. She skilfully weaves her way through the complex political situation in pre-war China and gives an evocative account of the chaos of multinational Shanghai. Sensibly, the author keeps her controversial subject at arms length, steers clear of concurring with sensationalist claims about her exploits, and expresses a balanced take on most aspects of Yoshiko's life. Asian Review of Books Even-handed and fair. Japan News Named one of the 15 best books of the year by the Women in the World Blog at the New York Times Women in the World Blog, New York Times A fascinating tale of a woman who played a prominent role in the muddled conflicts in East Asia before and during the Pacific War... The writing here is clear and the research is superb. Asian Ethnology

• Main Characters Chronology A Note on the Text 1. Born to Chaos 2. Little Sister 3. Royalty in Exile 4. Continental Adventurer 5. A New Life in Japan 6. Manchu Prince, Japanese Wife 7. School Days 8. The Beauty in Men's Clothing 9. Extreme Measures 10. Repercussions 11. On Her Own 12. Poisonous Devil's Brew 13. Advance Into Manchuria 14. An Emperor in Flux 15. The Reluctant Empress 16. Powerful Connections 17. Woman of Influence 18. A Growing Awareness 19. Commander Jin 20. Starting Over in Manchukuo 21. In the Bright Light 22. Wild Child 23. A Daughter Looks Back 24. China Nights 25. Emergency Help 26. An Old Love 27. Adrift in Fukuoka 28. Hopeful to the End 29. Narrow Escapes 30. Postwar Justice 31. Go with a Smile Notes Acknowledgments Index