Pygmalion Colonialism: How to Become a Japanese Woman in Late Occupied Taiwan

This paper examines representations of women in the many Japanese-language Taiwanese newspaper articles in the Taiwan Daily News (Taiwan nichinichi shinpo) extolling the virtues of "being Japanese" and modeling ways to behave as a "Japanese woman," especially with reference to Taiwanese women. These representations exert ideological pressures with various designs, including the cultivation of an exploitable compliant labor force, women's participation in the consumption of goods, and the production of imperial jouissance in the colonial framing of a wide range of activities. Columns, feature articles, and visual images depicting women are examined for signs of encouraging Japanization or Pygmalion idealizations of women and expectations for Taiwanese women. Changes apparent during the buildup to full-scale war with China will be noted and explored.