Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy: The Story of Kawashima Yoshiko, the Cross-Dressing Spy Who Commanded Her Own Army by Phyllis Birnbaum

Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy: The Story of Kawashima Yoshiko, the Cross-Dressing Spy Who Commanded Her Own Army Reviews

• 
  Christine

  When I requested this book from Netgalley, I thought that I hadn’t heard of Kawashima Yoshiko before. In this, I was wrong, as the book reminded me. I had seen her as a character in the movie The Last Emperor. She is the pilot.
  
  This biography is far more detailed than that brief character.
  Kaswashima Yoshiko was a Manchu princess who was given by her father to a Japanese man who had aided the royal family. She returned to China during and after World War II, and, this is isn’t really a spoiler, was shot by the Chinese government.
  
  Birnbaum’s book starts with Kawashima’s death and then the chapters alternate between remembrances and myth, and Kawashima’s life as shown by proven facts. It makes for an engrossing read, even if at the end of the book Kawashima Yoshiko still feels as elusive as ever.
  
  It seems as if this is not Birnbaum’s fault, for Kawashima had a tendency to embellish (if not outright lie) about some of her experiences. Additionally, Birnbaum is sorting though what appears to be self serving history on both the Japanese and Chinese sides. It is to Birnbaum’s credit that while she does deal with the trauma and pain of Kawashima’s life, she doesn’t let her sympathy for her subject overwhelm the narrative or her judgment. Sympathetic the book is, but Birnbaum does not paint Kaswashima as a victim or at least as solely as a victim. At times, it seems as Birnbaum finds her subject as annoying as those who actually knew the woman.
  
  It is difficult if not impossible to psycho analyze a dead person, and Birnbaum does stay away from the temptation to do so. Therefore when she discusses the possible sexual abuse of Kawashima at the hands of her adopted father/guardian, Birnbaum cannot and does not provide a definition answer. Birnbaum is on surer ground when discussing and examining how being a product of two cultures, distrustful if not always downright antagonistic too each other, affected Kawashima, resulting in her dissatisfaction of both and an admitted feeling of not quite belonging (another possible reason for the cross dressing, one does have to wonder).
  
  The inclusion of Hiro Saga, a Japanese woman who married the brother of the Chinese Emperor, is both a positive and a negative to the book. It provides balance by showing a woman whose circumstances is alike but slightly different from Kawashima’s. It allows the reader to place Kawashima’s experiences in a boarder and more cultural light. It also, however, at times, feels a bit like padding. Interesting padding, though one wonders why Hiro Saga simply doesn’t get her own book. (Don’t worry, she does. She at least wrote and published her autobiography).
  
  The other flaw, if flaw is the right word, is at times a more than passing knowledge of the battles fought as Japan attacked China would have been helpful. My understanding and knowledge of the Pacific Theatre, in particular the battles on mainland China, are rather limited, a bit more detail about certain battles and maneuvers would have been appreciated. That said, it doesn’t limit the understanding of the text and sparks curiosity about the subject matter. Not a bad thing.
  
  Hopefully Birnbaum’s book will make the story of Kawashima more widely known in the West as well as the East.
  
• 
  Eustacia Tan

  It's time for a very rare book review! Anyway, I requested this book from NetGalley because it's an aspect of World War II that I haven't heard about before, I mean, I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a Kawashima Yoshiko in any of my textbooks.
  
  Kawashima Yoshiko (born Aisin Gioro Xian Yu; 愛新覺羅·顯玗) was the daughter of a Manchu Prince. When she was very young, she was sent to live in the home of one of his Japanese supporters - Kawashima Naniwa. And then things get very, very murky. Kawashima Yoshiko wasn't averse to embellishing her life story, and it's hard to tell which of her exploits are true, and which are just tall tales. And yes, she had a lot of exploits - at one time, she was called "Commander Jin" and led her own troops. She also had an espionage career, although it's hard to tell what she actually did. And sadly, after World War II, she was tried as a traitor and executed by the Nationalist Government.
  
  This book was a bit vague about timelines. While it does loosely follow chronological order, for the first few chapters, at least, the author looks at the different people who were in Kawashima Yoshiko's life to figure out what she was like, and what she did. So if you're not familiar with events of WWII in the Asia Pacific, you may get very confused by references to certain incidents.
  
  While I would have preferred a more chronological account of her life, and a bit more explanation about that period of time, I can see why the author chose this method. Kawashima Yoshiko may have courted media attention, but her story changed to suit her needs. By talking to various people (or their descendants), the author managed to come somewhat close to to truth.
  
  For me, the interesting part of this story was in the discrepancy between how Kawashima Yoshiko saw herself and how others saw her. She was brought up to think her destiny involved restoring the Qing Dynasty to power, but to others, she was just a pawn for the Japanese (and indeed, she seemed to be very Japanese in certain aspects). She may have thought herself a Joan of Arc, but others saw her as a nuisance that should be eliminated. And in the end, she was done in by sensationalist novels about her. I find that tragic, that your life be ended by what the creative fiction that someone created about you. It just shows how hard it is to discover who the real Kawashima Yoshiko was.
  
  I would definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in WWII in the Asia Pacific. To avoid getting confused, you should have a basic knowledge about how the war broke up, how it went on, and how it ended, that way, you can focus on Kawashima Yoshiko instead of having to constantly look at timelines to see what was going on when and where.
  
  Disclaimer: I got this book from the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for a free and honest review.
  
  This review was first posted at
  With Love from Japan
• 
  Bandit

  I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley, so thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster. As a history buff I tend to concentrate on other areas and eras and so Sino Japanese relations of the time prior to, during and immediately after WWII that this book covers were all new to me. And incredibly fascinating. Here credit must be given to Birnbaum. Some history can be somewhat tedious to plod though, she brings history to life. This was easily one of the most dynamic nonfiction books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. One can only imagine the exhaustive research that must have gone into this project, but it works so well, the combination of facts, interviews, written materials, etc. all creates a cohesive vivid complicated world where the main heroine spent her tragically short life. Manchu Princess was a tragic character indeed, not inherently great character maybe, but made fascinating by the precarious circumstances of being torn between her country of birth (China) and adoptive country (Japan) and never quite belonging. By not inherently great...she had grand aspirations, rambling ambitions of peaceable coexistence of her two mother nations, of reclaiming her birthright, but not so much of a follow through, always too conflicted, too ambivalent, too confused and confusing...and not just with the dressing up as a man as if forever unable to make a choice resulting in going along with some incredibly dangerous schemes and in the end paying the ultimate price. Beauty in Men's Clothing (a title of the book of lethal significance based on her life) was just one of the examples of the blurred line between fiction and reality that cost her so dearly. There is an excellent amount of photographs in this book and I don't think they quite convey the beauty, but the book and the photos certainly and terrifically convey the multilayered complexity of the heroine, not to mention a cast of various characters large enough to warrant a dramatis personae introduction. There was a quote I once read about how someone doesn't have to be good, so long as they are interesting. Birnbaum has definitely succeeded with picking a most interesting subject. This book is a success in general, perfect balance of educational and entertaining, edutainment actually, which is shockingly a real word. Not often one encounters a history book (any book) so difficult to put down. Excellent read. Highly recommended.
• 
  saïd

  Desperately want to read this.
  
  Update: desperately glad I read this.
• 
  Stephen Joyce

  Divisive figures often make the most compelling biographical subjects; and Kawashima Yoshiko is no exception. During her life and in death opinions have varied markedly. Loathed by the Chinese as a traitor, extolled by the Japanese for her talents as a spy, more recently she has even become a heroine to the LGBT community.
  Phyllis Birnbaum provides a measured assessment of the fascinating rise and fall of this erratic, narcissistic, cross-dressing, bisexual princess.
  
  Born in 1907 as Aisin Gioro Xianyu, Kawashima Yoshiko was the 14th daughter of Prince Su of the Qing imperial family. Soon after the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, she was unwillingly sent to Japan to be adopted by family friend Kawashima Naniwa.
  Her formative teenage years were spent in Matsumoto being educated in Japanese language and culture. It was not the happiest of upbringings. An attempted suicide and sexual assault by her new father are noted as potentially life-defining events but are hard to verify. Whatever the root cause of her discontent, in 1925 she shaved her head and started wearing men’s clothes.
  In 1927 she married a Mongolian prince in a politically convenient union that quickly failed and Yoshiko soon travelled to China to pursue her dream of a honorable return to power for the Qing dynasty, beginning with Manchuria and Outer Mongolia.
  With Japan increasingly active in China she soon found herself a raison d’etre: a spy in the service of the Japanese. Several incidents define her status as a spy; all are shrouded in mystery.
  First, in her role as a sexually voracious, manipulative and well-connected socialite living it up in the cocktail bars of Shanghai, she charmed Chinese officials into revealing useful information for the Japanese. Second, her daring part in spiriting the reluctant, opium-addicted Empress Wanrong out of her benign imprisonment in Beijing to be with the Emperor Puyi (the “Last Emperor”) in Lushun in order to legitimise the new Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. Third, in 1932 she took part in a plot (originated by her new lover Tanaka, an officer in the Kwantung Army) to stir up a violent backlash against the Japanese in Shanghai, which paved the way for an aggressive Japanese intervention.
  Later, her military adventures as Commander Jin Bihui also become the stuff of legend—tales of Yoshiko riding into battle as part of the Kwantung Army to defeat the Chinese rebels in Manchuria were splashed all over the papers and gossip magazines of the day.
  Describing Yoshiko’s achievements in battle as “minor or nonexistent”, Birnbaum argues that she and other contemporaries most likely exaggerated the significance of her role and influence as a spy and a fighter. However, what is reasonably clear is that by various subterfuge means she passed on Chinese secrets to the Japanese, fomented anti-Japanese feeling in Shanghai, and fought in the battle against Chinese insurgents in Manchukuo—thereby enabling Japan to cement its pre-war foothold in the north of China.
  
  Later on it clicks with Yoshiko and indeed with the deposed Emperor that the Japanese have ulterior motives: lebensraum for their geographically-stressed population and the use of Manchukuo as a buffer against Soviet Union aggression. When she starts to publicly criticize the terrible effects of the Japanese occupation and colonisation on the native Manchurian people (in a rare moment of wider awareness and solidarity), she becomes persona non grata and is lucky to escape an assassination plot.
  Her star now descending, Yoshiko moves back to Tianjin (near Beijing) where she becomes a restaurant owner. But trouble finds her again, this time with near fatal results. At the end of the war she is captured by the victorious Chinese and put on trial for treason, with a capital verdict a foregone conclusion.
  Until the end, Yoshiko liked to think of herself as a sacrificial lamb—a Joan of Arc to her noble cause. Instead, many will conclude that she was a self-deluded elitist hopelessly on the wrong side of history.
  Despite being the subject of novels, films, plays and even video games, the story of Yoshiko beyond the salacious aspects of her life is less well known in the West. In a series of short chapters, Japanese expert Birnbaum brings both her 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.
  * * *
  In some ways, this is an unconventional biography: one chapter compares her life to that of Sag Hiro, a Japanese woman brought up in China and married to the Emperor’s brother. Also, there is a brief outline of the life of Yoshiko’s real father, who rarely features elsewhere. Yoshiko herself is not mentioned in either chapter. Further, the chronological narrative is punctuated by the biographer’s interviews with surviving relatives and others prominent in Yoshiko’s life. While interesting, these chapters feel like separate academic essays or history magazine articles rather than elements of a cohesive biography.
  Although it would be hard to argue that she had a major influence over the key events of her time, Kawashima Yoshiko is a superb subject for biography and should interest all lovers of Asian history. And despite living her life in the public and media glare her essential mysteriousness remains—even in death. Did the Chinese Nationalist government execute her (as Kim Bai Fai) in 1948 or, as some would have it, did she escape and live out her last days quiet obscurity? Birnbaum concludes that the latter outcome is questionable, to say the least. Assuming she was indeed executed, her memoirs reveal a wry acceptance of her ultimate fate, despite her life aims lying in tatters.
  The sheer wealth of material—autobiographies, Yoshiko’s letters, interviews, press reports, sensationalist magazine articles and official documents—with which to write a biography to some extent serves to cloud rather than illuminate the life of Yoshiko Kawashima. Much like her futile efforts to restore the Qing dynasty in China, any attempt to firmly pin down her real life story and true character seems destined to fail.
• 
  Relstuart

  Interesting story but I kept moving on to other books while reading this one so it didn't keep my attention. Yoshiko was a Chinese princess who was given to an Japanese man to raise to help build ties between China and Japan. The insight into how Japan was trying to take over Manchuria during this time and the ideas popular in Japan about how they needed to help Asia out by taking control of things was interesting.
  
  Yoshiko grew up to be a person with a lot of personal issues who used her position to become something of a minor celebrity. She worked with the Japanese as they conquered in China. While she spoke out against some of their injustices she ended up being tried and convicted of treason after Japan was defeated.
• 
  Margaret Sankey

  This is another biography that would be unbelievable if it was fiction--the daughter of a deposed Manchu aristocrat, raised in Japan by an abusive opportunist, married to the son of a Mongol warlord to cement Japanese ambitions establishing Manchuko, dashing cross-dressing 1920s bon vivant in Shanghai, eventually leader of an armed band promoted by Japan as a Joan of Arc answer to "lawlessness" and Chinese corruption until she crossed their plans. As you might imagine, Mao was not amused and had her executed (although rumors persisted that she escaped). Birnbaum recounts her struggle to wade through all of the memoirs, fictionalization, nationalist idealization, Communist demonization, values of the times and family animosity to reconstruct what was actually going on in a life that beggars belief.
• 
  Vic Lauterbach

  This is an interesting look at an obscure figure in the Second Sino-Japanese War. From our vantage point, seventy plus years after her death, Yoshiko's life seems both strangely archaic and jarringly modern. She was an early example of a person who achieved notoriety through publicity (good and bad) rather than achievements. Whether she did any of the dramatic, dangerous or shocking things attributed to her is uncertain, but the weight of evidence from Ms. Birnbaum's research is on the negative side. Today, Yoshiko would be a familiar type, someone famous for being famous, but in the 1920s that concept was new. Mass media was in its infancy, and its influence only beginning to be felt and understood. In spite of its sensational subtitle, Ms. Birnbaum's biography stays within the boundaries of what can be documented and carefully distinguishes that from what was claimed. All those who knew Yoshiko and wrote about her had their own agendas which certainly colored their accounts. What does emerge clearly is that Yoshiko was a unique young woman, not very likeable or reliable, but fascinating in the way that only a non-conformist megalomaniac can be. Her life unfolds like a Greek tragedy in which her thirst for recognition of her importance ultimately dooms her. It's a shame we'll never know her reaction to the four bio-pics made about her, or the thinly veiled portrayal of her in The Last Emperor!
• 
  Eskil

  Da jeg først hørte om boka tenkte jeg den kom til å være som en eventyrroman, kanskje à la James Bond eller Den Røde Pimpernell. Dessverre (eller heldigvis) er biografien et portrett av en kvinne som aldri hadde noen reell form for autonomi, og som tidlig i livet mista kanskje det eneste som kunne lagt grunnlag for noen form for selvstendig selvhevdelse (en solid utdannelse), hvoretter stakkaren bare ble kasta fram og tilbake mellom diverse fraksjoner helt til hun ble henretta grunna egen og andres løgner, og noen ting som også var sant. Skjønt, med tanke på at både Kinas siste keiser og broren hans klarte seg noenlunde fint etter revolusjonen er det tydelig at det å være en galleonsfigur som irriterer alle rundt seg nok ikke er det eneste som lå bak døden hennes.
• 
  C. M. Dree

  Good biographies leave you with the sense that their subject matter comes out diminished in the end. In this sense, this book is an excellent biography. It does focus a lot, too much if you ask me, on many other people who surrounded Yoshiko, instead of focusing on Yoshiko herself, and that's why it gets 4 stars.
• 
  Danny Reid

  Interesting book intent on dissecting the myth of Manchu princess Yoshiko's wild life. It feels disjointed because so much of it is analysis and refutations of other sources, meaning that this is better for serious Sino-Japanese War scholars than those looking for a straight biography.
• 
  Stephen Rowland

  A little disorganized and based on many accounts that are dubious, but given the actual information on its subject that exists, that couldn't be helped. It is still a fascinating look at a time and place.
• 
  Peter

  Like several other reviews I've read on this book - the one word that comes to mind is "meandering". While I enjoyed the story, I found the meandering relating to timeframes and characters rather annoying. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable read.
• 
  Denise

  Interesting period in history, interesting character, disorganized book
• 
  Lili

  I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review:
  
  History is an awesome and immensely frustrating thing, since most accounts of things are reliant on humans, and history is written by the winners...not to mention people like to embellish, well, the life of Kawashima Yoshiko is a prime example of that. We know her yet still know nothing about her, she was a fascinating person who still looms large in modern day myths, and how cool is that?
  
  Like many people who probably wanted to read this book, I first learned of her from watching The Last Emperor, a much loved movie of mine, even if it is extremely tragic. Most of my study of Chinese and Japanese history is of the old stuff, but once in a while I dabble in more modern history. I figured reading a book about one of the most fascinating characters who swanned in and swanned out of the movie would be a treat.
  
  And the author does a wonderful job of presenting an even, level headed story. This is no scathing biography tearing her apart, or a biography that puts her on a pedestal, it very much so tries to sift through the myths to show the real person.
  
  The job is well done, especially considering how much of her life is a possible pile of fabricated nonsense written by Yoshiko herself! Was she really that epic, was she manipulated, was she just bonkers? We will never really know until we invent some machine that lets us watch past people's lives and know for ourselves.
  
  I for one am thrilled that I read this book, I was able to learn more about a colorful person from a tumultuous time in both China and Japan's history.
• 
  Beth

  Yoshiko's story is of a strange a life. As one of many children in a royal Chinese family, she is undervalued and sent off to Japan to live as the child of a business friend of her father. So begins her confusion as she becomes of Japanese culture, forgets most of her Chinese language, and never seems to understand who she is. Is she female or male? Is she Chinese or Japanese when she feels contempt from each culture. Should she help the Japanese get Manchuria and run it or is she to help those of her clan get Manchuria and run if with the help of the Japanese. Why shouldn't she go to dance halls or take up with different men or women in her life? What clothing should she wear today, male or female silks? How can she con another man to support her? Did she really lead an army?
  
  I began the story with no background in China/Japanese history relationships. Now I realize a little more than was shown in the movie "The last Emperor". I know a little more than I did about how Japan was trying to expand during World War II and about the effects of the Chinese revolution.
  
  What I never got was a feeling of knowing or understanding Yoshiko.
  
  I do feel frustrated that dates were not in order and various segments would crop up about years that I could not relate to parts I had already read, so I end up confused. On the other hand, I am willing to learn more of Chinese/Japanese history at a later date- just not more about this man/woman. But she sure was early in "coming out"!
• 
  Christopher

  I first discovered Kawashima Yoshiko/Jin Binhui when I was researching for a university essay I was writing on state building-my topic was Manchukuo. I instantly realized that the more interesting tertiary character of the film 'The Last Emperor' who I had always assumed was fictional. This was a simplified and not entirely accurate portrayal of her. The Hong Kong film from 1990 which is named after her is actually a much more accurate view of this person in history-which is interesting because it seems on the surface the less believable of the two.
  
  Naturally, obsessed as I am with all things Manchurian and Chinese frontier related, I took to this historical figure quite strongly. Unfortunately, English language sources always seemed scattered and mentioned Kawashima only in passing meaning my interest was only ever partially quenched for years.
  
  Until now of course. Birnbaum expertly weaves between known and unknowns and always lets you know which is which with a critical eye. All while keeping one critical and one sympathetic eye on her subject.
  
  I will save my personal response for The Manchurian Princess for a future blog post, but for now view this as both the quintessential book on Kawashima Yoshiko in English as well as one of the premier studies of the many facets of Japanese imperialism in the twentieth century.
• 
  Heidi Thomas

  Gave it the first 75 pages, and couldn't make it to 100. The book's intro/first chapters were too confusing. Wonderful idea but....maybe it will be a good read for you. Try it!
• 
  Mandy

  I’d never heard of Yoshiko Kawashima before, a larger-than-life character whose almost unbelievable story was surely crying out for a good biography. On the whole author Phyllis Birnbaum does a pretty good job of assembling all the facts and sorting out the myths from the reality. Her research has been both detailed and meticulous and the inclusion of primary documents and many photographs into the narrative adds to its authority. A thoroughly enjoyable account of a thoroughly fascinating person.
• 
  Hana

  Giving up a quarter of the way in. I thought this would be an intriguing way to learn more about the Manchu Dynasty and the Manchu puppet state established by the Japanese in 1932. Unfortunately, Birnbaum seems to assume the reader already knows all the background, which I do not. I have no time for a history that keeps forcing me to look elsewhere for basic information that could be imparted in one or two short paragraphs.
• 
  Jenna

  Picked this up from the library on a whim while hunting for possible bookface covers, and only made it up to page 32. Rather meandering in terms of historical time period and thus far, it doesn't even read as an account of Kawashima Yoshiko. If it was simply setting the scene, I just didn't get far enough to find out, as the writing style was rather dry. Reminds me a bit of the Luisitiana book, rotating through too many angles and POVs to keep my attention.
• 
  Melissa

  I was really intrigued by the idea of this book. The title alone sounds incredibly exciting an somewhat unbelievable. In the end though, I found the writing quite dry and boring. I think the story could be better told as historical fiction, where at least you could get some kind of emotion in there.
• 
  Maggie Hesseling

  Absolutely fascinating biography. Birnbaum's narrative is incredibly well written. What makes this so interesting is the fact that Birnbaum really used every resource availble: pictures, memories and even novels based on her.
  
  A great spy story with a woman of immesurable strength and courage up until the last. Frought with termoil and intruige. A must read.
• 
  Rachel

  This book is intriguing. Kawashima Yoshiko was a spitfire that was very much a victim of circumstance and tried what she could to overcome it. The book also gives some good information on the development of the Manchurian puppet state and World War 2.
• 
  Amber

  The chapters feel mismatched, the tone is often very racist and judgmental. There's no sense of real felt context or consequence, and this reads just like a list of several people's exploits rather than any meaningful look into a woman's life.
• 
  Janet Hewitt

  I did not like this book at all! Frankly, the characters surrounding the main character were much more interesting and worthy of a book. I didn't like the way the biography was put together. I did discover I'd like to read more accounts of the Sino JapAnese war.
• 
  Alexandra

  sent to me for review