J FORCE - NEW ZEALAND NURSES AND JAPANESE WOMEN

[Continuation from ID 9432].

This material may contain language or sentiments that may be considered offensive or inappropriate.

Broadcaster Ulric Williams continues presenting a radio programme of recordings made with New Zealanders serving in Japan in 1946, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, or J Force. Today, a woman's perspective on life in Japan by WAAC Sergeant Joyce Ford, one of 36 nurses at the 6th New Zealand General Hospital in Kiwa.

She says the New Zealand nurses and the Japanese women who they employ at the hospital are mutually interested in each other's way of life. Japanese houses are very simple in construction. The staple diet is rice, fish and vegetables, cooked over charcoal burners. Rural women work as hard as men in the fields, often with babies strapped to their backs. Urban women are much more westernised in dress, use of makeup and their low status is improving. Beautiful kimonos are for sale and many items are available in stores that can't be found in New Zealand, such as pearls, elastic and cleverly made toys. The younger the girl, the brighter the kimono. Japanese girls are keen to learn Western dances.

This recording is one of a series made by the New Zealand Broadcasting Service unit stationed with J Force troops in Japan, 1946-1948. The recordings were sent back for playing on radio in New Zealand as part of the series 'With the Kiwis in Japan.'