Relief nurse - Kyugokangofu

...Nurses trained by the Japanese Red Cross were required to work in hospitals for two years and then be called up for 20 years in the event of a national emergency, so they often left their families, especially young children, behind to serve in the military. A total of 34,045 relief nurses were dispatched by the Japanese Red Cross at the orders of the Army and Navy Ministers during the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, but the actual number was 24,724, and over 1,000 of them died. In addition to becoming victims of the war, they served on the front lines in China, Southeast Asia, and other places, where their bodies were worn down by hunger and disease. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "relief nurses" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…日赤で養成された看護婦は2年間の病院勤務とその後20年間は国家有事の際に召集に応じることを定められていたため，幼い子どもをはじめ家族を残しての従軍という場合も多かった。日中戦争，太平洋戦争に陸･海軍大臣の命令により日赤が派遣した救護看護婦は延べ3万4045名，実数2万4724名にのぼり，死者も1000名を超えている。彼女らは戦火の犠牲になったほか，中国，東南アジアなどの戦線で任務につき飢えや病気により肉体を使い果たした。…

※「救護看護婦」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報