Teru Hasegawa

Teru Hasegawa
Native name	長谷川テル
Born	Hasegawa Teruko (長谷川照子) (1912-03-07)March 7, 1912
Died	January 14, 1947(1947-01-14) (aged 34)
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	“Verda Majo” (Green May)

Teru Hasegawa (長谷川テル, Hasegawa Teru) (7 March 1912 – 14 January 1947) was a Japanese esperantist.^[1]

Life

Teru Hasegawa was born Hasegawa Teruko (長谷川照子) in 1912 as the second of three children. Her family moved a lot, but most of her younger years were spent in Tokyo. Her relationship with her family was troubled. After graduation in 1929 she enrolled at the Women’s College of Education in remote Nara prefecture to become a teacher. During her studies, she was introduced to leftist literary circles. She also became acquainted with Esperantist circles via her eldest sister.

She married Liu Ren, who was from Manchuria, in 1936. She kept the marriage secret from her parents.^[2] In April 1937 she went to China. She joined the Chinese resistance to Japan, where she made broadcasts aimed at the Japanese Army.^[3] Her family received letters telling them to commit suicide to avoid the shame of having a daughter who performed propaganda for the enemy. On November 1, 1938, in the Japanese newspaper, Miyako shinbun, Hasegawa’s picture appeared under the headline “The real face of the coquettish traitor exposed here".^[4] Hasegawa Teru became an active member of the Japanese People's Anti-war League (Nihonjinmin hansen dōmei) in China.^[5]

See also

• Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period

References