Episode 385 - Killer Geisha: Abe Sada
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The sex-mad geisha who sliced off her lover’s genitals, strangled him with a kimono belt, and carved her name into his arm, is perhaps Japan’s most famous criminal of the 20th century.
Today, Abe’s story is practically a part of Japanese folklore. So how did this brutal killer become an unlikely celebrity, feminist icon and star of stage and screen? What exactly is a geisha? And what does her story tell us about the mystifying world of Japanese sexuality today?
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Sources:
‘Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star’, by William Johnston (ISBN: 9780231130523)
‘Sada Abe (A Murderous Lover)’, by Gloria Adrian (ISBN: 9798386847364)
https://headstuff.org/culture/history/abe-sada-victim-killer/
https://unherd.com/2023/04/the-truth-about-japans-sex-culture/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781403977120_6
https://gatamagazine.com/articles/culture/a-love-worth-dying-for-abe-sada
https://murderpedia.org/female.A/a/abe-sada-photos.htm
https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/topics/abe+sada/newspaper+clippings+from+japan
https://allthatsinteresting.com/sada-abe
https://headstuff.org/culture/history/abe-sada-victim-killer/