Ria Brodell

In 1934, Sakuma Hideka and Chiyoka worked at a coffee shop in Tokyo together with another (unnamed) woman.  Newspaper accounts of their story describe the three women as having a polyamorous relationship that they knew society would never condone.

Knowing that they could not live as a couple or threesome, Hideka and Chiyoka embarked on a journey to commit shinjū (double suicide or “love suicide”) by jumping into Mount Mihara, an active volcano on the island of Ōshima off the coast of Tokyo. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the third woman attempted to commit suicide on her own, leaving farewell notes to her family.  Alerted by these notes, the press learned of Hideka and Chiyoka’s intentions and followed them to Ōshima, catching up to them before they could throw themselves into the crater. 

Afterwards, Hideka wrote her own account of the incident, describing their two-day journey to Mount Mihara, their stay at an inn, and how they held each other close “thinking only of death.”  She criticized the press for spreading rumors about her family, disparaging her masculine appearance, and trivializing their suicide attempt by asking readers to contribute satirical songs about it.  She expressed her loneliness and wondered why self-sufficient women in love could not live together just as heterosexual couples did.

Sources:
 

Hideka, Sakuma. “Joshi Ketsui suru made” (Until [we] resolved to commit love suicide). Fujin Gahô, 1934.

Robertson, Jennifer. “Dying to Tell: Sexuality and Suicide in Imperial Japan.” Signs (Chicago) 25, no. 1 (Autumn 1999): 1–35.

“Watashi wa koi no shorisha” (I am a survivor of love). Asahi Shinbun (Tokyo), June 14, 1934, morning edition.

Thanks to Mamiko Imoto for translation assistance.

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