Modern Light and Shadow Aesthetics Emerge in an Old Street: Taiwan’s First Comfort Women Memorial Hall

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team

Since 1992, Taiwan’s Women’s Rescue Foundation has carried out investigations and related work concerning Taiwanese comfort women during wartime, which gave rise to a dream — to find a venue that could document and preserve the life stories of the comfort women “grannies,” and to amplify the unwavering and extraordinary strength of advocating for women’s rights. Despite encountering countless setbacks and challenges in finding a suitable site, in November 2015, a graceful old building in Taipei’s Dadaocheng district was finally secured. The "Ama House - Museum for Peace and Women’s Rights" officially opened to the public on March 8.

The Ama House is Taiwan’s first memorial hall dedicated to the theme of comfort women. It showcases the development of the comfort women issue, the life stories of survivors, historical materials and artifacts from the human rights movement, as well as artistic creations by the grannies. The two-story, 150-ping space has its main exhibition area on the second floor, featuring permanent exhibits and the Women’s Power Space. One of its highlights is the installation art “Song of the Reed,” which consists of thousands of transparent tubes and 59 red copper tubes projecting the names of the grannies. When you place your hands near the light source, the beams project the names inside the copper tubes onto your palms, symbolizing the life force of Taiwan’s thousands of comfort women grannies.

The AMA Café on the first floor also features stunning design, with modern aesthetics as its main theme. It uses double-sided metal and openwork techniques, allowing light and shadow to filter through dots of various sizes, creating a unique composition. The Ama House was designed by the Shihe Design Team, with the overall imagery centered around reeds, representing the gentle yet resilient, unbreakable vitality of the grannies.