Women of Controversy: Miyuki Ishikawa

Miyuki Ishikawa (1897 - c. 1987) was a Japanese midwife and serial killer. She is believed to be responsible for the death of 103 infants in the late 1940s. Her crimes highlighted the economic and social conditions of postwar Japan and the problems with its welfare system. 

For Further Reading:

• Miyuki Ishikawa: The True-Crime Story of the Demon Midwife

• Kotobuki Maternity Hospital Incident

• The Infant Killer of Tokyo

This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy -- whether deserved or not.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, and Vanessa Handy. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

• Website
• Instagram
• Twitter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we get started, a warning that this episode contains
mention of infanticide. Please be advised when listening. Hello for
Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Wamanica.
This month, we're talking about women who found themselves at
the center of controversy, whether deserved or not. Today we're

(00:20):
discussing one of the most notorious serial killers in Japanese history.
She took advantage of struggling mothers and was responsible for
the death of more than one hundred infants. Meet Miyuki Ishikawa.
Miyuki was born in the south of Japan in eighteen
ninety seven. Not much is known about her upbringing. We

(00:42):
do know that she moved to Tokyo for college and
became a midwife. Soon after graduating, she married a man
named Takeshi Ishikawa. He was previously a sergeant in the
military and after that a police officer for the Tokyo
Metropolitan Police Department. Before being discharged, Miyuki worked at the

(01:03):
Kotobuki Maternity Hospital. Soon she became its director. New mothers
entrusted Miyuki to keep them healthy during pregnancy, deliver their newborns,
and care for their children. In nineteen forties Japan, abortion
was illegal. That, coupled with economic troubles stemming from World
War II, meant that many mothers were giving birth to

(01:23):
children that they didn't have the means to care for.
Miyuki came up with the makab solution. She would suffocate
or strangle or neglect the infants to death. Then Takeshi
would ask the parents for payment. It would be cheaper
than the cost of raising a child, he'd argue. Finally,
a doctor named Shiro Nakayama would falsify the baby's death

(01:45):
certificates so it seemed like they died of natural causes.
This deadly team committed their crimes undetected until one day
in January of nineteen forty eight, two police officers found
four bulky wooden boxes while on their morning patrol. They
belonged to a local funeral director. When they investigated the boxes,

(02:06):
they found the bodies of five babies inside. Upon medical examination,
it was determined that three of the infants died of
pneumonia and malnutrition, two of them froze to death, all
had no food in their stomachs. When questioned, the funeral
director said the boxes the police found were requested by
Kotabuki Maternity Hospital, where Miyuki worked. Then he admitted that

(02:32):
he'd been paid five hundred yen per baby to bury them.
Three days later, Miyuki and her husband were arrested. Investigations continued.
The remains of more than forty infants were found in
a funeral home, while thirty more were found buried underneath
the temple. In all, it's estimated that Miyuki was responsible
for the deaths of one hundred and three infants. Miyuki, Takeshi,

(02:56):
and doctor and Nakayama were sent to court. The defense
claimed that the parents were at fault for the children's death,
not the Ishikawa's, because the parents were the ones who
abandoned them. Much of the public sided with this reasoning
their sentence came down In October of nineteen forty eight.
The Tokyo District Court found Miyuki and Takeshi guilty of

(03:17):
five counts of murder by omission. Their sentences were light,
and the couple appealed. In the end, Miyuki was sentenced
to four years and Takeshi only two. The Japanese government
took measures to prevent tragedies like this from happening in
the future. On June twenty fourth, nineteen forty nine, the
federal government legalized abortion for economic reasons under the Eugenic

(03:41):
Protection Law. All month, we're talking about women of controversy.
For more information, fight us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow