Babysan

Identity of this young lady is unknown.
Photo courtesy of the Doug Price Flickr site.

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June 1950. Seventeen-year-old Philip Hughes was in Japan long enough to find a girlfriend.  Not to take anything away from Philip, but that feat was not at all difficult for a U.S. soldier with a few bucks in his pocket during the spring of 1950.

"Babysan" was, in parlance peculiar to the Japan Occupation, the term of endearment for any young lady of real or potential romantic interest. An excerpt from The Battle of Turkey Thicket:

Her name – Mitsuko? Kyoko? Sachiko? – has long since been forgotten. She was young, certainly, but still perhaps a few years older than Philip. The Second World War left an indelible impact on her family. It might have been the loss of a brother. Her father. Their home. She was scarred by the past, burdened by the present, and unsure of her future. She was like many other young Japanese women who found themselves on the frontline of post-war reconstruction. Both she and Philip were motivated to connect for a mix of reasons. They shared a mutual need… for someone.