Peace Monument of Glendale

The 1,100 pound bronze statue The chair represents aging survivors who have not yet received justice, as well as space for people to sit and reflect on how women and girls were subjected to become sex slaves during the Japanese wartime. The statue of the girl herself represents many different aspects and effects of the violence and exploitation experienced by comfort women. For example, the statue portrays a girl with unevenly cut hair due to it being torn off. The unevenness and rough appearance of the hair represents the suffering comfort women endured as a result of being taken from their homes and forced into sex slavery. Her clenched fist represent her resolve for justice, as well as her resolve for endurance and defiance against her injustice. Her bare unsettled feet represent being abandoned by the world, along with her inability to ground and settle herself, unable to completely trust her environment. The bronze bird located at the top of her left shoulder symbolizes not only the connection between the living and the deceased, but as a symbol of freedom and peace. The shadow behind the young girl is of an elderly woman, fragmented pieces of painful memories symbolizing the passing of time with her trauma left unspoken. Finally, is the butterfly located at the center of shadow's body, right at her heart. This butterfly depicts the hope to be reincarnated with a new life in a different world, but also that one day, whether in this life or the next, the sexually exploited victims of Japanese colonial rule, comfort women, will receive their apology. ==Controversy==

After Glendale City Councilman Frank Quintero announced plans for an identical Statue of Peace to be installed the Central Park of Glendale, it was met with particular opposition from Japanese entities. Dozens of Japanese-Americans filled the City Hall chamber in opposition to the installation of the statue, with some claiming the comfort women narrative depicted by Koreans as manufactured or exaggerated. Other organizations known as the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American Bar Association and the Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress came out in defense of the statue. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case against the statue, validating its right to remain in the park. Julie Tang, chairwoman of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, views this ruling as a victory for comfort women, as well as giving a green light for future statues to be placed all over the United States. ==References==