you
Yokohama 1898
the first moving images ever filmed in
Japan
Thomas Edison and other pioneers of the
moving image had brought their amazing
new technology to Japan a year earlier
previously timeless mysterious and
isolated Japan is beginning to transform
itself
Takeshi endo a retired school teacher
I remember the time before shogun
tokugawa yoshinobu and the absolute rule
of the samurai everything is changing so
quickly now for my liking far too
quickly and too much
since the end of the tokugawa shogunate
and the restoration of the power of the
Emperor Meiji in 1868 Japan has become a
place of commercial and cultural
fascination for the West but it has also
been flexing its own muscles on mainland
Asia
Japan had waged war against China in
1894 in dispute over the control of
Korea
Japan's Imperial forces overwhelm those
of the Chinese emperor who sued for
peace
in the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed in
April 1895 China had recognized the
total independence of Korea and ceded
Taiwan to Japan in perpetuity
it was Japan's first step on the road to
imperial glory
a path that would be fleetingly
triumphant but would in just 50 years
lead to catastrophe and humiliation
Japan's holy war say sin
Port Arthur Siberia December 1904 troops
from Japan's Third Army under general
Mariska Nagi are preparing for the final
assault on the Russian Imperial garrison
the Russians have held out for five
months losses on both sides have been
huge
Japan sends 16,000 reinforcements and
heavy artillery
Japanese sappers start to dig into the
hillsides to plant huge explosives
the hills around Port Arthur for
one-by-one leading the Japanese to
celebrate an historic breakthrough
the Russian Pacific Fleet in Harbor is
now vulnerable to artillery attack nogi
deploys is 11 inch Krupp howitzers
capable of hurling 500-pound shells over
15 miles
the Russian commander general snow so
surrenders giving Japan a remarkable
victory
Stossel is escorted into captivity on
his white horse along with 25,000 of his
men
the Russian prisoners are treated with
kindness and dignity my Nagi and his man
nogi then marches his army to Mach then
where they inflict another crushing
defeat on the Russians
later in the same year the Czar's Baltic
Fleet arrives in the Straits of Tsushima
it has sailed
18,000 nautical miles to reach the Far
East
where it confronts the might of the
Japanese Navy under Admiral Togo
Japanese Imperial Navy inflicts a
crushing defeat on the Czar's fleet
sinking 21 of the Russians 28 ships and
seven with eight battleships togo
returns to Tokyo as the conquering hero
he is greeted by Emperor Meiji at the
Imperial Palace
then the two heroes of the war against
russia are united Admiral of the fleet
Hachiro Togo and general of the army
Marus Kannagi journalist Saburo
Katsura describes the scenes in Tokyo
the whole city turned out to celebrate a
major Western Power has been brought to
its knees we were proud to be Japanese
now we can move on to take our place as
a fast cross nation in the eyes of the
world
the Ussuri River Siberia 1918 the
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and
subsequent Civil War has led the United
States in the European powers to support
a Japanese and Allied expeditionary
force to secure eastern Siberia against
the communist threat the mission is to
protect the trans-siberian railway at
Khabarovsk and seize huge stockpiles of
supplies and munitions the incursion
will provide a major Asian bridgehead
for Japan for several years to come
they also relieve cossack troops and the
czech legion who have been fighting the
Bolsheviks Red Army from the Ukraine to
the Pacific
japanese leftenant general leading
Japan's 12th division host Colonel Henry
steyr commander of the u.s. 27th
Infantry the Wolfhounds part of the
American Expeditionary Force much
admired by the Japanese and their
Bolshevik enemies
general I enjoys a cigar with his staff
offices us Colonels Moreau and Robinson
relax in the wintry Sun while the Allies
exercise and fraternize together
following their route of the Red Army
in just 25 years the roles will be
reversed the United States and the
Soviet Union will join forces to defeat
the rise of fascism and Japan and the
United States will engage in a ferocious
fight to the death across the Pacific
so Korea 1924
invigorated by its success against
Russia in the Russian ease war of 1905
Japan had turned his attention to
control of the Korean Peninsula
the isolationist Hermit Kingdom
effectively under Japanese control for
several years career had been formally
annexed as part of the Japanese Empire
in 1910
it immediately began to suppress the
Korean language and culture and exploit
its people and resources a state of
affairs that would last for 35 years
by the end of World War two there will
be over 850,000 Japanese living in Korea
Tokyo spring 1925 it is cherry blossom
time the time for renewal and optimism
Japan is now a strange mix of the modern
and traditional in this Spring Festival
there is traditional dress but most of
the men wear Western stro boaters or
cloth caps these innovations do not meet
with the approval of many Japanese the
diary of yataro Innoko a civil servant
while do we attack these American
fashions we have our own culture we
should respect it
Japan's towns and cities are becoming
more and more affluent especially
through the growing influence of
American goods and lifestyle
the influence of foreigners especially
Americans is resented by traditionalists
retired engineer Mitsuru yama the rich
are getting richer and acting like a
Yankees they bring disgrace to our
people
in the countryside the vast majority of
Japanese live like they have for
centuries in a state of humble
self-sufficiency often bordering on
abject poverty rice tea and silk are
vital to survival the work is
back-breaking fertilizer brought from
the towns in the form of human waste
feeds the crops
life is ageless and simple and appears
to be untroubled and tranquil
but beyond the rustic scene the dark
clouds on the horizon
the US Congress had passed legislation a
year earlier prohibiting Japanese and
other oriental immigration into the
United States the move is deeply
resented in Japan
Kotaro Anaka the Americans come to Asia
and act like they are superior to us but
they have no owner no respect they treat
us like second-class human beings and
refuse us entry to their country closer
to home
Japan's interest in China are being
threatened by the rise of the Kuomintang
under general Chiang kai-shek Dalian
Manchuria 1931 the Ural Maru arrives
from Osaka carrying comfort parcels for
Japanese troops in Manchuria one of
several foreign Garrison's in China
parcels are provided by newspaper giant
Asahi and are part of a propaganda
campaign engineered by right-wing
elements in the Japanese military in
order to generate a wave of nationalist
fervor at home the parcels are delivered
in person by Asahi's director Harada and
a posse of journalists photographers and
newsreel cameraman
some are not convinced by the propaganda
journalists can yo Socky what is going
on is dangerous the fanatics in these
secret societies like the black dragons
are dragging us into war but nobody is
brave enough to stand up to them
Japan has been expanding its interests
in China and Manchuria for years the
South Manchuria railway vital to Japan's
interests is used to transport the
parcels to Mukden the headquarters of
Japan's presence in Manchuria
leftenant a whale
Okubo stationed in Mukden we must take
control ourselves if we wait for Tokyo
nothing will happen it is our duty to
act decisively in the interests of our
homeland it is our destiny an audacious
plan is being hatched by nationalist
elements within the army acting beyond
the control of high command in Tokyo and
without the sanction of the Emperor
Kotaro
Anaka we must defend our interests in
China Japan cannot feed itself or get
the raw materials for its industry
without the strong presence on the Asian
mainland and throughout Southeast Asia
September 1931 Mukden China two army
Colonels seishiro Etta Jackie and kanji
Ishwara have devised a plan to ignite
war in Manchuria on the morning of
September 19th two artillery pieces
install in secret at the Mukden
officer's club open fire on the Chinese
garrison nearby the Japanese army is
moved into position in large numbers and
reinforcements arrive from the Japanese
garrison in career at first Chinese
leader Chiang kai-shek orders his army
to fall back and Japan occupies Chang
Chun and an Tong with ease only November
do the Chinese attack leading to intense
fighting for several weeks
a whale Okubo
the generals were not brave enough to
make this move but we showed them how to
fight in the true Japanese tradition
with a spirit swiftly and decisively
a Chinese Army's ill-prepared for battle
and the country is beset by internal
political wrangling and the effects of
severe flooding in the valley of the
Yangtze River
Japan's army makes rapid progress
sweeping across Manchuria zwei dopin
spaces
a whale bakudo
it was exciting nothing could stop us
our supply lines became longer and
longer but HQ kept us going with
excellent backup we despised the Chinese
for not fighting with more courage
within five months of the Mukden
incident the Imperial Japanese Army
overruns all major towns and cities in
the provinces of Lyon in Jilin and he
longs yang
United States Secretary of State Henry
Stimson declares that the United States
will not recognize any government that
is established as a result of Japanese
actions in Manchuria a League of Nations
commission headed by British diplomat
Earl Litton rejects the Japanese claim
that the Manchurian invasion and
occupation was an act of self-defense
the League of Nations later refuses to
acknowledge Japan's claims and in 1933
it resigns from the league journalist
Akira Yamaoka it is typical of the
apocrypha of the Western powers they
have had a colonial presence here in
Asia for centuries they call it benign
partnership was some other euphemism but
when we Japanese do the same they call
it naked aggression and condemn us the
port of Mukden is secured for Japanese
shipping and for Japan's commercial
interest to begin to exploit the new
territory
koke Ishida a businessman from Yokohama
at last we have open spaces to expand
into we have natural resources land for
agriculture and labor to put to work now
we can flex our muscles
kyoko you master a schoolteacher travels
to Manchuria with her husband in 1932 at
first I was carried along with the
excitement of our victory but the more
time I spent with the Manchu people the
more I realized how much they resented
our presence
we weren't liberating them from Western
oppression
we were just replacing one sort of
colonial rule for another
Japan begins to create a puppet state
controlled from Tokyo the last emperor
of China who Yee is invited to come with
his followers and act as the head of
state for Manchuria On February 18th
1932 the Manchu state of Manchu Co is
proclaimed the city of Chang Jung
becomes the capital of the new entity
two years later Buies declared emperor
of manchu KO but is nothing more than a
figurehead and real authority rests in
the hands of the Japanese military
officials
Japan formally detaches Manticore from
China in the course of the 1930s and
with Japanese investment in its rich
natural resources the area eventually
becomes an industrial powerhouse
throughout the 1930s vast numbers of
Japanese settlers migrated to find a new
life propaganda films depict Manchu go
as a paradise of peace and harmony
koke Ishida this is our Australia like
the British we need room for our people
nobody complains about the British
settling in Australia so what's wrong
with us moving here besides look at the
progress we are making it is a new
country the Chinese should be thankful
instead of complaining
man Chico is portrayed as a New Japan
you
economic turmoil and the impact of the
global depression following the Wall
Street Crash of 1929 plunges Japan into
turmoil and introspection many lose
faith in parliamentary democracy and
ultra nationalist groups begin to form
among the junior officer ranks of the
army
in surah a
the Zaibatsu like Mitsubishi who control
our industry needs to be taught a lesson
they have grown too fat
the politicians are corrupt and bringing
disgrace to the diet only the emperor
deserves our respect we should restore
his supreme power so that we have
discipline and pride at home and the new
empire overseas
conditions worsen when American demand
for silk collapses because of the
depression there is great hardship in
rural Japan especially in the north the
main recruiting ground for the army it's
oral Aoyama it is unbearable in my
district families are so poor they are
selling their daughters to the tea
houses they dressed him like geishas but
they are just prostituting Brussels what
has become of our people it has to stop
Japanese attitudes hardened in spring
1932 on April 29th June bong Gil a
Korean nationalist protesting at the
Japanese control of his country carries
out a bomb attack at a Japanese Army
celebration of Emperor Hirohito's
birthday in Hongkou Park Shanghai
the bomb kills Yoshinori shirokawa a
general of the imperial japanese army
and sir dodgy kalibata the government
chancellor of japanese residents in
shanghai
it also seriously injured several others
Yoon is arrested at the scene and
convicted by a Japanese military court
and later executed the Emperor Hirohito
who had ascended the chrysanthemum
throne in 1926 is concerned about
growing army interference the army is
meddling in domestic and foreign
politics and a general will firmness is
a state of affairs it for the good of
the nation we must view with
apprehension the Empress anxieties are
well-founded
19:32 Shanghai China
instigated by local Japanese military
fighting breaks out between the Chinese
army and the Japanese Navy stationed in
the city
the world is shocked by one of the
earliest examples of the aerial bombing
of cities as Japanese planes attack the
chepe district of Shanghai it also
witnesses how Japan's troops treat their
captives the honor and respect shown
their enemies in 1905 have gone
in the ensuing battle the Chinese hold
their ground unable to retrieve the
situation despite reinforcements from
the fleet the Japanese Navy has to call
on the Army for help
the high command in Tokyo organizes a
fully-fledged Shanghai expeditionary
force under general shirokawa and
reinforces it with two full divisions
intense fighting ensues the Chinese
finally fall back
Japan is able to announce a face-saving
ceasefire followed by an armistice
although the Japanese are surprised by
the resolve of the Chinese the ferocious
reputation of the Japanese soldier
begins to spread
captured by the Chinese in February 1932
captain cougar nabooru is returned to
Japan in a prisoner exchange
he commits suicide to atone for his
capture lauded for his martial spirit by
army Minister Araki Kouga is later
enshrined at the soldier's tomb in
Yasukuni from this time on officers who
survive battle are openly pressured to
commit suicide
January 1933 the Chu men copass gateway
to the Chinese province of jhol close to
the Great Wall of China
operation Necker Japan is attempting to
add J hall to its new entity man chuckle
once again the Japanese military creates
a minor incident and users press
propaganda to justify its actions
Japanese newspaper the Miyako Shimbun
Japan's action to prevent the Chinese
from entering jihad and violating the
security of man choco is unnecessary
measure of self-defense
Emperor Hirohito approves the campaign
that insists that the Imperial Army goes
no further than the great wall the
civilian population flees in terror in
the face of the advancing Japanese army
Chinese general ho Chico's celebrated
9th brigade forms part of the Chinese
line but they are armed only with light
artillery pieces and small arms
nevertheless they fight for over three
months to keep the Japanese at bay
aritaum or Yoshida an officer in the
Imperial Army my respect for the Chinese
grill and grill they had few weapons and
no tanks or heavy artillery but they
held us for long period
you
unique terrain of jhol makes the
fighting an unusual mix of old and new
military techniques
the fighting takes place in the depths
of winter in atrocious conditions era
Tomo Yoshida
I have never been so cold we had two
enemies the Chinese and winter winter
was the most difficult to fight we only
had to face the Chinese from time to
time we had to face winter every day on
March 4th
chandi the provincial capital Falls and
in May truce is declared tangu and in
Japan a vast new province to add to his
empire
Japan's Empire now stretches to the
great plains of Central Asia and the
peoples of Mongol descent famed for
their horsemanship and martial prowess
over a hundred thousand men took part in
the campaign with heavy casualties on
both sides it is estimated that China's
losses were over ten thousand there were
over 5,000 Japanese dead and injured
Minami
Hayato a nurse at a military hospital in
Yokohama
some of the boys pay the cable price
apart from the usual of who owns many
suffered from frostbite they lost the
fingers and toes
however they were their only chance heed
that their families will look after them
throughout the 1930s Japan quickly
recovers from worldwide economic
depression and begins to grow rapidly
here Toshi Toyotomi a businessman we are
doing well
people work hard but we need more
resources if we are to match the
Americans and the Europeans we need coal
oil and minerals not only that our
farmers can't keep pace with our growing
population we need cheap food supplies
and everyone knows where they are
it's economy grows by 5% per annum and
between 1929 and 1937 its gross domestic
product increases by 50%
steel production rises from six million
tons to nearly nine million tonnes
by 1941 Japan's aircraft industry is
able to produce 10,000 aircraft per year
much of this economic expansion benefits
the old zaibatsu large industrial
conglomerates like Mitsui
and mitsubishi which grow closer and
closer to the Japanese military and the
new zaibatsu like Nissan and Toyota
which are booming from vehicle
manufacture and producing military
hardware
Japan's people have a strong sense of
personal and national discipline
you
a rigid education system teaches the
cardinal principles of the nation it
defines Japan and the duties of its
people in very precise terms
the unbroken line of emperors ran a
tannery over the Japanese Empire this is
our eternal and immutable national
entity thus founded on this great
principle all the people United as one
great family obeying the Imperial will
enhance the beautiful virtue of loyalty
and piety this is the glory of our
nation the emperor is a deity incarnate
a living God and serving him is seen as
the duty of every citizen individuals
must sacrifice their identity for the
sake of the Emperor and the nation
Japanese diplomat tatsuko I writing
about the Japanese philosophy of musubi
the history of the Japanese people is a
record of a facing nature the
harmonization
of our people with the forces of nature
preserve nature and rediscover oneself
so teaches the philosophy of musubi
following the dictates of musubi Japan
will restore a degenerate China and the
rest of Asia
armed with ideas like musubi 1930s Japan
Steel's itself with a mission Raziel to
liberate Asia from its amoral slumber
and oppression by the West and just in
case anyone should resist these potent
ideas Japan's secret police the
Kempeitai maintains a reign of terror
against dissidents
Kotaro Nagata a doctor
I have heard what is happening in the
cities with the Kempeitai although I
don't support open descent people should
be allowed to think for themselves the
old samurai would never have tolerated
these young hotels who seems to be
running the army now what has happened
to owner
'we know Park Tokyo April 1937 cherry
blossom time a long-standing tradition
in Japan
this is the earliest example of color
film shot in Japan the footage is on 16
millimeter Kodachrome a newly released
film stock developed for home movie
enthusiasts it is shot by American
military attache at the US Embassy in
Tokyo William Carey Crane who will later
become a brigadier general in the US
Army the images depict endearing scenes
of a tranquil country in harmony
you
but they are deceptive they hired
internal turmoil and disguise a nation
hell-bent on a relentless course that
will lead to catastrophic global
conflict and to its own terrifying
demise
the brief life of the blossom Sakura
symbolizes the transient nature of human
life and is used to inspire Japan's
warriors
the Sakura Kai is the name chosen by
young Japanese officers for their secret
society devoted to creating a military
state Japan soldiers are expected like
myriad cherry blossoms to scatter in the
wind and die
kyoko endo a Tokyo housewife writes to
her husband an officer in the 35th
regiment stationed in China
I went to see the beautiful blossom
today with our daughter it is the first
time we have done that without to you
obviously this fighting in China would
end so that you can come home
Tokyo seems so peaceful and everyone
looks happy
but many are hiding their feelings if
you ask why are we going on these
adventures in foreign countries people
turn away they don't want to talk those
people who disagree with what's going on
are arrested it's not right
ten days after sending her letter Kyoko
is arrested by the Kempeitai
she is interrogated for three days and
has to give them the details of all her
friends and family and those of her
husband
leftenant endo Kyoko's husband never
replies to her letter
he is killed in China
Japan is firmly in the grip of those who
want war
there seems to be nothing to stop them
they believe it will bring Japan glory
and power and its rightful place in the
world but within a decade they will be
tragically disillusioned