Men and women at a flower market. Views of bonsai plants. A group of red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis) in a pond at a zoo. Men and children look at herd of Sika deer grazing. Groups of school children in kimonos accompanied by their teachers visit the zoo.
A man in a house busy making a parasol. Behind him suspends a banner in Japanese language. A ceremonial parade in the roads of a Japanese town. Floats at the parade, marching groups of people and a series of carts drawn by men in the parade. Crowd of civilians gathers to witness the parade. Japanese houses and buildings near the road of parade.
Women and children dance and play music in traditional dresses, in Japan. Beauticians set hairstyle of two women. They sit on a swing and talk. A man arrives sits on swing between them and kisses them. Woman smokes wooden pipe and smiles.
View of a book entitled "Builders of Hawaii." A hand opens it to several different places, revealing photos of persons who played roles in the early development of Hawaii. Also revealed are pages from the newspaper "Commercial Advertiser" reporting that flags changed as "Hawaii becomes the first outpost of Greater America" and "Old Glory is the new flag of the Hawaiian Islands." (This refers to the establishment of the Territory of Hawaii, under the U.S. Hawaiian Organic Act of 1900.) A portrait of Sanford Ballard Dole is shown. (He was the President of the Republic of Hawaii, 1894-1900, and its first Territorial Governor, 1900-1903.) Views of the Hawaiian State Archives Building, on the grounds of the Iolani Palace, in Honolulu. A plaque honoring Captain James Cook. Views of visitors inside an exhibit that includes a reproduction of an early Hawaiian cottage.
General of the Imperial Japanese Army Baron Sadao Araki narrates the film. Japanese flag is seen behind Baron Sadao Araki. Aerial view of clouds. Smoke emanates from volcanoes in Japan. Ripples being made in a lake or pond. A map of Japan. View of a Japanese waterfall. Trees grow on rocky cliffs by a river. View of the summit of Takachiho in the Kirishima Mountains (霧島山, Kirishima-yama) in Kyushu, Japan. Rice grows in a rice field in Japan. A print of the enthronement of Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. View of the Entrance to the Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingū 1 Ujitachicho, Ise, Mie 516-0023, Japan). People crossing a traditional Japanese bridge. View of the two giant “married couple rocks” (Meoto Iwa 夫婦岩575 Futamichoe, Ise, Mie 519-0602, Japan) that are joined by a Shimenawa rice-straw rope in Futami, Mie, Japan. View of the Kashihara Jingu Shrine (橿原神宮934 Kumecho, Kashihara, Nara 634-8550, Japan) in Nara, Japan. View of the Torii gate at Atsuta Shrine (熱田神宮, Atsuta-jingū 1 Chome-1-1 Jingu, Atsuta Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 456-8585, Japan) in Nagoya, Japan. Torii gate of the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū 1-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 151-8557, Japan) in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. View of the Nijubashi Bridge inside the Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds (1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-8111, Japan). View of the Kyoto Imperial Palace (3 Kyotogyoen, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-0881, Japan) in preparation for the coronation of Emperor Hirohito. Banzai banners decorate the imperial palace. Japanese archers in traditional garb, carrying their bows. Emperor Hirohito’s procession makes its way to his coronation in Kyoto. Two 18th Century coaches bearing the Imperial Seal of Japan, also known as the Chrysanthemum Flower Seal (菊紋, kikumon) head the procession, accompanied by a mounted honor guard. Also in the procession is the Kashikodokoro (enshrining the Imperial Regalia) being carried by young men from the village of Yase, near Kyoto.
50th Anniversary of cinema, in 1944, recalls historic footage and movies from the early 1900s. Thomas Edison with Henry Ford together using a motion picture movie camera to create a movie. Mrs Edison displays Kinetoscope. Close-up view of Kinetoscope machine operating. View of vintage film images of lower Broadway in New York City in 1896 with busy traffic on streets of pedestrians, horses, and horse-drawn streetcar. Next scene shows Theodore Roosevelt and the "Rough Riders" (1st United States Volunteer Cavalry) in parade in New York City on return from Cuba after the Spanish-American War in 1898. Next is seen the inauguration parade for President Theodore Roosevelt on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC in 1905. Next series of scenes shows American women early in the 20th century. Women workers punching time clock at a factory. Women in dresses emerging from a building perhaps after a work shift circa 1900. An early beauty pageant circa 1910. Famous star actress and singer Lillian Russell in a movie scene. Actor William S Hart appearing in an early movie. Two well dressed women sitting in an early automobile as a man starts it up and drives away. Busy scenes of car and pedestrian traffic, and horse-drawn streetcars on Market street in San Francisco, California circa 1910. Silent movie stars Clara Kimball Young and Sidney Drew together in a movie scene. Famous movie star actress Pearl White in a daring stunt scene, and Ruth Roland performing a stunt leaping from a moving railroad train onto a rope ladder suspended from an airplane, and then riding on a railroad car careening out of control down a mountain side in an early Hollywood movie.