A Japanese woman visits a Shinto shrine to pray for her sick child. A Japanese man and his wife attend to a sick child lying on a futon bed. A Japanese woman visits a Shinto shrine to pray for her child’s recovery from illness. Japanese woman approaches the haiden, or the sanctuary dedicated to a Shinto Kami spirit. Japanese woman prays with her offering. Japanese woman walking on the shrine grounds. Japanese woman holding her offering.
Views of Japanese cities and lifestyle before World War II. Views of a train crossing the Osaka bridge, traffic on road, modern buildings, towers and industries in Osaka. Aerial views, elevated building views, and views from boat moving in water and under bridges busy with traffic including streetcars or trolleys. Mass calisthenics by girls and school children who work in a cotton textile factory. Views of buildings of the textile factory as well as dormitory buildings that house the Japanese workers of the factory. Men and women workers entering factory or housing areas of the manufacturing plant. Women workers at cotton spinning machines and automated loom devices on massive factory production floor. Massive bolts of finished cotton cloth and fabric are completed in production at the factory as men and women workers watch and tend. Department store crowds browse modern goods in department stores of Tokyo and Osaka. Shoppers ride an escalator to upper floors of a modern department store. A woman examines a bolt of cloth presented by a deparment store worker. Shoppers eat in a cafe restaurant. Underground views of subway system bringing shoppers from near and far. Train at subway station. Point of view shot from front of electric train riding on tracks of subway system. Train system from Osaka to Kobe is shown running, and views of boats at sea and beaches in sight of the railroad lines.
Artistic montage of seemingly unrelated scenes. Slates in Japanese overlay scenes of explosions with smoke rising from a volcano. This is followed by high winds and severe thunderstorms with lightning and views of ocean crashing against rocks. A steam locomotive rushes across a steel railroad trestle bridge. Glimpse of a ship's funnel and sound of horn blowing in presence of stormy weather. Glimpse of power plant (or other industrial site) near water, with smoke rising from 5 smoke stacks. Ship's funnel and horn shown again in stormy conditions. Multiple artistic images of a man are overlaid upon each other. Then a momentary view from track level of fast-moving railroad train. A large room filled with enthusiastic young men waving raised hands. View from trackside of speeding locomotive passing close to the camera. The men waving arms, again followed by view of speeding locomotive driving arms and wheels.The men waving their arms are now seen to be inside a room where several men in business suits stand before them. More views of speeding trains interspersed with ocean waters and network of humming electrical communication lines. Panning upward view of a tall smoke stack. Aerial view of narrow isthmus of coastal cliff extending into the sea, accompanied by overlaying slate in Japanese with sounds of strong winds in background.
Film opens showing narrator, Japanese General Baron Sadao Araki, speaking. He is silhouetted in front of the red ball on a huge Japanese flag. Next, are scenes from Japanese mobilization and invasion of Manchuria. several Japanese troops are seen firing a 37mm gun, from a shallow trench, as a gun crew member spots from behind them using a pair of binoculars. A group of Japanese soldiers observing from a hill. Japanese troops advancing across barren terrain. Closeup of some descending a hill. A military steam locomotive displaying the Japanese flag, on a railroad track in the snow. Glimpse of soldiers atop the train. Japanese troops crossing a rice paddy on trail of brush and grass and slogging down a hill of mud. Troops moving in motor convoys of trucks. A Type 92 Osaka Armored Car driving fast past the camera. A troop train moving slowly out of a station, as crowds waving Japanese flags see the soldiers off. Army nurses in uniform with red cross armbands, march out the gate of a large building. Teachers and students pray for their troops, at a Shinto shrine. A woman using a megaphone rallies support for the war effort. Civilians supporting war effort line up to deliver packages for delivery to the troops. School children in a classroom write letters to the troops. A supply center where all kinds of useful items are being packaged in "comfort bags" for delivery to the troops. A large pile of comfort bags.
Scenes from 1930s during lead up to Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War 2. Narration by General of the Imperial Japanese Army Baron Sadao Araki. Opening scene shows a practice drill in which male emergency workers, in white uniforms, arrive by truck and assemble in a field, as hook and ladder fire trucks filled with firemen, arrive and turn into a circle. Glimpse of women nurses in white uniforms standing near a large Red Cross flag with Japanese writing on it. Scene shifts to traffic on a busy city street. Tnen a closeup of Japanese women in white garb, passing out leaflets to people. Boy Scouts at the corner of a building and Girl Scouts at another spot, solicit contributions for the troops. They use megaphones to get the attention of busy pedestrians. The girls hold baskets to collect contributions. Women in traditional Japanese garb stand on a street corner and encourage public support for Japanese soldiers, by knitting scarfs to be sent to them. Soldiers stand on a street corner wearing sashes and displaying a banner. More girl scouts (or uniformed school girls) soliciting support for the military. View from a high vantage point overlooking a bridge filled with pedestrians. Camera pans upward showing way into downtown. Japanese people attend a public display of airplanes at an airport in Osaka, where citizens have contributed to fund them. They crowd around two biwing planes. A woman bows at a temporary shrine set up honoring Japanese fliers. Closeup of airplane fuselage with writing on it. Quartering view from front of radial engine running on the airplane. Covered search lights sitting side by side. Anti-aircraft battery consisting of sound detection listening devices and guns. A Japanese army truck on display and then driving away. Closeup of an anti-aircraft searchlight. More views of sound detection devices. Air raid sirens. Two bi-wing airplanes. The one in foreground is equipped with a center ski. A Nakajima aircraft in flight overhead. A searchlight being demonstrated at night. Glimpse of firemen extinguishing a fire in a street, during exercise. Nurses and stretcher bearers in an emergency exercise. Soldiers remove signs from an army truck. Emergency workers in full protective gear, including gas masks, demonstrate and exercise emergency procedures using gas on a city street. A rifle being fired at a target. Girls lined up with rifles in prone position on a firing range. They stand up with their rifles. Riveters working on steel girders of a building under construction. Closeup of a hot rivet being installed. People traveling on motorcycles, cars, and bicycles. Feet of pedestrians walking on sidewalk. View from above of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians moving near an electric tram on a city street. Passenger railroad coaches passing the camera viewing from beside railroad tracks. A clamshell bucket unloading coal from a barge. Cargo in a net being unloaded from a ship to a dock. New automobiles driving on a Japanese highway. Trains moving through a rail yard with many rail lines. Japanese business commuters walking on a railroad station platform. Japanese Women working rapidly using headsets and manual phone plugs at a switchboard in a telephone exchange. A Japanese businessman using the telephone. A woman typing on an english typewriter keyboard. Construction workers using wrenches to bolt a steel part on a structure. Various kinds of machinery running rapidly. Hot steel being handled in a steel mill. Fires in furnaces and smoke billowing from factory smoke stacks next to numerous electric power lines.
Opening scene shows several Japanese soldiers firing a 105mm cannon in a field. Soldiers firing small arms from a trench. A messenger dog carrying a pouch through smoke. It contains ammunition that soldiers remove in a trench where the dog delivered it. Soldiers in prone positions, reloading rifles in smoke from surrounding fire. Messenger dog seen again running through the haze. Japanese artillerymen firing Type 38 75 mm Field Gun. Battery of several firing nearby. A Japanese Army 90-series bi-plane flies overhead and drops a small object by a small parachute. A Japanese Renault FT camouflaged tank moves across the field. Japanese officers observing through binoculars. Two soldiers run carrying a Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun and set it up next to another in the field. Smoke rising from several spots in the field. Cavalry charge across the field. Artillerymen load and fire a 75mm field piece. Smoke rising behind several corn stalks. An airplane drops another small object by parachute. A Renault tankette moves across the field. More cavalry in the field. A Type 89 medium tank I-Go moves at high speed past the camera, raising smoke in its wake.
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ©2026 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2026 CriticalPast LLC.