This 16mm silent movie BITS OF JAPAN dates to the 1920s/30s with the end section showing the Japanese invasion of China definitely belonging to the 30s. It begins with images of Nara Park at :39, a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa, established in 1300s and one of the oldest parks in Japan. At 1:17, the “Dance of the Cherry Blossoms” by Geisha Girls is shown. At 2:35 Cherry Blossoms are shown in bloom, with people traveling on foot and human-powered rickshaws to picnic near them. At 3:10, Chow dogs are shown, a prize possession in this era. At 3:30 the sacred stork is mentioned, and images of young children are shown. At 4:00 mass athletic student exercises are seen, along with some acrobatics at 4:40 by what appears to be a dwarf. At 4:52, the Chion-In temple of the Judo Buddhist Sect is seen. Chionin is the head temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism, which has millions of followers and is one the the most popular Buddhist sects in Japan. At 5:40 the sacred bull is seen on parade. At 5:50, typical street scenes are seen in what might be Tokyo or Kyoto, with most people traveling by foot. At 6:13 the Wishing Gate is seen where the unemployed look for jobs. At 6:30 a trip down the Hozu River by boat and at 6:45, through the rapids. The Hozu is part of Katsura River in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. At 7:14 “we leave Gotemba” for a trip to Mt. Fuji which begins with a horse drawn trolley car. At 7:30 the horse balks at going further. At 7:44 the Toonerville trolley is moved off the rails so another train can move through. At 7:59 Mt Fuji is shown. At 8:30 the trip home begins riding on the horse drawn trolley. At 8:45 the national theater is shown.

At 9:37 the film switches gears to show scenes in China during the Japanese invasion of 1931, with Japanese troops moving through Shanghai streets at 10:00. At 10:00, American troops and equipment land in China to defend American interests. At 10:20, tanks are seen in use by the Japanese Imperial Army. At 11:17 preliminary defense of the U.S. Embassy is shown, with the North China Marines taking up rooftop positions with machineguns. At 12:00 there is mention of a neutral zone maintained by the Marines. At 13;17, what appear to be Filipino conscripts are seen aboard a U.S. ship, while at 13:38 an armored train moves down the tracks.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com