This silent 16mm home movies shows a trip to Japan during the winter. Based on the clothes and other clues it probably dates to the 1930s but there is at least a chance it is post-WWII and shot by a member of the occupying forces. (One person who watched the footage noted that the pharmacy that appears at 14:45 in the film has a sign for the “Kangaroo Literary Society”, which was apparently out of favor before 1938.)

The film shows Kyoto – including the Imperial Palace and Gion and the Kyomizudera temple group. It shows the now rarely-seen custom of immersion in the stream at the Otowa-no-taki, two “mizukake” statues; temples and sights of Nikko – Tosho-gu, Rin-no-ji and Shimbashi. It also shows the daily work of shellfish and pearl-divers, which was very popular among tourists.

0:37 Port and a bay full of coal-powered ships

0:37 Mount Fuji

0:59 Japanese cypress tree at a pavilion

1:16 Two women, probably family of whoever made the movie

1:31-1:53 A shop courier talking with a policeman at the main entrance of the Kyoto Gosho Imperial palace in Kyoto and the palace grounds.

1:54 Dragon statue fountain at the temple entrance serving water to the hand and mouth wash, still in working condition at the time. Japanese elderly couple correctly washing hands and mouth

2:07 Mizukakejizo-styled Buddha, the “water-ablution Jizô”, bodhisatva Kshitibgarbha, in charge of children, travelers, and the underworld – the temple-goer is supposed to pour water on various parts of its body, according to what is desired and in order to purify oneself.

2:32 Another mizukakejizo. The two women seen splashing water with a little laddle. Today, the laddles have much longer handles (up to 2 meters) to facilitate direct pouring of water over the statues.

2:38 A woman, dressed in humble white mourning cloth and prayer “katsura” headdress, is praying under the middle stream of the Kyomizudera’s Otowa-no-taki (清水寺の「音羽の滝」) while another woman is praying on the stones in front of it. Facing the temple, the middle stream, under which she’s standing, brings love and marriage. The left stream, nearest to the cameraman is for success in learning and examinations, the furthermost, or the right one is the one to pray for longevity for. Today praying in the stream is forbidden due to the number of tourists. Instead pilgrims would fill their laddles with the water from the galery behind the streams and drink a little.

3:03 Otowa-no-taki seen head-on

3:38 Shimbashi bridge (神橋), at Nikko, Tochigi

4:41 People walking up the hill towards Nikkozan Rin-no-ji (日光山 輪王寺) temple and the Rin-no-ji temple treasure house museum.

5:01- Crowds of people at a temple grounds. Pan to a roof with ridge and eaves decorated with a carved « mitsudomoe » crest – indication of syncretic Shinto-Buddhist faith . Large golden ball on a flagpole may indicate it being during the New Year festival.

5:50 Pilgrims ringing a sort of a giant spherical bell, attached by a long rope at a Buddha hall 佛堂

5:59 Tent of a traveling souvenir salesman with the last letter of his name -yama (山),visible.

6:33-8:45 Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine (日光東照宮)

8:45-8:58 Entrance gate to the temple, the roof is covered with snow

8:58 Life on the shelfish and pearl-diving boats. Divers coming out of the water by the stairs, pumping air for the diver. Divers going back to the sea. Another diver goes for a smoke straight after taking off their helmet and while still standing on the ladder out in the water.

11:29 Young Japanese women dressed in beautiful kimono stand above the scene high on a steamship bridge.

11:58-12:26 The same three women close up – the 1930ies short cut, the permed hair one and the timeless cut, laughing and being slightly shy and annoyed by the camera and the people who want to take films with them. The photo shoot continues for a time.

12:32 The permed-hair Japanese woman again being photographed and laughs at the cameraman taking so long …

12:54 …and walking out together with a work cap-wearing mustachioed Western man

13:07 The three women together again.

13:37 Gion district in Kyoto.

14:08 Two young women, apparently not geishas, pose for the camera.

14:18 On the right side, a tobacconist shop

14:26 A statue of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, a four-armed incarnation of bodhisatva Avalokiteshvara – Kannon – goddess of mercy and compassion, wearing the usual festive prayer bib

14:29 A Japanese hearse

14:34 Gion district, Tacheda Pharmacy” (Takeda) drugstore peppered with various advertisements for aphrodisiacs. There’s also an advertisement for the “Literary society Kangaroo”.

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