This 1930s black and white silent short educational film produced by FILMSETS Inc., a division of the DeVry Corporation, highlights the various industries of the Empire of Japan. The film was made post 1932, after Japan had forcibly annexed Manchuria (since the film shows images of Japanese mining operations in that region). Japan was justifiably famous for undergoing one of the fastest modernizations of any country in the world during the mid-19th century. The Empire of Japan was born out of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and was in existence until the end of World War II. The empire was governed by an absolute monarchy and later a military dictatorship and encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories that included parts of present day Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Russia’s Sakhalin Island.
Titles (0:12). Map of Empire of Japan on black screen (0:28). Basic map of Korea and Sakhalin, Japan (0:48). Woman sitting wearing Japanese kimono or yukata and obi belt looking out at lake with yakatabune boats (1:02). Aerial shot of Tokyo, Japan street featuring Nissan Datsun Model Automobiles (1:11). Pedestrians walking on the sidewalk in Tokyo (1:18). Two men doing bookkeeping for a business with brass Candlestick Telephone (1:24). Woman setting machine at silk mill (1:36). Shot of Japanese silk mill, perhaps Tomioka Silk Mill (1:38). Women working on the weaving loom in Meiji-era silk mill (1:42). Close up of silk on the loom (1:47). Another shot of woman wearing Kimono (1:51). Couple eating in washitsu or tatami room (1:55). Farmer carrying bamboo bundle (Also: Pseudosasa japonica, arrow bamboo, metake) through bamboo grove (2:09). Man cutting bamboo stalk with blade (2:12). Shot of bamboo harvestry (2:22). Woman working in rice field wearing kimono and conical hat or sugegasa (2:33). Two women putting rice into harvesting machine (2:38). Women working in factory on Taisho era porcelain (2:49). Shot of coast featuring fishing boats and wooden shacks on water’s edge (3:03). Girls diving for pearl oysters (3:14). Men on shimaihagi fishing boat (3:36). Man fishing with cormorant (3:41). Fishermen wearing fundoshi cloths pulling in fishing net, silhouette of Mount Fuji from Yamanaka Lake (4:05). Men releasing fish from the net (4:07). Men placing fish into large woven basket (4:13). Men sorting fish at fish cannery (4:22). Japanese sea bass or suzuki being placed on conveyor belt (4:23). Men packaging fish in factory (4:30). Japanese electric train model passing under pedestrian bridge (4:40). Map of mainland Asia (5:01). Workers entering coal mine in occupied Manchuria aka Manchukuo (5:17). Worker looking for coal using (5:20). Coal miners placing coal into minecart (5:26). Wide shot of Meiji coal mine (5:32). Aerial shot of steel foundry in Manchuria (5:40). Hot steel being poured into mold (5:45). Japanese shipbuilding industry: warship is launched down the ways, with its hull adorned with the Rising Sun Flag (5:57). White text “The End” on black screen (6:10).
The Rising Sun Flag is a Japanese flag that consists of a red disc and sixteen red rays emanating from the disc. It was originally used by feudal warlords during the Edo Period but was adopted by the Meiji Government in 1870 as the official war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army and subsequently the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1889.
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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
