One of a series of extraordinary home movies shot in Occupied Japan immediately after WWII, this film shows scenes from a tour of the islands. It includes footage shot at the fishing village of Habu Part, Oshima-machi, a visit to an active volcano (probably Akita-Yakeyama, but we’re not certain), and Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi. The man who filmed these was a Harvard graduate (’43) and U.S. Army Intelligence Officer named Robert Ryan. Ryan may have very well worked for the OSS, although it’s not clear. He definitely worked as an instructor at the U.S. Army’s AFFE Intelligence School, and toured Vietnam in the early 1960s to conduct strategic vulnerability surveys. These films dates to the period July 1947-May 1951, when Ryan served in the Department of Defense in the Geographic Branch, Theater Intelligence Division, Far East Command. During this time he served in Occupied Japan and in the Korean theater.

This film begins with shots at or around Habu Part, Oshima-machi, a small, scenic port village on southern part of the island of Izu Ōshima, located in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. At (1:40) a man walks down a dirt road carrying cut crops. At (1:57) sign for “Habu”, and shots of fisherman working on their boats. At (2:37) fish is salted and left to dry. At (3:03) a large mortar and pestle is used. At (3:49) panning shot of the village. At (4;22) a cow poses for the camera. At (5:01) a woman walks by with a bucket or drum balanced on her head. At (5:14) an active volcano is shown. This is possibly Akita-Yakeyama, which erupted in 1949. At (5:58), lava is seen flowing and at (6:33) a lava dome is visible. At (7:34) a visitor stands perilously close to lava. At (14:52), additional shots of what appears to be Habu Part. At (15:12), people throw streamers aboard the passenger vessel MS Tachibana Maru as it prepares to leave port. At (17:40) the captain or another officer speaks with some Japanese ladies. At (19:13) a western woman looks through binoculars from the ship’s deck. At (19:43) the deck of the MS Tachibana Maru is shown. This was a 279-foot Japanese “hospital ship” which served in WWII, and was captured two weeks before the end of the war by two American destroyers. (The boarding party discovered soldiers and weapons on board.) At (20:06) a large, nighttime fire is seen, but it’s unclear what is going on. At (20:58) travel by a high speed electric train. At (21:03) Sendai railroad station, a major junction railway station in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, and a sign for Sendai RTO. At (21:11) tourist information stand and a trolley car or streetcar (21:19). At (22:10), a voyage on a small ship past scenic islands is shown. Some of the islands have “window” type formations from erosion. At (29:00), travel by train pulled by a steam locomotive.

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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