This is an episode of a show called The Big Picture, a US Army produced series. This particular episode is from 1957 and shows a group of servicemen travelling around Japan from Yokohama to Enoshima, Kamakura, back to Enoshima, to Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and back to Tokyo.

It's interesting to see the birth of modern Japan, but to still have what we think of as traditional Asia at the same time. Fully modern subways along side goods carried on bike. Policemen in lieu of traffic lights and movie theaters.

I think it's also interesting that this video was likely put together to try to change the opinion of an American public that was still close to and remembered WWII. Japan had moved from being just an occupied country to a hugely important strategic ally with the Korean War in the early 50s, and that was to continue with the Vietnam War that was going on at the time of this production. As the video says, Japan was the only "non-Communist country in Asia" with any real manufacturing capability, and they supplied the US armed forces with materials for both wars.


posted 3208 days ago