HOME MOVIES: TRAIN TOUR OF OCCUPIED JAPAN 1949

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1960s

Format: 16mm

Description: One of a series of extraordinary home movies shot in Occupied Japan immediately after WWII, this film shows many scenes from a lengthy train tour of the islands. It includes the island of Honshu including Hiroshima, as well as Mikimoto Island and areas in Kyoto. 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 a railway station and on board an electric train. At (2:28), snow capped mountains are visible in the distance. At (5:14), a waitress takes food orders aboard the train. At (5:37), the train has arrived in Hiroshima where a sign declares in English "No More Hiroshimas". At (5:46) a devastated graveyard is seen and at (5:50) the "Hiroshima Peace Memorial" aka "Atomic Bomb Dome". At (6:53) a bus crossed a ruined bridge. At (7:19), shots aboard a passenger steamer. At (7:41) a military patrol boat marked AM 2421 moves past. At (7:47), shots at pierside in an unknown location, followed at (8:00) by shots of a Torri gate in the water and, at (10:33), older torri gates on land. At (11:32), more travel by electric train. At (12:06), houseboats are seen lined up on shore.At (12:23), two Japanese girls pose for the camera. At (13:35) sparklers are used to celebrate a holiday. At (14:00), more travel by train, this time across a high trestle. At (15:38) a visit to Mikimoto, the so called "Pearl Island" which includes a demonstration of how the cultured pearls are harvested. At (17:21), more travel on a high speed electric train. At (17:30), tourists climb aboard boats for a river trip. At (19:59) the train station for Nagoya,, Central Honshu is seen. At (20:21), a freight train is passed at high speed. At (20:26) the Heian Shrine in Kyoto is visited. At (21:30), a jeep -- probably from the occupation forces -- rumbles into frame. At (24:35) a traditional dance is performed by geishas wearing kimonos.

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