Hito Hakengun [Philippine Expeditionary Force]

Hito Hakengun [Philippine Expeditionary Force]

Philippines--History--Japanese occupation, 1942-1945--Pictorial works.

World War, 1939-1945--Philippines.

World War, 1939-1945--Pictorial works.

Pictorial for Japanese audiences on the Japanese invasions and victories in the Philippines in 1941-1942. Watari was the code name of the 14th Army, which invaded and occupied the Philippines. As part of Japan’s propaganda efforts, experienced photographers and writers were sent to the battlefront, including the Philippines.

Being a Japanese publication for Japanese readers, the book starts with what English readers consider the back, and ends in what they consider the front. The original edition of the book was published on June 1, 1943 by the Watari Shudan Hodobu, from the press of the Manira Shimbunsha [Manila Newspaper Co.]. The copy in the Hall collection is a reprint, made sometime in the 1980s in the US, with a rough English translation included. “Gasei” is a misreading of the characters on the cover, which were written specifically for this book by General Masaharu Homma – his name is written as “Masaharu” which has been misread as “Gasei.”

Photos include the Japanese landing in Lingayen; occupation of Manila; the campaigns in Bataan and Corregidor; landings in the Visayas and Mindanao, the ruins of Corregidor and Caballo Island; conditions in occupied Manila; the victory parade after the fall of Corregidor. A number of copies of the original edition were circulated in Manila with English translations stapled to their respective captions.

Watari Shudan Hodobu [Watari Group Department of Information]

[Philippine Expeditionary Force, Watari Group Information Department, Manila, 1943]

1943?

29 x 22 cm.

Japanese

Hardbound

DS 686.4 B536

16188

[206] p.

chiefly ill.