# THE JAPANESE ARMY AND NAVY WWII RESTRICTED U.S. ARMY MOVIE

An official U.S. War Department film restricted in nature and produced by the US Army Pictorial Service, “The Japanese Army and Navy” is a black-and-white creation that “has been assembled from Japanese films and is designed for use in the Civil Affairs Training Schools conducted by The Provost Marshal General.” With that introduction, the World War II-era film opens at mark 00:48 by explaining the “Code of the Samarai” — highlighted by devotion to duty “and a loyalty to a Divine Emperor that gives in death its last full measure of allegiance.” (During World War II, that allegiance was to Emperor Hirohito).

Japanese officers are trained in swordsmanship such as kendo or kenjutsu, as a demonstration of such martial arts skills is shown at mark 01:15. Fencing, the viewer is told, is an important combat training regimen, and also promotes stamina and alertness. Judo also has an influence on the Japanese character, it is said at mark 03:07, as synchronized movements are shown on the screen.

Military training is ingrained in Japanese youth from an early age, the narrator explains. For a boy, training begins at age 6 and by age 12 he is in uniform and participating in annual maneuvers. By the age of 19, he is ready for induction. Demonstrations of strength and teamwork by Japanese soldiers and marines follow, and at mark 06:42 we are told, “The public claims the army as its own and looks to it for leadership.”

The picture switches focus to the Imperial Navy at mark 08:37, but…

- Kind: Short
- Year: 1943
- Runtime: 34 min
- By: US Army Pictorial Service
- Genres: War
- Archive: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THE_JAPANESE_ARMY_AND_NAVY_WWII_RESTRICTED_U.S._ARMY_MOVIE.webm)
- Licence or status: Public domain (as the archive states it)
- Credit: US Army Pictorial Service
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/commons/191858592?play=1)