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Japanese Highschool girls in Military training

This photograph is from the October 6, 1943 edition of the Photographic Weekly Report (Shashin Shuho), which was a weekly pictorial journal published by the Japanese Cabinet Intelligence Department during the interwar years of 1938-1945. This magazine functioned as propaganda that the Japanese government used to shape public moral for the war. This photograph depicts high school girls receiving military training. The image caption translates to: "Women also Take up Arms in the Decisive Battle--"Military training for the students of Taizhong's Number One Grill's High School. Just because women are serving in the armed forces of the enemy countries of America and Britain does not necessarily mean that the goal for Japanese women is to train to become soldiers. However, in order to crush the enemy's impossible dream [of victory], all Japan is now striking as one body and the entire team will be distributed in the fight. There can be no distinction now between the front line and the home front and similarly, there can be no distinction between men and women throwing themselves into the cause of the national emergency. The will to pic up the rifle-bayonet, aim it at the enemy's chest, and plunge it in--all fifty million Japanese women must have that determination." (Translation from: David C. Earhart, ed., "Certain Victory: Images of World War II in the Japanese Media" (Armonk, NE: M.E. Sharpe, 2008), 173)

Jacar (Japan Center for Asian Historical Records), "A Window into the Early Show Period: Shashin Shuho: Weekly Photographic Journal," October 6, 1943 issue, https://www.jacar.go.jp/english/shuhou-english/pdf/all/A06031088700.pdf

1939-10-25

Public Domain

PWR_GirlsTraining.jpg