Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1457

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.1 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

Japanese

Preferred Citation:

Japanese naval officer photograph album relating to the "Second Shanghai Incident," 1932-1939, Ms. Coll. 1457, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1932-1939 (inclusive)

Form:

Photographs and Photograph albums

Abstract:

In 1937 Japan invaded the Republic of China, setting in motion the Second Sino-Japanese War, the largest Asian war in the 20th century and the beginning of the larger Pacific War (the Asian theater of World War II). This album contains photographs taken by a warrant officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Many of photographs depict the officer at various stages in his career. There are also shots of friends and family, with men in military uniform and women in formal attire. Dating and signage suggests the action shots pertain to the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.

In 1937 Japan invaded the Republic of China, setting in motion the Second Sino-Japanese War, the largest Asian war in the 20th century and the beginning of the larger Pacific War (the Asian theater of World War II). The war was the result of imperialist expansion into China by the Japanese Empire in search of raw materials, which had resulted in the 1931 invasion of Manchuria, the establishment of the puppet state of Manchuko, and steadily growing military tension between Japan and China in a series of "buffer zones" created by Japanese military expansion. During the initial stages of the war, the Japanese army was ultimately successful in controlling most of China's large urban centers, but it was unable to control China's rural areas. The United States and its Western allies entered the war in 1941; the combination of this added military pressure and material aid to China, as well as successful advances by the Chinese Revolutionary Army, led to Japan's formal surrender in 1945.

This album contains photographs taken by a warrant officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Many of photographs depict the officer at various stages in his career. There are also shots of friends and family, with men in military uniform and women in formal attire. The action shots feature the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF), (海軍特別陸戦隊 Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai) which were not officially designated until the Second Sino-Japanese War, suggesting that the photographs pertain to the Second Shanghai Incident—a Japanese name for the Battle of Shanghai.