MetaFilter posts tagged with japanese and history

On Paper Wings

netbros — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:49:47 -0800

Japanese Balloon Bombs — "In 1944, during World War II, Japan launched a top secret project, nearly two years in the making, to send thousands of "balloon bombs" (called Fu-Go Weapons) to the United States. The goal of the attack was to create panic, forest fires, and show the United States that it could be attacked from afar. Each of the more than 9,000 balloon bombs launched towards the United States, over the course of several months, carried a 15 kilogram bomb that would detach from the balloon and explode on impact with the ground." On a Wind and a Prayer. The United States government went to extraordinary measures to keep information on the Japanese balloon bombs out of the media. The United States knew that Japan could only measure its success based on media reports. And giving them that type of intelligence information could cause them to refine the balloons to be more accurate and deadly. The story of the Japanese balloon bombs is intriguing because so few Americans (to this day) know the story. Few realize that the only six American civilian casualties in the continental U.S. during World War II happened at the hands of a balloon bomb. And five of those casualties were children. Most primary sources on the Balloon attacks remained classified until the early 1980s because information on the Fugo Balloon Bomb technology was used by the U.S. military for their own balloon spying activities against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

"My humble efforts to assist in the elucidation of the social condition of a distant and comparatively unknown race."

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:34:54 -0800

Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs (1867).

Hanafuda and Go-Stop

hama7 — Sun, 02 May 2004 08:36:43 -0800

Hanafuda, also known as Go-Stop. [more]

WWII Japanese Handgun Website

hama7 — Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:14:16 -0800

Nambu: WWII Japanese Handgun Website.

old japan maps

stbalbach — Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:48:21 -0800

A bunch of very beautiful Old Japanese Maps has been put online. Java application Insight(tm) required to view and includes a nifty GIS application to overlay old maps on current maps with 3-D animated fly-throughs. State of the art in online map presentation "The digital images are even better than the originals because you can amplify them, rotate them to look at them from different angles," Mr. Zhou said. "In practical terms, this is a better way of using the material than actually coming here to see the pieces."

U.S. and Canadian WWII Concentration Camps

mediareport — Thu, 06 Feb 2003 13:43:18 -0800

Striking, panoramic photo collages of the ruins of U.S. and Canadian concentration camps used to isolate Japanese-Americans during WWII. Masumi Hayashi's rich site also features documents, personal stories and Shockwave interview clips, a discussion board and data on each camp. And, yes, this post was inspired by U.S. Congressman Howard Coble's recent comment.

Navajo Code Talkers

taz — Wed, 22 Jan 2003 06:54:22 -0800

You've probably heard of the WWII Navajo "code talkers" who managed to baffle crack Japanese cryptanalysts and were credited with enabling US success at Iwo Jima. Civil engineer, journalist and photographer Philip Johnston was the determined mind behind the "windtalkers". The son of missionaries, Johnston grew up on a Navajo reservation and was one of only a handful of outsiders fluent in the Navajo language. A bit of his background is included this article, and you can read a complete history of his plan, view an archive of photos by Johnston, and see copies of his enlistment application letter to the Marine Corps commandant, as well as a recommendation letter from the Commanding General. (more inside...)