HOME MOVIES: OCCUPIED JAPAN

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1960s

Format: 16mm

Description: One of a series of extraordinary home movies shot in Occupied Japan immediately after WWII, this film shows a visit to one of the ski resorts located in Nagano, Japan. One interesting aspect of the film, is that it shows M29 Weasels -- machines designed for combat in snow and mud -- being used at the ski resort as transport. The man who filmed these was a Harvard graduate ('43) and U.S. Army Intelligence Officer named Robert Ryan. Ryan may have very well worked for the OSS, although it's not clear. He definitely worked as an instructor at the U.S. Army's AFFE Intelligence School, and toured Vietnam in the early 1960s to conduct strategic vulnerability surveys. These films dates to the period July 1947-May 1951, when Ryan served in the Department of Defense in the Geographic Branch, Theater Intelligence Division, Far East Command. During this time he served in Occupied Japan and in the Korean theater. The film begins (:09) with the word "Shiga" written in the snow. This is shorthand for the Shiga Kogen Resort in Nagano Japan. The Shiga Kogen Maruike resort was one of the first to have a ski lift, installed in 1946. At (:40) a welcome sign for the Shiga Heights Special Services Hotel, as seen through the open side of an M29 Weasel snowmobile. The M29 Weasel is a WWII era tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. It was built by Studebaker. These machines were demilitarized and used at the resort for transport. At (1:36) a serviceman leans out the side. Later in the film (9:49) these machines are shown on the move on the mountainside, hauling skiers. At (12:48) tourists are shown trying to lift one of the machines, perhaps to clear one of the tracks. An accident with one of the machines is shown at (13:17), with the Weasel on its side.

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