Life as It Wasn't: Uncovering Wartime Propaganda Photos

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"At first glance, it may look like a nostalgic snapshot, but given the magazine it appeared in and the historical context, it's far from heartwarming," says Mari Shirayama, who has long been involved in photo research and exhibition planning at the Japan Camera Industry Institute (JCII). The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937. As the conflict escalated, starting around 1938, photography was increasingly used as a wartime propaganda tool to boost public morale.

These images came to be known as kokusaku shashin, or "national policy photographs." The photo magazine Shashin Shuho was launched to support this effort.

Smiling boys holding model airplanes. During the war, the Ministry of Education organized workshops for teachers on how to build and fly gliders. The hope was that children learning about aviation at school would grow up to support the aviation industry. Published in "Shashin Shuho," April 10, 1940. (Photo by the Cabinet Information Bureau)

Photography as Propaganda

Even seemingly casual snapshots were carefully staged and paired with headlines and articles designed to shape public opinion during wartime. Notable photographers such as Ihei Kimura and Ken Domon, who later became leading figures in Japanese photography, also took part in these activities as part of the government's total war mobilization.

A procession of horsemen marches past Nihonbashi Takashimaya, with crowds filling the streets all the way to Yasukuni Shrine. The "Koa Horse Riding Tournament" was held to promote awareness of equestrian activities during the war. From the Koa Horse Riding Tournament Commemorative Photo Album.

After the war, the national policy photo archive was inherited by the Japan Travel Bureau (JTB). While most of the materials were later transferred to the National Archives of Japan, a collection of black-and-white film that remained at JTB was donated to JCII in 2018.

Actress Kinuyo Tanaka is shown reading a German magazine. The photo was taken around 1940, shortly after the Japan-Germany-Italy alliance was formed, likely to promote goodwill between Germany and Japan. (Photographer unknown)

According to the foundation, research into the archive is still ongoing. Many of the negatives have been confirmed to date from the prewar period. Digitization is also in progress, with about 20,000 images already processed. The collection is extensive, and its full scope has yet to be revealed.

A boy works hard running the family shop while his father is away at war. The article featuring this image was written as a letter to the front, ending with a heartfelt wish for his father's courage and success. Published in Shashin Shuho, September 27, 1939. (Photo by the Cabinet Information Bureau)

Ongoing Research and Digitization

"Preserving, studying, and exhibiting these valuable negatives is essential to passing them on to future generations," Shirayama emphasizes. National policy photographs may have fulfilled their original purpose during the war, but 80 years later, it is time to reconsider their significance — as a way to remember the war and pass on its lessons.

Storage area for materials collected by the Tokyo City Disinfection Office. To secure resources for making weapons and ammunition, government offices and public organizations led metal collection efforts. They gathered not only large items like iron doors and rails but also small objects such as fasteners from traditional tabi socks. Published in Shashin Shuho, April 23, 1941.

These wartime photos and other historical materials are currently featured in the exhibition "Japan Through the Former JTB Stock Photo Collection: Demonstration and Propaganda – National Policy Photography During the War, Part 1," on view until July 27 at the JCII Photo Salon in the JCII Camera Museum in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.