[Tanida family?]. [Photograph Album Showing the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in Hawaii]

Hawaii [including Honolulu and Molokai], 1956. Near fine. 11½” x 9¾”. Commercial limp blue vinyl album. 42 leaves with 119 B&W photographs inserted into corner mounts rectos only. Photos measure from about 3” x 2” to about 8” x 10” (most around 3” x 4”). Album near fine; photographs very good plus or better: a handful with light toning, creasing or spotting at edges.

This is a fantastic photograph album revealing a visit to Hawaii by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), as well as what appears to be an American military parade, around 1956. There are also great shots showing Japanese entertainment on the streets of Honolulu, (truncated) and some older images of Japanese American Hawaiians who served in the United States military during World War II.

Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers on August 15, 1945 and was occupied by the United States military until April 1952. U.S. policy began to “Reverse Course” during the Cold War, and in 1954, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) were established, comprising the JMSDF along with the Ground and Air Forces.

The majority of this album, including its first (and largest) photos, reveal a visit of the JMSDF to Hawaii. There are 32 shots of the boats (with the Japanese flag visible in six photos and the JSDF flag in seven), and several show Japanese American civilians (including one very stoic older woman) posed near or even on the ships. At least two images depict the JDS Harukaze, the first JMSDF destroyer to be built in Japan – earlier ships were former U.S. Navy destroyers, transferred to Japanese control in 1954. Harukaze was launched in September 1955 and commissioned in April 1956 with the hull number 101; that number is visible in two photos and we matched them with historical images found online, allowing for our date attribution. Other shots show seamen and officers in uniform both on and off the ships, frequently draped in leis and often posed with civilians of Japanese descent. A small group shows Japanese seamen enjoying their time at a party with Hawaiian women and children, dancing and playing music, and another fourteen shots reveal a parade. We see Hawaiian women on floats carried by United States Army trucks, as well as tanks, soldiers marching with American and Hawaiian flags, and crowds lined up on sidewalks.

Five of the photographs in this album are clearly older than the rest, and were signed by their subjects directly on the images, identifying Haruo Tanida and his brother Masanobu. Born in Honolulu in 1922 and 1924, respectively, both brothers served in the U.S. military; the insignia visible in Masanobu's photos reveals that he served in the 602nd Tank Destroyer Battalion and eventually ranked as Staff Sergeant. It is our conjecture that the compilers of this album were members of the Tanida family, who likely would have been interested in the JMSDF visit as well as the parade. One image shows a group of Japanese Americans posed in front of the historic Molokai Seaside Inn, and we imagine this might be the Tanida family as well.

The final pages of this album hold 28 great images revealing raucous entertainment. Most of the scenes take place outside a theater; we see a marquis in the background noting the “Shintomo All-Star Revue,” as well as a sign advertising “Chiemi Misono” coming to the International Theater. The shots show women dancing, indoors and out, musicians and at least eight of what very much appears to be a man performing in geisha costume. Issues of two Honolulu newspapers that we found online revealed that Japanese-themed events at the International Theater were common in the 1950s, with some extending outside to the adjacent International Plaza. Chiemi Misono was a character played by Chiemi Eri in the Japanese movie Hawai chindochu [Road to Hawaii], which was filmed in Hawaii and released in 1954. A fantastic glimpse into the JMSDF, as well as the Japanese American experience in Hawaii. (Inventory #: 8338)