Japanese Lifestyle during WW2 : A Museum Found!

[Shinpachi]

A pair of the 2000 lb bomb replicas of the B-29 welcomed me abruptly.

Living in Osaka for more than thirty years, I did not know this city has anything like a war museum.
As Osaka people are generally optimistic, I thought they had forgot the war.

This was awesome experience even for a modern Japanse like me to be shown hundreds of actual exhibits of older Japanese livingwares, documents, weapons, debris of air raids, postwar viewpoint about the Japanese war crime and so on.

Will you join me for this mysterious trip for a while?
Thanks.

 

[Shinpachi]

Actual debris of the 2000 lb bomb.
Plate thickness looks just 1 inch.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent, thanks for finding this place and posting pics!

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks vB. I'm going to introduce them by category as much as possible.

 

[Shinpachi]

M69 Incendiary bombs.
I think these are rather restored ones than replicas as I find some original-look parts on them.

 

[Shinpachi]

Explanation of the Incendiary bomb.
An E46 incendiary bomb contained 38 M69s as submunitions bundled by the steel belts.

One of the belts hit a man's helmet in March, 1945.
He survived but his three ribs were broken by impact.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Very interesting material Shinpachi. Thank you for sharing sir.

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks Aaron.
This will be a hard thread for me because exhibits are not necessarily happy things for Americans.
I am going to be a cool historian as war was over!

Oh, Thanks MM for your like too!

 

[mikewint]

Shinpachi, my friend, post away and please do not worry about giving offense. The war is long over, terrible things were done on and by both sides. It is long past the time to forgive and share our mutual humanity. As always excellent photography and thank you

 

[fubar57]

Very interesting Shinpachi and I agree with Mr. Wint.

Geo

 

[meatloaf109]

Yes, I would like to see more.

 

[vikingBerserker]

I agree, please post everything. If it bothers some people they don't have to read it. I for one am interested in the Japanese's perspective.

 

[Messy1]

Very interesting post! Thanks as always!

 

[herman1rg]

We must never forget.

 

[evangilder]

Horrible things were done and said by both sides during the war in the Pacific. I think it is an interesting study in human behavior to see how things get viewed from the opposing sides. I have seen wartime cartoons, propaganda posters and the like that would be shocking by today's standards. But it is better to show and have people learn from it than to hide it, which could possibly make it happen again. I think most of us here look at history with an eye on facts and what happened. There is some emotion because of many factors, but it is the people who remove the emotional parts of history that have a better understanding of it.

 

[Gnomey]

Agreed Eric.

Good shots Shinpachi! Thanks for sharing.

 

[meatloaf109]

Horrible things were done and said by both sides during the war in the Pacific. I think it is an interesting study in human behavior to see how things get viewed from the opposing sides. I have seen wartime cartoons, propaganda posters and the like that would be shocking by today's standards. But it is better to show and have people learn from it than to hide it, which could possibly make it happen again. I think most of us here look at history with an eye on facts and what happened. There is some emotion because of many factors, but it is the people who remove the emotional parts of history that have a better understanding of it.

My father was not a forgive and forget kind of guy. He fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, and was on ships sunk by U-boats on several occations, and in Kamikazi attacks off Okinawa. Oddly enough, he reserved most of his vitrol for the Japanese. It always vexed him when I would study and build aircraft (and ships and tanks,) from the other side.
I have always felt that it was important to understand the other side.
I extend a hand of friendship to all the sons of World War Two Veterans, no matter where, or how, your parent may have served. As long as we try to understand the causes of that war and strive to eliminate them, I think we are on common ground.

 

[Crimea_River]

A mature view and one that I share. Very interesting thread Shinpachi and please keep posting more.

 

[Shinpachi]

Thank you very much my honorable friends and members for so many thoughtful and generous comments.
They certainly encourage me to step forward.
I do appreciate.

This museum is officially called "Osaka International Peace Center" founded by both Osaka City and Osaka Prefectural Government in 2001.
This is also known as "Peace Osaka" but who would imagine this is a sort of war museum unless we were born and educated in Osaka
More than sixty percent of visitors are school children and their tour is started with these two message boards.

 

[vikingBerserker]

A population that decreased by half in 8 months, that's really amazing.