Close up of a larger painting of Japanese settlers and natives of Saipan committing suicide

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Theodore Akimoto Family Collection

Caption: "This is a detail from a larger painting showing natives of Saipan and Japanese settlers ready to throw / themselves over the cliff at the right rather than submit themselves to the torture and death that they were told / they would face when our troops invaded." Ted Akimoto noted that "during the war many large paintings were made by Japanese Army artists. Some paintings were 8 feet long. These paintings were displayed in public places in the lands that they had conquered such as Manchuria, and parts of China. After the war many of the paintings were placed in a museum in Ueno Park. My buddy during the occupation told me. Lately, that we had taken many photos of the paintings during the occupation."

Paintings

Still Image

Densho

Courtesy of the Theodore Akimoto Family Collection

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