[RARE WWII PHOTOGRAPHIC ALBUM OF JAPANESE RED CROSS NURSES].

[日本赤十字看護婦写真アルバム. [Nihonsekijūji kangofu shashin arubamu].
[Photographic Album of Japanese Red Cross Nurses].

[Japan]. Circa [ 1945]. Stock ID #219235

Photographic album, 15.2 x 21cm, [44]pp, 57 black and white photographs, many with captions and identification of those in the photograph on reverse, cord tie. Some photographs loose and a little worn at edges, mild silvering on a few but overall a good unusual collection.

This photographic album showcases a rare collection of black and white original photographs of young Japanese Red Cross nurses who worked at the rehabilitation hospitals in Yugawara, a well-known hot spring resort west of Tokyo. Towards the end of the Pacific War, the Japanese Imperial Navy established rehabilitation facilities in Yugawara through requisition of existing accommodation so that repatriated injured and sick servicemen were able to recuperate. The utilised inns included Seikoen and Seiranso. Many Japanese Red Cross nurses were sent there to look after those soldiers. This collection shows their daily lives and special occasions in photographic images.

The album has Yugawara printed on its front cover and does not record its owner's name, but it becomes clear from reading the captions and descriptions, the owner was most likely a Japanese Red Cross nurse from Wakayama Prefecture. About 20 nurses from the same district formed a group and they worked and lived together during their assignments. The group was initially sent to the South (location unidentified) and returned to Japan on the hospital ship, the Hikawa-maru before starting to work in Yugawara around 1944. The photographs in the album include group photographs of nurses and sailors on a new year's day, sports day activities of playing volley ball games, entertainment activities and some personal portraits of close nursing friends. Most of the photographs have captions and descriptions on reverse. Even though the photographs were taken towards the end of the war, the general atmosphere where the young nurses worked closely together is peaceful and idyllic. Some scenic photographs of Hakone appear towards the end.

When referring to this item please quote stockid 219235.

Price: $1,250.00 AU

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