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1940 Japanese film
| The Story of Tank Commander Nishizumi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kōzaburō Yoshimura |
| Based on | "Shōwa no gunshin: Nishizumi senshachō den" by Kan Kikuchi |
| Starring | Shin Saburi Ken Uehara Michiko Kuwano |
| Release date |
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| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Story of Tank Commander Nishizumi (西住戦車長伝, Nishizumi senshachō den), a.k.a. The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi, is a 1940 Japanese war film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. It is based on a true story of the Sino-Japanese war involving Japanese war hero Kojirō Nishizumi, commander in the First Tank Regiment. To make the film, Yoshimura toured the actual battlefields in China.
Cast
- Ken Uehara as Nishizumi
- Takeshi Sakamoto as Gotō
- Shin Saburi as Hosoki
- Michiko Kuwano as the Chinese woman
Historical background
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Following his death during the Battle of Xuzhou in 1938, Nishizumi was declared Japan’s first "gunshin", or War God. His career became the subject of legend and widespread praise throughout Japan, spawning numerous biographies, songs, and novels in his honor. The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi was promoted by the Japanese Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of Education upon its release in 1940.
Legacy
Cinema theorist Kate Taylor-Jones suggests that along with films like Mud and Soldiers and Chocolate and Soldiers, The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi offered "a vision of the noble, obedient and honourable Japanese army fighting to defend the Emperor and Japan."
References
- "西住戦車長伝". www.kinenote.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- High, Peter B. (January 2003). The Imperial Screen: Japanese Film Culture in the Fifteen Years' War, 1931-1945. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 211–217. ISBN 978-0-299-18134-5.
- Taylor-Jones, Kate (16 July 2013). Rising Sun, Divided Land: Japanese and South Korean Filmmakers. Wallflower Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-231-16586-0.
Further reading
- Desser, David (1995). "From the Opium War to the Pacific War: Japanese Propaganda Films of World War II". Film History. 7 (1): 32–48. ISSN 0892-2160. JSTOR 3815159.
- "World War II in Asia and the Pacific and the War's Aftermath, with General Themes: A Handbook of Literature and Research". The SHAFR Guide Online. doi:10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim130040009. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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