Posted 10 years ago
filmnet
(476 items)
I have had this from my Dads collection forgot to ask him about this before he died It looks like a POW camp from Korea Sumo wrestlers. Scott or others might like this and know more than me, its a small print i scanned and made an 8/10 print which this is scanned from I do have the original no marks .enjoy Just put a bigger new scan here of the print.
Great piece of history but among what looks like misery a ray of hope a little white dog peeking over wall :-) Priceless
I was thinking Sumo wrestling in a Japanese camp in WWII.
WHAT ABOUT THAT CUTE PUPPY!
The puppy is on anther dogs back, i never saw this, on top of the print is a tall building which looks like a POW camp. The guys here will tell us what war this is WW2 or Kereo. My dad was in 3 wars as a pilot.
Welll….I’m gonna say these are Japanese rather than Korean until someone says otherwise.
The Koreans have their own distinctive culture. If someone out there can identify this as Sumo wrestling, then I’d say these are folks are Japanese. Koreans have their own cultural form of wrestling (ssireum). The character written on the fan/paddle in the center picture does not appear to be a Korean Character (Hangul). The caps on the soldiers in the foreground right appear to be Japanese Military.
I would sooner think this was an unauthorized sporting event. Like a back yard dog fight or cock fight.
I’m not sure what would make it “authorized,” but I think it’s a planned event with traditional equipment and clothing being played by rules. By this I mean the loincloths, the dark sash visible on one, man in the loincloth and fan who appears to be the referee, the plotted out circle in the dirt, the bunting around the venue, the apparent VIPs at the table, etc. I think it’s an activity perhaps authorized by the post or unit commander and put on by the unit, but I think using traditional rules.
That dark sash has me wondering if I was wrong about the Sumo though, I know that in Korean wrestling, the opponents hold on to each other’s sashes. I just don’t know enough about either Korean or Japanese wrestling to be sure.
I try to be clear about when I feel certain and when I’m only speculating. Right now I’m just speculating, but it’s based on living in Korea for four years – but those are four years that are decades after the photo was taken.
Also, I don’t necessarily think it’s a POW camp just because of the guard tower, as the person posting speculated.
I was speaking from going to similar events outside Bangkok in the late 60's. Backyard events were not pretty like the public events. These pictures, no matter where they are from are not what would be considered an authorized sporting event. I wonder who and how pictures were taken. Not something I see as reality in terms of being original. How many POW camps did photo's?
Well, I also doubt it's a POW camp. The uniforms all seem to be Japanese WWII, and it does seem to be a camp of some sort, that's why I lean toward the idea it's a camp/unit event - which is something someone would bring a camera to.
This new print the soldiers have the same hats.