Vintage photographs offer new look at Japan

Vintage photographs offer new look at Japan
in the aftermath of war
Exhibition coming soon to the Canadian War Museum

Ottawa, Ontario, October 21, 2008 — A special exhibition opening December 17, 2008 at the Canadian War Museum explores the devastating impact of war on both both military personnel and civilians. A Letter from Japan: The Photographs of John Swope features images taken by the noted American photographer in Japan at the end of the Second World War. They include the release of Allied prisoners of war and the efforts of Japanese people to survive in the shadow of military defeat and economic ruin.

A Letter from Japan, organized by the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, comprises more than 100 photographs, all printed by Swope around the time they were taken. They are presented for the first time in a major exhibition, and are complemented by excerpts from Swope’s remarkable 144-page letter to his wife, detailing his thoughts and emotions.

“This exhibition provides a unique insight into one of the defining moments of the twentieth century,” said Mark O’Neill, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. “It also invites us to ponder war’s tragic effect on individuals and societies, a theme that is both universal and timeless.”

During the Second World War, the Japanese people had been largely demonized in Allied countries, portrayed as one-dimensional “enemies” who now had been defeated. Swope, however, saw his subjects — victors and vanquished alike — as human beings traumatized by war and struggling to survive in its aftermath. With a humane and artistic eye, he captured images of individuals and families going about their daily lives in a world over-turned.

Swope, a photographer best known for his work in Hollywood, was sent to Japan by the United States Navy to document the release of Allied prisoners of war. He travelled the country for almost a month, compiling a photographic record of the prisoners’ liberation and capturing images of war’s devastating effects on the local population. Profoundly moved by the experience, he recorded his observations and feelings in a letter to his wife, actress Dorothy McGuire.

Swope had hope that one day his words and images would be combined into a photo essay, a hope not fulfilled before his death in 1979 but brought to fruition in this unique and emotional exhibition and its accompanying catalogue.

A Letter from Japan also includes images taken during Swope’s career in Hollywood, in his post-war work as a Life magazine photographer, and as an international traveller fr