Skip to main content
Go to CIA.gov
World Factbook GlyphWFBThe World Factbook
  • Countries
  • Maps
  • References
  • About

Japan

Photos

52 Photos
52 Photos
Starboard side view of the Mikasa pre-dreadnought battleship berthed at Mikasa Park in Yokosuka.
Enlarge
Mikasa is a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1890s. The ship served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Togo Heihachiro (the statue in the foreground) throughout the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, including the Battle of Tsushima. She has been partially restored and is now a museum ship located at Mikasa Park in Yokosuka. Mikasa is the last remaining example of a pre-dreadnought battleship anywhere in the world.
Enlarge
Hiji Waterfall in Yanbaru National Park, Okinawa.
Enlarge
Commanding officer’s room in the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters in Tomigusuku-city. On the surface of a wall of this room, the farewell poem of commanding officer Ota is still brightly visible: “Born as a man, nothing fulfills me more than to die under the banner of the Emperor.”
Enlarge
Memorial Monument at the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters in Tomigusuku-city.
Enlarge
The cave in Mabuni Hill where General Mitsuri Ushijima, the commander of the 32nd Army, had his last command post and committed suicide at the end of the battle for Okinawa.
Enlarge
War memorial at the southern Okinawan site where Lt. Gen. Simon G. Buckner Jr. was killed (one of the markers is on the exact site). His death took place in the closing days of the campaign; he was watching an attack on Ibaru Ridge in the southern part of the island a few miles from the coast.
Enlarge
The burial tradition on the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is the largest) is the use of domed burial vaults termed turtleback tombs. The bones of many generations of a particular family could repose in one such tomb. During the Battle of Okinawa, many Okinawan civilians sought refuge from the naval bombardment of the island inside their ancestors' turtleback tombs. Later, many of these tombs were used by the Japanese defenders of the island.
Enlarge
The burial tradition on the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is the largest) is the use of domed burial vaults termed turtleback tombs. The bones of many generations of a particular family could repose in one such tomb. During the Battle of Okinawa, many Okinawan civilians sought refuge from the naval bombardment of the island inside their ancestors' turtleback tombs. Later, many of these tombs were used by the Japanese defenders of the island.
Enlarge
Previous PagePage 01 of 06Next Page

Usage

Factbook photos—obtained from a variety of sources—are in the public domain and are copyright free.

View Copyright Notice
Arrow Right Icon

Agency

  • About CIA
  • Organization
  • Director of the CIA
  • CIA Museum
  • News & Stories

Careers

  • Working at CIA
  • How We Hire
  • Student Programs
  • Browse CIA Jobs

Resources

  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
  • Center for the Study of Intelligence (CSI)
  • The World Factbook
  • Spy Kids
Connect with CIA
InstagramInstagramFacebookFacebookTwitterTwitterLinkedInLinkedInYoutubeYouTubeFlickrFlickr
Search CIA.govSite PoliciesPrivacyNo FEAR ActInspector GeneralUSA.govSitemap