Gonin no Sekkohei (“Five Scouts”)

During the early years of the Sino-Japanese War, on the front lines in Northern China, a company commander sends five soldiers on a reconnaissance patrol, a mission that is nearly suicidal. The soldiers successfully scout the enemy’s position but on their way back to base, they are ambushed, resulting in the loss of one man. The four surviving soldiers return to camp and mourn their fallen comrade, only for him to unexpectedly straggle back to camp later. He had become separated from the group in the darkness and chaos of battle. With their mission complete, the soldiers are ordered to move out for another battle, fully aware that the likelihood of losing comrades this time is very high.

This story of a platoon fighting in China reinforced the approved military theme of diverse Japanese coming together to fight a faceless Chinese enemy, but is generally marked as a classic by film historians for its realistic portrayal of a combat unit under stress. The approved themes of familial support, self-sacrifice, heroism, and nationalism are all present, characteristics of all films censored by the military during the war. Filmmakers labored under strict censorship, and the military government recognized that film was an important part of propaganda activities during the war. Released on January 7, 1938, it was nominated best film at the 1938 Venice International Film Festival and it won Best Film at the 1939 Kinema Junpo Awards.