| On February 13, 1942, Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita (November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946), Commander of the 14th Area Army, occupied the Ford Motor Factory at Bukit Timah as his Headquarters. It had previously been a military target as an assembly center for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Matters were complicated by Yamashita’s limited English and Percival’s limited Japanese. Major Wild, as Percival’s interpreter, played little part. Colonel Sugita wasn’t the foremost interpreter. Yamashita was frustrated with his interpreter, who couldn’t convey his emotions to his satisfaction. Percival read Yamashita’s anger as a demand for unconditional surrender, which the flustered Japanese interpreter translated. Meekly, Percival agreed. He attempted to secure guarantees for the safety of civilians. At 1810 Hours, the unconditional surrender was signed. A 130,000 Allied soldiers went into captivity. Percival and his party were interned at Changi Prison. Foreground: The British Delegation. United Kingdom Royal Army Brigadier Thomas K. Newbigging (December 19, 1891 – February 9, 1968), Chief Administrative Officer, Malaya Command, not pictured, to the right; United Kingdom Royal Army Brigadier General Kenneth S. Torrance (August 20, 1895 – October 15, 1958), Staff Officer, Malaya Command; United Kingdom Royal Army Lieutenant General Arthur E. Percival (December 26, 1887 – January 31, 1966); and United Kingdom Royal Army Major Cyril Wild (April 10, 1908 – September 25, 1946). RIGHT: The Japanese Delegation. Back Row L to R: Lt. Col H. Iketani, Col. H. Yamatsy & Com. T. Nagai (Imperial Japanese Navy). Front Row: Maj. Gen. S. Suzuki, Lt. Gen. T. Yamashita, Lt. Col. I. Sugita, Maj. Gen. K. Manaki, Maj. I. Fujiwara, Maj. T. Hayashi & Lt. Col. M. Okamura. Background: The Japanese Delegation. Sitting: Imperial Japanese Army Major General Sōsaku Suzuki (September 27, 1891 – April 19, 1945), Chief of Staff, 25th Army; Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita (November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946), Commander of the 14th Area Army; Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel Kazushi Sugita (March 31, 1904 – April 12, 1993), Intelligence, 25th Army; Imperial Japanese Army Major General Takanobu Manaki (August 19, 1894 – November 4, 1974), Deputy Chief of Staff, 25th Army. Standing behind: Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel Hanjirō Iketani (January 25, 1900 – March 17, 1994), Chief of Maneuvers Section, 25th Army; Imperial Japanese Army Colonel Hyōnosuke Yamatsu (???? – ????), 25th Army Rear Operations; and Imperial Japanese Navy Commander Taro Nagai (???? – ????), Liaison Staff Officer, Operations. Not pictured but present: Imperial Japanese Army Major Iwaichi Fujiwara (March 1, 1908 − February 24, 1986), Chief of Staff, Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group Intelligence; Imperial Japanese Army Major General Yoshihide Hayashi (August 25, 1891 – February 5, 1978), Assistant Chief of Staff, 14th Area Army; and Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Okamura (November 11, 1904 – June 3, 1974), Staff, Operations, Southern Army. Kōyō Kageyama (May 23, 1907 – March 1, 1981) captured the decisive moment of the meeting between Generals Yamashita and Percival that marked the fall of Singapore in 1942. In Women of the Showa Era, photographer Kōyō Kageyama documented public life in Japan before, during, and after World War II. He also created the album The Life of Little Yotchan, compiled as a memorial to his son, who died at the age of 5, which provides a remarkable photographic record of his family. Kageyama’s photos influenced painter Saburō Miyamoto’s (May 23, 1905 – October 10, 1974) “The Meeting of General Yamashita and General Percival,” which portrayed the event in the yōga (“Western-style painting”) style. Miyamoto brought color and realism to the black-and-white film and photography of a historic event that captivated the Japanese public. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1527.jpg |
| Image Size | 361.36 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2048 x 1397 |
| Photographer | Koyo Kageyama |
| Photographer Title | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 15, 1942 |
| Location | Bukit Timah |
| City | Singapore |
| State or Province | Straits Settlements |
| Country | Singapore |
| Archive | Tokyo Photographic Art Museum |
| Record Number | 10108980 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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