Axis battledores (hagoita) and 'Axis young ladies': cover of Shashin Shūhō No. 151, Japan
The colour cover of the government photo weekly shows three young women in a garden, each holding a New Year hagoita (battledore) painted with a leader's portrait: Konoe of Japan, Mussolini and Hitler. The issue's caption, as quoted on Commons, calls them 'Axis battledores' and 'Axis young ladies' that make the garden 'heartwarming and bright'. A holiday custom and children carry warmth onto the three governments' leaders.
- Date
- January 15, 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Cabinet Information Bureau (Jōhōkyoku), Empire of Japan, in Shashin Shūhō
- Region
- East Asia
- Country
- Empire of Japan
- Medium
- Photograph
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Showa Japan
- Leader
- Fumimaro Konoe
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Media and information
- Event
- Tripartite Pact
- Techniques
- Transfer
- Regime
- Empire of Japan, 1937 to 1945
- Leader
- Fumimaro Konoe
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (scan of Shashin Shūhō No. 151), retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (Japan: work of an organisation, term expired; U.S.: public domain in Japan in 1996)
Cabinet Information Bureau (Jōhōkyoku) / Cabinet Printing Bureau, Shashin Shūhō No. 151, 1941; scan via Wikimedia Commons
Text on the object
寫眞週報 情報局編輯 一月十五日 第百五十一號 十セン [caption quoted on Commons from the issue, not visible on the cover:] 近衛さんにはウルズラさん，ムッソリーニには明子さん，ヒトラーにはフランチェスカさん．枢軸羽子板と枢軸令嬢の組合せに新春の庭は微笑ましく，うららかだ
Shashin Shūhō (Photo Weekly) Edited by the Information Bureau 15 January, No. 151 10 sen [caption quoted on Commons from the issue, not visible on the cover:] Ursula for Mr. Konoe, Akiko for Mussolini, Francesca for Hitler. With the combination of Axis battledores and Axis young ladies, the New Year garden is heartwarming and bright.
The cover masthead, bureau line, date, issue number and price were read from the small scan; the price '十セン' (10 sen) is read right to left and is the least certain reading. The bracketed caption is copied from the Commons file description, which reproduces the issue's printed caption, and is not on the cover.
