Letters from Iwo Jima
Movie Poster
Main Cast
Character
Actor
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Ken Watanabe
Private First Class Saigo
Kazunari Ninomiya
Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi
Tsuyoshi Ihara
Superior Private Shimizu
Ryo Kase
Lieutenant Ito
Shido Nakamura
Lieutenant Fujita
Hiroshi Watanabe
Captain Tanida
Takumi Bando
Letters from Iwo Jima Flags of Our Fathers Clint Eastwood , this film depicts the battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers defending the island as told through their own letters. The film would go on to receive four Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director.
The following weapons were used in the film Letters from Iwo Jima :
Imperial Japanese Army and Navy Weapons Type 99 Arisaka Rifle Most of the Imperial Japanese soldiers in the movie are equipped with the Type 99 Arisaka Rifle .
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Arisaka Type 99 battle rifle - 7.7x58mm Error creating thumbnail: File missing Arisaka Type 99 substitute standard (commonly called the "last ditch" Type 99) - 7.7x58mm. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Japanese soldiers fire the Type 99 Rifle at a rifle range. The Type 99 can also be seen held by the Japanese soldiers standing in the rear. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya ) with a Type 99 Rifle at the rifle range. Note the late war style bolt. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Private First Class Nozaki (Yuki Matsuzaki ) fires the Type 99 Rifle from a bunker. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The Type 99 Rifle is used by Japanese soldiers during a Banzai charge. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lieutenant Colonel Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara ) holds a Type 99 Rifle after he is blinded by shrapnel. He uses this rifle to commit suicide off-scene. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lieutnant Okubo (Eijiro Ozaki ) fires a Type 99 Rifle at U.S. Marines. Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun The Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun is used by many Japanese soldiers in bunkers and caves.
File:800px-Japanese Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun.jpg Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Japanese soldiers hidden in a bunker with a Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun fire on the Marines. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun in a Japanese bunker. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Private Shimizu (Ryo Kase ) mans a Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun in a Japanese bunker. Type 99 Light Machine Gun The Type 99 Light Machine Gun is used by many Japanese soldiers in bunkers and caves. Some of them are equipped with Type 30 bayonets.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 99 Light Machine Gun (7.7x58mm Arisaka) Error creating thumbnail: File missing A Japanese Machine Gun crew firing a Type 99 Light Machine Gun. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Japanese soldiers with a Type 99 Light Machine Gun. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Japanese machine gun team lays down fire with the Type 99. Colt M1911 General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe ) is presented with an original Colt M1911 pistol by an American Officer (Mark Moses ) in a flashback to his time in the United States. Near the film's end, a U.S. Marine finds the pistol and places it in his belt. On a side note, the 1911 model in this movie had an ivory grip (possibly to differentiate its significance from the other 1911A1's with wooden grips that the Marines used).
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Original Colt M1911 (dated 1913) - .45 acp Error creating thumbnail: File missing General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe ) is presented with an M1911 pistol in a box at a dinner party during his time in the United States. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Kuribayashi takes a look at the M1911 pistol. Error creating thumbnail: File missing M1911 pistol in Kuribayashi's hip holster. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Kuribayashi unholsters the M1911. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Kuribayashi's M1911 pistol taken by a Marine lieutenant (Jeremy Glazer ). Error creating thumbnail: File missing Note that he doesn't even engage the safety or push the hammer to its safe position, which would be a dangerous way to holster a firearm, assuming that the firearm doesn't have a grip safety as the 1911 does. Nambu Type 14 Pistol The Nambu Type 14 Pistol is the standard handgun carried by Japanese officers.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nambu Type 14 - 8x22mm Nambu Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lieutnant Okubo fires a Nambu Type 14 Pistol at Shimizu and another Japanese soldier as they attempt to desert and surrender to the U.S. Marines. Nambu Type A 1902 Modified "Baby Nambu" The Nambu Type A 1902 Modified Pistol or "Baby Nambu", is used by Captain Tanida (Takumi Bando ) as Japanese soldiers take up grenades in a cave.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing The Baby Nambu pistol from Letters from Iwo Jima - this was Takumi Bando's gun used on-set (and was carried and fired by him). Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nambu Type A 1902 Modified "Baby Nambu" -8x12 Nambu. This is the screen-used firearm handled by Takumi Bando in the film Letters from Iwo Jima Thanks to James Georgopoulos . Error creating thumbnail: File missing Having unholstered his Baby Nambu Tanida raises the pistol to his head. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A slightly different view of the scene before Captain Tanida fires the pistol. Type 94 pistol Shimizu (Ryo Kase ) and other Japanese soldiers are seen using the Type 94 pistol .
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Japanese Type 94 Pistol - 8x22mm Nambu Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nozaki fires Shimizu's Type 94 Pistol when the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun runs out of ammunition. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Shimizu (Ryo Kase ) threatens Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) when he tries to escape instead of committing suicide. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Shimizu fires a Type 94 Pistol in his flashback. Type 97 Hand Grenade Several Japanese soldiers use the Type 97 Hand Grenade to commit suicide.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 97 Hand Grenade Error creating thumbnail: File missing A box of Type 97 Hand Grenades on the floor of a cave. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A Japanese officer prepares to commit suicide with a Type 97 Hand Grenade. Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun A Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun is used by a Japanese soldier to defend the island from an Air Raid.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun - 13.2mm Error creating thumbnail: File missing A Japanese soldier opens fire with a Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The same soldier fires the Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun. Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun The Type 96 AT/AA Gun in twin mount can be seen near the airfield.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 96 twin AA mounting - 25x163mm Error creating thumbnail: File missing A Type 96 twin mount is seen. Type 98 320mm Mortar Type 98 320mm mortar used by Japanese soldiers to destroy some tank.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 98 320mm Mortar. A Japanese soldiers prepare Type 98 mortar to fire at incoming Sherman tank. Type 97 81-mm Infantry Mortar Japanese soldiers can biefly seen with Type 97 Mortars .
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 97 81-mm Infantry Mortar. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The soldiers fire the Mortars. Type 41 75mm Cavalry Gun Japanese soldiers fire a Type 41 75 mm cavalry gun.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 41 75mm Cavalry Gun. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The field gun is seen during the tunnel excavation. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The gun is fired. Type 93 Landmine Lieutenant Ito (Shido Nakamura) carries three Type 93 Landmines.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Type 93 mine. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Feeling desperate, he drops his mines to the ground. United States Marine Corps Weapons M1903A1 Springfield with 7.8x Unertl scope When Lieutenant Fujita attempts to behead General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe ), a distant Marine sniper is seen firing a shot and then operating the bolt action of his rifle. The rifle used was a M1903A1 Springfield , the predominately used bolt action sniper rifle by the Marines (and other US forces) during World War II.
A source from ISS (which supplied the weapons for the film) has confirmed that the rifle, which was supplied by key armorer David Fencl, was indeed an M1903A1 Springfield fitted with a 7.8x (8x) Unertl scope, and that the Marine sniper using the weapon was one of the film's technical advisors, Master Sergeant Tom Minder.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing A pair of M1903A1 Springfield sniper rifles (.30-06) with 7.8x Unertl scopes. The guns pictured here were the actual rifles used in Letters from Iwo Jima (one is primary, the other is a back-up), and the rifle was fired by Master Sergeant Tom Minder, one of the technical advisors, in the film. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A distant shot of the Marine sniper operating a bolt on his Springfield. The rifle was fired by Master Sergeant Tom Minder, one of the technical advisers on the film. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A close-up of the 7.8x scopes on the rifles from the film. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A close-up of the butts of the rifles used in the film. M1 Garand Many Marines were equipped with this weapons (some of them were used with M1 bayonets). When Shimizu (Ryo Kase) surrender, a marine, using his M1 Garand rifle, executed him and an another Japanese POW. In the final scene, when Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) was surrounded by Marines, most of them used M1 Garand rifles.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing M1 Garand semiautomatic Rifle with leather M1917 sling - 30.06 Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine shoots a Japanese prisoner with an M1 Garand. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The same Marine executes Shimizu (Ryo Kase) with the M1 Garand. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine fires an M1 Garand from a defensive position. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Several U.S. Marines hold their M1 Garands on Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya). M1 Carbine US Marines are armed with the M1 Carbine during the Japanese Banzai charge. A U.S. Marine lieutenant carries an M1 Carbine while finding the M1911 pistol of General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe )
Error creating thumbnail: File missing World War II Era M1 Carbine , with Dark Walnut Stock, 'L' peep sight and no bayonet lug - correct for most of WWII, shown with khaki sling and oiler and a period Magazine pouch for buttstock Error creating thumbnail: File missing Several U.S. Marines fire the M1 Carbine during a Japanese Banzai Charge. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine Lieutenant with an M1 Carbine as he finds the General's M1911. M1A1 Thompson A US Marine can be seen firing the M1A1 Thompson at fleeing Japanese soldiers.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing M1A1 Thompson - 45.ACP Error creating thumbnail: File missing On the right, a Marine fires an M1A1 Thompson at Japanese soldiers while other Marine fires his M1 Garand. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The same Marine reloads his M1A1 Thompson. Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2 A Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2 is seen carried by a Marine when Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) was surrounded by them.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2 - .30-06. Error creating thumbnail: File missing On the right, a Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2 is seen carried by a Marine when Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) was surrounded by them. Browning M1919A4 During the night assault led by the Navy Lieutenant Ito, US Marines utilize Browning M1919A4 machine guns to counter the Japanese charge. A Marine also fires an M1919A4 at fleeing Japanese soldiers later on in the film.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Browning M1919A4 .30-06 on M2 tripod Error creating thumbnail: File missing On the left, the Browning M1919A4 is manned by a Marine during the Night Assault. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A Marine Machine Gun Team fires a Browning M1919A4 at fleeing Japanese soldiers. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Reloading the Browning M1919A4. M2 Flamethrower Sam (Lucas Elliott), a US Marine, carried an M2 Flamethrower until he was captured. During the landing, two Japanese soldiers have been burnt by an M2 Flamethrower.
M2 Flamethrower Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine burns out a Japanese Heavy Machine Gun with an M2 Flamethrower. This appears to be footage from Flags of our Fathers Error creating thumbnail: File missing Sam with an M2 Flamethrower before being wounded and captured by Baron Nishi. Mk 2 Hand Grenade Several U.S. Marines use the Mk 2 Hand Grenade to clear out Japanese positions.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Mk 2 Hand Grenade Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine is shot with a Type 94 Pistol whilst trying to clear out a Japanese bunker. You can see the Mk 2 Hand Grenade in the air to his right. Error creating thumbnail: File missing A U.S. Marine drops an Mk 2 Hand Grenade into a cave. M116 75mm Pack Howitzer U.S. Marines are seen with a M116 75mm Pack Howitzer on the beach.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing M116 75mm “Pack” howitzer. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The howitzer in the middle. See Also 
