A street festival in a town or city in Japan, possibly Kure. Children are parading down the ...

A street festival in a town or city in Japan, possibly Kure. Children are parading down the street bearing shoulders sticks with equally balanced loads (baskets) suspended at each end. Their clothes include white headbands and white tops bearing the red circle (sun) of the Japanese national flag, tabi (two-toed socks) and sandals with leg straps. A large group of local Japanese residents, including many children, have crowded into the narrow street to watch the festival. This image is part of a collection of photographs taken in Japan between 1947 and 1952, relating to the service of VX150779 Captain (Capt) John Patrick (Jack) McMullan, of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) Labour Unit in Japan. Capt McMullan’s wife Cecilia (also known as Celia and Celie), and son Brian John, lived with him in Japan as BCOF dependants. Cecilia and Brian were the photographers for most of the photographs in the collection. Brian was nine years old when he arrived in Japan in 1947. The presence of families of servicemen of all ranks was a distinctive aspect of BCOF.