“A presentation gifted to His Excellency Major General Arikawa by aviation supporters”, 1923.

“A presentation gifted to His Excellency Major General Arikawa by aviation enthusiasts”, 1923. Major General Arikawa Takaichi was the inaugural commandant of the Army Flying School at Tokorozawa Airfield, Saitama Prefecture, when it was established in 1919. Upon his retirement in 1923, Arikawa was presented with this prestigious taishoku iwai [retirement gift] carved of wood and stone. The wooden aircraft “soaring” over “clouds” was the Kaishiki No. 2 Experimental Fighter developed at Tokorozawa Army Flying School between 1920-1923.

Tokorozawa Airfield holds a legendary status as the birthplace of Japanese aviation.

Established on April 1, 1911, Tokorozawa was the nation’s first dedicated military airfield. It quickly evolved into a bustling military flight school as well as serving as the developmental launchpad for Japan’s first domestically produced aircraft — the Kaishiki No. 1.

The airfield’s evolution into a premier training hub was steered by Major General Arikawa Takaichi, a distinguished officer from the Engineering Corps famous for leading Japan’s first aerial bombing operations during the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914. In 1919, Arikawa was appointed as the inaugural commandant of the Tokorozawa Army Flying School when it was formally established.

In 1922, the flying school hosted a visit by then-Prince Regent Hirohito who, accompanied by the Major General, inspected the airfield’s aircraft manufacturing facilities, the army’s artillery spotting and reconnaissance balloon units, and the I.J.A.A.S.’s hato tsūshin-han [pigeon communication unit].

Arikawa’s tenure concluded in 1923 and he retired as a Lieutenant General. Arikawa’s foundational work as Tokorozawa’s first commandant set a trajectory for the continued development and training of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service into the 1930s. The airfield’s name was tweaked in 1924 to Tokorozawa Army Aviation School to include nascent lighter-than-air aviation training.

Today, the site has been transformed into the Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park and Museum, preserving the history of Japan’s early aviation pioneers.