Airship Day

What Is Airship Day?

Every January 22nd is "Airship Day" (飛行船の日, Hikōsen no Hi) in Japan. On January 22, 1916, the Army airship "Yūhi-gō" (雄飛号, "Soaring Flight") made an experimental flight from Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture to Osaka, landing midway at Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture and taking a total of 11 hours 34 minutes. The Yūhi-gō is often described as Japan's first domestically produced airship, but it was actually a German-built airship that had been rebuilt in Japan.

The Yūhi-gō Airship

The Yūhi-gō was based on a non-rigid Parseval airship that the Imperial Japanese Army bought from Germany and received in 1912. After the airship was damaged in a landing accident in 1913, it was repaired and modified and was reborn as the "Yūhi" in 1915. In the civilian sector, Yamada Isaburō had already flown his domestically built Yamada-type airship back in 1910. It was 85.0 meters long, with a gas volume of about 10,000 cubic meters and a crew of 6 to 12. Its January 1916 flight from Tokorozawa to Osaka was a landmark long-distance flight for Japan; because of engine trouble it did not fly back, and the airship was dismantled and returned overland. The flight attracted considerable public and military attention. The success of the flight demonstrated the airship's potential for long-distance reconnaissance and transport in Japan's military planning.

The Airship Era

The early 20th century was the golden age of the airship — large hydrogen or helium-filled craft that could carry passengers and cargo over long distances more comfortably than early fixed-wing aircraft. Germany's Zeppelin company was the world leader, and the German Hindenburg airship's famous transatlantic crossings (before its 1937 disaster) represented the pinnacle of the form. Japan's army and navy continued to experiment with airships in the following years, though the airship was ultimately superseded by the improving capabilities of fixed-wing aircraft.

Tokorozawa's Aviation Heritage

Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture — the departure point for the Yūhi-gō's 1916 flight — holds a special place in Japanese aviation history as the site of Japan's first airfield (1911) and the Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park (所沢航空記念公園), which preserves aircraft and documents Japan's aviation heritage from the Meiji era to the present.

Fun Facts

• Modern airships: After the Hindenburg disaster ended the commercial airship era, airships found niche applications in advertising (the famous Goodyear Blimp), surveillance, and atmospheric research. Modern hybrid airships using both buoyancy and aerodynamic lift are being developed for cargo transport in remote areas.
• Yūhi-yaki: Tokorozawa still sells "Yūhi-yaki," a baked sweet named after the airship.
• Tokorozawa Aviation Museum: The Tokorozawa Aviation Museum (所沢航空発祥記念館) near the original airfield site displays historic Japanese aircraft and documents the full history of Japanese aviation from the Yūhi-gō era to modern jet travel.