Man’s nagajuban with the flight of the “Nippon Gō” plane
Not on view
2009 was celebrated in Japan as the 70th anniversary of the flight of the “Nippon go”, the first Japanese plane to circumnavigate the earth. This elegant nagajuban from 1939 shows the plane superimposed over the globe with a map of its route and vignettes and flags of countries around the world.
Just as the “Kamikaze” galvanized the Japanese public in 1937 with its speed record between Tokyo and London, the “Nippon go's” flight was hailed as a triumph for Japan's self-image as a world power two years later. More importantly for the Japanese government, both these planes were prototype or variants of military aircraft. The “Kamikaze” laid the ground-work for the Mitsubishi A6M Type O “Zero” fighter used in WWII while the Nippon go was a specially altered G3M “Nell” long-range bomber (also made by Mitsubishi).
