79 x 55 cm (31.1 x 21.7 / Ōhō daihikō kinen hikō yūgi / Great European Visit Memorial Flight Game.
This is a celebratory 1925 Japanese sugoroku game, with a world map at center, published as a supplement to the OsakaAsahi Shimbun. It commemorates the first flight from Japan to Europe, a landmark achievement for early Japanese aviation. The flight was sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun.
In July 1925, seeking to showcase the nation\'s growing aviation capabilities and foster international goodwill, the Asahi Shimbun purchased and modified two French Breguet 19 biplanes, outfitting them with extra fuel tanks and naming them Hatsukaze (\"First Wind\") and Kochikaze (\"East Wind\"). Piloted by flight officers Abe Hiroshi and Kawachi Kazuhiko, alongside flight engineers Shinohara Shunichiro and Katagiri Shohei (pictured here), the historic journey commenced on July 25, 1925, from Tokyo. Flying a grueling northern route across Siberia, the crew navigated immense geographical challenges before successfully touching down in major European capitals, including Moscow, Berlin, Paris, and London, before concluding their voyage in Rome on October 27, 1925.
The expedition was a resounding success, covering 16,565 kilometers (over 10,000 miles) in a little under 111 flying hours. The aviators were hailed as heroes internationally—receiving grand welcomes at stops like Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport—and the feat effectively proved that Japan could compete on the global stage of civil aviation. Domestically, the flight triggered a massive wave of national pride and highlighted the potential of civilian-military cooperation. To capitalize on the public\'s excitement and immortalize the achievement, the Asahi Shimbun published this commemorative sugoroku board game map in December 1925, allowing families across Japan to playfully retrace the historic transcontinental voyage at home.Sugoroku
Sugoroku is a traditional Japanese board game with a rich history that encompasses two distinct forms: ban-sugoroku, a backgammon-like strategy game introduced from China around the 6th century, and e-sugoroku, an illustrated picture-based game that flourished during the Edo period, of which the present map is an example. The rules of the widely recognized e-sugoroku are straightforward and are similar to Western games like Snakes and Ladders; players take turns rolling a die to advance their markers along a winding thematic path, navigating from the furi-dashi (start) to the agari (goal). Winning relies entirely on the luck of the roll, though players must follow specific instructions on landing spaces—such as losing a turn, sliding backward, or jumping ahead—making it an accessible and enduringly nostalgic holiday favorite for families.References
National Library of Australia, JAP Pic 128. OCLC 1038072598.
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