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Up for sale is a beautiful Picture postcard from Tokyo Japan to Baron Kiyotake Shigeno, a military fighter pilot with the French air force. In very good condition. Priced to sell. Excellent stamp, cancels and markings. Dated January 11,1917.
postcard depicts a biplane with a woman standing next to it, she is apparently identified in the text on the back, in Japanese..Anyone interested in Japanese aviation should find this of extreme interest. Alas, I do not read Japanese so the contents may be even more interesting.This type of postal history is exceptionally rare and unique. Shigeno was one of earliest pioneers of Japanese aviation. prohibits me from linking to other sites but google his name to learn more. A nutshell is here:
Kiyotake Shigeno (滋野 清武, Shigeno Kiyotake ) , born onOctober 6 , 1882in Nagoya , Japan and died on October 13 , 1924 in Osaka , is a Japanese aircraft pilot 1 .
BiographySon of an army general who died prematurely in 1896, Kiyotake Shigeno came to France at the end of 1910 to pursue musical studies 1 . He quickly showed a great interest in nascent aviation 2 . He gets the February 19 , 1912 Pilot's license No. 744 , on Caudron 3 .
Participation in the First World WarIn 1914, he enlisted in the air service of the French army, in order to contribute to the defense of the allies of Japan 4 . Mentioned on the agenda of the army in 1915 for his impassivity under fire from the defense against enemy aircraft 5 , he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor 6 on October 12 , 1915.
After the warHe married a war widow in France in october 1919 and the couple leaves January 1920 in Japan 1 . Shigeno finds there a situation in the civil aviation of his country, which gives him the opportunity to return to France in the month of November 1921 to acquire planes for the company Shokwai (Chihaya et C ie ) 7 . He was one of the personalities who welcomed aviator Pelletier Doisy to Osaka, the penultimate stage of his Paris-Tokyo trip, the June 8 , 1924, 8 , having had for the occasion "the touching thought of putting on his French uniform, on which he had sewn his captain's stripes in the Japanese air force" 9 .
He died of pneumonia on October 13 , 19241 , hailed by Pelletier Doisy as “the most remarkable of Japanese airmen and one of our warmest friends” 9 .
