| Airplane cups & Air Corps Units |
| Planes can be found on many cups and bottles, but the ones most prized are the items marked HI-KOU-TAI, or Air Corps Unit. Not all items with planes are from aviation units, of course. When the airplane is featured as the main part of the design, it is probably from an Air Corps Unit. |
| Here are the kanji to look for: HI-KOU (read from the right). The first HI means 'Fly' and the second KOU means 'To Go'. These, often followed by TAI, indicate an Air Corps Unit. |
| This is quite a rare item because it is from a Naval airbase. Most marked Air Corps Unit items are Army. This one is from the Naval Airbase at Tokushima and is dated 1943. |
| An excellent and rare Air Corps cup with gold gilt bird, which looks like the Imperial Ho-o. Usually the bird here is a crane. The characters read 'Youkkaichi Air Corps, Discharge Commemorative'. |
| A plane and military star. The characters read 'Air Corps 7th Regiment, Discharge Commemorative'. |
| A plane soaring over Mt. Fuji. The characters read 'Air Corps 7th Regiment, Discharge Commemorative'. Made at the Kutani kiln and has a blue underglaze pattern on reverse. |
| Another 'Air Corps 7th Regiment, Discharge Commemorative' cup. |
| Rare Air Corps cup that dates no earlier than 1931. It has the re-named capital of Manchuria inscribed. The Japanese re-named it in 1931. The characters read 'Shinkyou (Xinjing) Air Corps 12th Division, Victorious Return Commemorative.' See Air Corps page 2 for a tokkuri with a similar inscription.. |
| These three all have planes, but they are not directly related to Air Corps Units. Planes are used on these items just as a general military theme. |
| Air Corps 1st Regiment |
| Air Corps 5th Regiment |
| ARMY BADGE: The Pilot Badge, awarded in both an Officer Class and a NCO class. I cannot tell which one is on this cup. |
| Extremely rare photo cup with an airplane, which looks like a Type 95 Kawasaki bomber. Airplane cups and bottles are rare, but this is the first one I have seen with an actual photograph emblazoned in the cup. Inscribed 'Air Corps 1st Regiment, Discharge Commemorative.' |
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| Air Corps 5th Regiment |
| Air Corps 5th Regiment |