How a Poor Japanese Boy Created Honda

Soichiro Honda's Journey to Building a Multi-Billion Dollar Brand

This transcript tells the story of Soichiro Honda, a poor Japanese boy who went from babysitting children to building the multi-billion dollar brand with Honda Motors.

Childhood and Early Fascination with Machines

• Soichiro was born in 1906 in a small poverty-ridden village called Tenryu Shizuoka at the foot of Mount Fuji.

• When he was eight years old, he heard a strange rumble that grabbed his attention. It was the first car he saw, and it left a mark on him that would forever change the way he would engage with machines.

• He learned how to wet the blades of farm machinery and repair bicycles. He was fascinated by all kinds of engines and motors.

Pursuing His Dreams

• In 1922, at age 15, Soichiro came across an ad for a Tokyo-based automobile servicing company called Art Shokai. He wrote a letter to inquire about a job and received a positive reply.

• When he got to Tokyo, he was overwhelmed by how fast and different city life was compared to his village. The shop's owner had already prepared a job for him - babysitting the owner's child.

• Eventually, Soichiro started doing menial tasks but gradually climbed his way up until he became a trusted mechanic at the company.

Learning Business Skills

• The owner decided to take little Sochiro under his wing and teach him not only mechanical repairs but the business side of the company as well.

• Through his work, Soichiro quickly became familiar with a wide range of automobiles and motorcycles that were brought into the workshop. He poured everything he had into expanding his knowledge.

Building Honda Motors

• Fast forward a few decades, and Soichiro Honda was now competing with some of the biggest car brands in the world while also owning the largest motorbike manufacturer.

• This is the story of how one poor Japanese boy went from babysitting children to building the multi-billion dollar brand with Honda Motors.

Soichiro Honda's Early Career

This section covers the early career of Soichiro Honda, including his involvement in motorsports and the founding of his first company.

Art Shokai and Motorsports

• Soichiro's first model was the Art Daimler, built using a second-hand Daimler engine.

• His second model was the Curtis, made using another secondhand engine from an American Curtis biplane placed on the chassis of another American car, the Mitchell.

• In 1924, Soichiro accompanied his brother to race in the Japanese Motorcar Championship and took first place. From then on, motorsports became his religion.

Expansion and Struggle

• In 1928, Yuzo Sakakibara wanted to expand his business and decided to open a branch of Art Shokai in Hamamatsu. He put Soichiro in charge at just 21 years old.

• The repair shop struggled during its first year because people didn't want to entrust their cars with someone so new and young.

• By the 1930s, however, Soichiro had grown his shop from a one-man operation to a staff of 30 people.

Racing Career and New Ventures

• Despite being known as a brilliant mechanic, Soichiro was also a prodigious racing driver. He set a new speed record by driving up to 120 kilometers per hour in the Hamamatsu race car he built inside his shop.

• In 1936, Soichiro was involved in a serious crash while racing the Hamamatsu and almost died. His family was unhappy with his return to racing, so he never raced again.

• By 1936, Soichiro became tired of repair work and wanted to move on to manufacturing car parts. He proposed turning the Art Shokai Hamamatsu branch into a separate company for this purpose but the shareholders disagreed with him.

• Soichiro decided to open his own company to manufacture piston rings and founded the Tokai Seiki Heavy Industry.

Piston Ring Research

• Soichiro started the Art Piston Ring Research Center with his close friend Shichiro Kato.

• For a long time, they struggled to make any breakthrough in piston design. After a series of failures, Soichiro enrolled as a part-time student at the Hamamatsu Industrial Institute to improve his knowledge of metallurgy.

• By 1939, Soichiro finally created a successful working piston and quit his job at Art Shokai. However, Toyota contacted him for pistons and out of 50 submitted only three passed Toyota's standard.

Soichiro Honda's Early Life and Career

This section covers the early life and career of Soichiro Honda, including his founding of the Honda Technical Research Institute.

Founding of the Honda Technical Research Institute

• Soichiro established the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946 to develop a way to make motorbikes.

• He and a staff of 12 men successfully put together a motorbike using spare parts.

• The new bicycles became popular, leading to orders from different parts of Japan.

Creation of the Super Cub

• After creating the Model D, which was too big and heavy, Soichiro stripped it down and worked long hours to create a smaller, lighter motorcycle.

• After three years of trial and error, he succeeded in building another motorcycle named the Super Cub.

• The Super Cub became an instant hit and won the Emperor's prize. It also reached the United States in 1958 with a sticker price that was only a quarter of what other American motorcycles cost.

World War II and Its Impact on Soichiro Honda's Company

This section covers how World War II impacted Soichiro Honda's company.

Placement Under Ministry Control

• In 1941, Japan joined the Pacific War, causing Soichiro's company to be placed under direct command by the Ministry of Munitions.

• The following year, Toyota took over 45% equity in his company, causing him to be downgraded from president to senior managing director.

Struggle During War

• Many male employees resigned as they were drafted for military service, causing the company to struggle.

• In 1944, air raid sirens intensified in Japan, and Soichiro's company was struck by a direct bomb blast, destroying the factory.

• The company suffered another misfortune in January 1945 when the Nankai earthquake shook the region and caused the Iwanta plant to collapse.

Soichiro Honda's Post-War Life

This section covers Soichiro Honda's life after World War II.

Selling of Company

• After Japan surrendered in August 1945, Soichiro sold what was left of his company to Toyota for a sum of 450,000 yen.

• He publicly announced that he was taking time off to figure out what the future would hold as Japan was left in ruins.

Economic Meltdown

• A year after the war, Japan experienced an economic meltdown that threatened its citizens' lives due to shortages of food, clothing, shelter and rationed resources.

• Soichiro came across a generator engine that belonged to the Japanese Imperial Army which he attached to a bicycle.

Soichiro Honda's Journey to Success

This section covers Soichiro Honda's journey to success, from his early days as a mechanic to becoming the biggest motorcycle company in the world and entering the automobile market.

Early Days as a Mechanic

• Soichiro Honda started his career as a mechanic.

• He was passionate about motorcycles and racing.

• He traveled all over the world to see races and study his competitors' motorcycles.

Success on the Racetrack

• Honda's attitude of striving to surpass his competitors led him to win at the Isle of Man TT, one of the biggest motorcycle races in the world.

• By 1960, Honda had become the biggest motorcycle company in the world.

Entering the Automobile Market

• Despite warnings that it was too risky for his company, Soichiro Honda entered the automobile market.

• The T360 mini truck was their first automobile but it never gained much traction.

• The S500 sports car followed but only around 1300 cars were built making it one of the rarest honda cars ever made.

Racing Success and Building Successful Cars

• The Honda RA-271 made its Formula One debut at the 1964 Belgian Grand Prix.

• It only took one year for Honda to achieve a first-place victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with their new successor, RA-272.

• After taking a break from racing, they turned their attention to building successful cars like Civic and Accord.

• The Civic tackled fuel management issues by introducing Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC), while Accord became one of best-selling sedans in automotive history.

Legacy

Soichiro Honda retired from his company in 1973 and later died on August 5th, 1991.