Kiichiro Toyoda

Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese businessman and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda's focus from automatic loom manufacture into automobile manufacturing created what would become Toyota Motor Corporation. Kiichiro Toyoda was born on June 11, 1894, in Yamaguchi in the village of Yoshitsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, the eldest son of Sakichi Toyoda and Tami Sahara. Before Kiichiro was born, Sakichi stayed in Toyohashi. At the time, Sakichi came to Yoshitsumachi to give a name to Kiichiro. However, after Sakichi named Kiichiro, he soon returned to Toyohashi. Also, less than two months after his mother, Tami, gave birth to him, she left him and her husband. She did so because she was sick of her husband, who, in her eyes, was too preoccupied with industrial inventions to pay any attention to their family life. Therefore, Kiichiro was raised in Yoshitsu village by his grandparents. At the age of three, Kiichiro moved to what is now Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, where Sakichi lived. He graduated from the First Higher School in 1913 and entered the mechanical engineering department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1916. He graduated in 1920 and joined his father's company, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, where he worked on improving the looms and developing new models. He also traveled to Europe and the United States to study the textile industry and the automobile industry. In 1922, he married Hatako Iida, the daughter of the Takashimaya department store chain co-founder, Shinshichi Iida. They had two sons, Shoichiro and Tatsuro. In 1926, he established Toyota Industries Corporation and became its managing director. He persuaded his father to invest in the expansion of Toyoda Loom Works into automobile manufacturing, which was considered a risk to the family business at the time. Shortly before Sakichi Toyoda died in 1930, he encouraged his son to follow his dream and pursue automobile manufacturing. Kiichiro Toyoda developed the first Toyota automobile, the Model AA, in 1936, and founded Toyota Motor Corporation in 1937 as a spinoff of Toyoda Loom Works. He also changed the spelling of the company name from Toyoda to Toyota, which was considered luckier and easier to write in Japanese characters. He led the company through the difficult times of World War II and the post-war recovery, and introduced the Toyota Production System, a lean manufacturing practice that aimed to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. He also developed new models, such as the Toyota G1 truck, the Toyota SA compact car, and the Toyota Crown sedan. However, in 1950, Toyota faced a financial crisis due to labor disputes, low sales, and high taxes. Kiichiro Toyoda resigned from his position as president and took responsibility for the company's troubles. He was succeeded by Taizo Ishida, who managed to save the company from bankruptcy and restore its profitability. Kiichiro Toyoda continued to work on his own projects, such as designing a small helicopter, at his home in Tokyo. On March 27, 1952, Kiichiro Toyoda died after suffering a fall resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by chronic disease. He was 57 years old. He was buried at Kakuozan Nittaiji Cemetery in Nagoya, where his father was also buried. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese government. He was also inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame in 1998. His legacy lives on in the Toyota Motor Corporation, which became the world's largest automaker in 2008.