What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen Stories from the Early Years of Yamaha Motor
This series of entries was originally published in Yamaha Motor’s company newsletter from 1978 to 1979, some 20 years after Yamaha was founded. It was written by one of the company directors at the time so that employees could learn about what Yamaha’s earliest years were like.
- These entries are an English translation of written and edited Japanese.
- The names of companies, groups, municipalities, facilities, historical events, technical terms, nicknames, etc., are as close as possible to how they were originally written and published.
- Yamaha company acronyms in the original text have been changed to more common wording.
- Entries use Western dating instead of the Japanese era name system, e.g., “Showa 30” is changed to “1955”.
- The text layout has been altered for website viewing.
- Some photographs have been either replaced or removed.
- Introduction
- Musical Instruments and Propellers
- Metal Propellers
- Hamilton Variable-Pitch Propellers
- Propeller Production
- Propeller Improvements
- The Phantom Propeller
- Natural Disasters and Air Raids
- The Sakura Factory
- The War Ends
- After the War
- Machines Removed From War Reparations
- Deciding How to Use the Machines
- Trial & Error
- The Decision is Made
- Japan’s Motorcycle Industry in the Early Fifties
- Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
- The Model is Chosen
- The First Prototype
- Testing the Prototype
- Business Plans
- Backs to the Wall!
- The 10,000 km Test
- Building the Factory
- Preparations for Marketing and Production
- The Hamana Factory
- Birth of the Red Dragonfly
- “Learn by doing!”
- The Story of the Gears
- Preparing for the Fuji Ascent Race
- “Yamaha Motor Company”
- We Win at Fuji
- Tighten Your Helmet Strap After a Victory
- Act According to Your Principles
- Testing at Norikura
- After the Fuji Ascent Race
- The Asama Highlands Race
- On Call as Factory Backup
- Victory at Asama!
- The YC-1 Debuts
- The Miyaguchi Test
- Production and Sales of the YC
- A Step Toward Expansion
- Our First 250cc 2-Stroke Twin
- “Absolute Quality”
- Today’s Substandard Parts
- Review and Restructure
- Lessons from the President
- Protecting Your Company
- What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen
- Afterword
- Short Message: 50 Years Before and 50 Years Later
