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In 1902, when Shintaro Yoshida, the President of the Sorinshokai bicycle dealership in Ginza, Tokyo, visited the United States to buy bicycles, he also took in a trip to the 3rd New York Motor Show. Realizing that it would soon be Japan's turn to enter the age of the automobile, he brought home a selection of gasoline engines, transmissions, longitudinal axles and other parts for building a car. His first act after arriving in Japan was to establish Automobile Shokai, a company for importing and selling motorbikes and three-wheeled passenger vehicles. The company also repaired the small number of cars that had already started to appear in Japan. At the same time, Komanosuke Uchiyama had been studying mechanical engineering in Vladivostok to brush up his vehicle driving and repair skills. Agreeing to join forces with Yoshida after seeing his vehicle repair operations, they completed their first car in 1902, using the parts that Yoshida had brought back from the US. The second vehicle was designed as a bus, and was put into service in Hiroshima. In all, they constructed 10 well-received passenger vehicles inspired by the French-built Darracq owned by the house of Arisugawa-no-miya (a branch of the Imperial family). These vehicles became known by the nickname "Takuri" after the loud "gata-kuri" rattling noise they made.
* The picture above is the first Takuri delivered to Arisugawa-no-miya. The picture on the right is the fourth Takuri. |
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| Storage location | : | TOYOTA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM (41-100, Yokomichi, Nagakute, Nagakute-cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi-ken 480-1131) | |
| Year manufactured | : | 1907 | |
| Manufacturer | : | Automobile Shokai, Komanosuke Uchiyama | |
| Classification | : | Model/literature | |
| Current status | : | On public display: static | |
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| Vehicle name / Manufacture |
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| Vehicle name | : | Takuri |  |
| Company name | : | Automobile Shokai | |
| Year manufactured | : | 1907～1910 | |
| Designed by | : | Komanosuke Uchiyama | |
| Collaboration | : | Shintaro Yoshida | |
| Vehicle type/usage | : | Passenger car | |
| Location of actual vehicle/replica | : | None/The Toyota Automobile Museum |
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| Model / Weight |
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| Style | : | Sedan (phaeton also available) | |
| Number of doors | : | 2, Landau style | |
| Passenger capacity | : | 4 to 5 | |
| Vehicle weight | : | Approx. 800 kg | |
| Points of interest, topicality | : | Manufactured based on the Ford Model A. The engine is set to the right and below the vehicle center. |
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| Body / Size |
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| Structure | : | Wood frame and steel sheets, leather seats | |
| Bumpers | : | None | |
| Step | : | Wooden board step on wing fender | |
| Overall length | : | Approx. 3400 mm | |
| Overall width | : | Approx. 1400 mm | |
| Overall height | : | Approx. 2200 mm | |
| Tire size | : | 3.50-18 in | |
| Features | : | The vehicle body was manufactured by Yamada Tekkojo. One truck variant was also constructed. Styling was influenced by the Darracq. |
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| Body / Axle / Driving / Others |
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| Frame | : | Ladder type, steel sheets | |
| Front axle | : | Rigid, longitudinal 1/2 leaf spring | |
| Rear axle | : | Rigid, longitudinal 1/2 leaf spring | |
| Wheelbase | : | Approx. 2600 mm | |
| Front tread x rear tread | : | Both approx. 1200 mm | |
| Vehicle height adjustment | : | None | |
| Steering | : | Round steering wheel, Ackermann type | |
| Dampers | : | None | |
| Stabilizer | : | None | |
| Driving stability devices | : | None | |
| Features | : | Imported chassis were used for the construction of the first to third vehicles, but subsequent Takuri used chassis manufactured by Automobile Shokai. The chassis was the same as that used in the Ford Model A. |
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| Engine / Size / Power |
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| Cooling/cylinder arrangement | : | Water-cooled/flat 2-cylinder | |
| Valve train | : | SV | |
| Carburetor | : | Down | |
| Bore x stroke | : | 101.6×113.3 mm | |
| Displacement | : | 1837 cc | |
| Ignition system | : | Vibrator type electric ignition | |
| Max. power/r.p.m. | : | 8/12 hp/400 rpm | |
| Exhaust emissions treatment | : | Exhaust muffler only | |
| Supercharger | : | None | |
| Variable ignition system | : | Manual ignition timing | |
| Fetures | : | A drawing in the possession of JAMA shows that the engine was for a Haynes automobile, but it appears to be a Ford Model A engine in a picture at the Toyota Automobile Museum. The first two Takuri used 12.18 hp imported engines, but the subsequent models used engines manufactured by Automobile Shokai. |
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| Drive-train |
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| Transmission | : | Planetary type, 2 forward speeds and 1 reverse speed | |
| Drive system | : | Mid |
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| Reference materials | : | Toyota Hakubutsukan Kiyou No. 4 (1998); San-ei Shobo Publishing Co., Ltd., Kokusan-sha 100 Nen No Kiseki (1978) | |
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