was a Japanese inventor and industrialist who founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (later Toyota Industries). The son of a farmer and sought-after

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

, he started the Toyoda family companies. His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, would later establish Japan's largest automaker,

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. Toyoda is referred to as the "King of Japanese Inventors".

Early life and education

Sakichi Toyoda was born on March 19 (the 14th of the 2nd month in East Asian Lunar Calendar), 1867, in Yamaguchi,

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

(present-day Kosai, Shizuoka), to Ikichi and Ei Toyoda. Ikichi was a carpenter and a farmer, and he taught carpentry to his son. Sakichi's boyhood would coincide with the end of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, replaced by the Meiji and its reformist policies. Sakichi was an avid reader in his youth, and he organized a youth study group for teens. Inspired by a trip to Ueno to visit the Third National Machinery Exposition, he later revolutionized the textile industry, powered by steam, oil, and electricity.

Toyoda Automatic Loom Works

Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was the engineering manufacturing company established by Sakichi Toyoda in 1926. It earned him the moniker of father of the Japanese industrial revolution. He is also the founder of Toyota Industries Co., Ltd. Toyoda invented and innovated numerous textile-focused

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

devices, introducing innovative fueling systems used to power his Toyoda-branded machines. His most famous invention was the automatic power loom in which he implemented the principle of '' Jidoka'' ( autonomous automation). The principle of ''Jidoka'', which means that the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the

Toyota Production System The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that comprises its management philosophy and practices. The TPS is a management system that organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile ...

. Toyoda developed the concept of 5 Whys: When a problem occurs, ask "why" five times to try to find the source of the problem, then put into place something to prevent the problem from recurring. This concept is used today as part of applying lean methodologies to solve problems, improve quality, and reduce costs. The luxury vehicle

Toyota Century The is a lineup of full-size luxury cars and limousines produced mainly for the Japanese market, serving as Toyota's Flagship#Automotive, flagship car within Japan; globally the unrelated Lexus LS series is Toyota's flagship luxury model. Pro ...

, introduced in 1967, derived its name from the 100th birthday of Sakichi Toyoda. On April 15, 1973, the

Japan Patent Office The is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest pa ...

selected him as one of

Ten Japanese Great Inventors The system of Intellectual property, industrial rights in Japan celebrated 100 years of existence in 1985. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Japanese system of industrial property rights, the Japan Patent Office selected ten great in ...

Family tree

References

External links

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Biography of Sakichi Toyoda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyoda, Sakichi 1867 births 1930 deaths 20th-century Japanese inventors Japanese Buddhists Japanese founders of automobile manufacturers People from Shizuoka Prefecture People of the Meiji era Sakichi Toyota people