was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of FameThe History and the Biography of Shinichiro Sakurai
(Japanese) - Japan Automotive Hall of Fame who originally worked for

Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company ( Japanese: ) was an automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes for the Japanese Army in World War II, e.g ...

then later moved to Nissan. After graduating from

Yokohama National University , abbreviated to or YNU, is a national university located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1876, it became a national university in 1949, and currently comprises five graduate schools and four undergraduate faculties. The univ ...

, Sakurai worked for the

Shimizu Corporation is an architectural, civil engineering and general contracting firm. It has annual sales of approximately US$15 billion and has been widely recognized as one of the top 5 contractors in Japan and among the top 20 in the world. It is a family bu ...

before he was given the opportunity to work in the Japanese automotive industry, which was his first intent. He later joined Prince as a chassis engineer in 1952, and was heavily involved in the development of the first generation

Nissan Skyline The is a brand of automobile originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1957, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1967. After the merger, the Skyline and its larger counterpart, the Nissan Gloria, were sold ...

(also called the Prince Skyline). He continued to head the

project long after the Nissan takeover, headed the Nissan MID4 project, and was appointed President of

Autech is a Nissan Motorsports & Customizing division focused on tuning and converting Nissan cars. Autech was a subsidiary company of Nissan from its establishment in 1986 to 2022, when it was merged with Nismo. History Autech was founded in 1986 a ...

(a Nissan subsidiary) in 1986. He continued to work in the automotive field up until his death.Sakurai and the Skyline
/ref> Sakurai died of heart failure on January 17, 2011.
Kyodo News January 20, 2011 (Japanese)Shinichiro Sakurai, Father of the Skyline, 1929-2011
japanesenostalgiccar.com January 23, 2011

History

The following sentences are based on the four sources stated in the "References" section.『「プリンス」荻窪の思い出 II』荻友会編私家版 1997年11月16日 "Prince - Memories of Ogikubo" Private press by Tekiyukai (former Prince engineers) Association, Nov. 16, 1997 (Japanese)
桜井眞一郎著『スカイラインとともに』神奈川新聞社 2006年4月　 SAKURAI, Shinichiro "With the Skyline" Kanagawa Shimbun, April 2006 (Japanese) *April 3, 1929 - Born in

Totsuka-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 273,418 and a density of 7,640 persons per km2. The total area was 35.70 km2. Geography Totsuka Ward is lo ...

. *March 1951 - Graduated from the

Shinichiro Sakurai at Yokohama National University at the age of 19

*April 1951 - Joined the machine department of the

. *October 1952 - Joined the design department of the Tama Motor Company. (The manager was Jiro Tanaka and the assistant manager was Takuya Himura.) *November 1952 - The Tama Motor Company changed its name to the

. *April 1954 - The Prince Motor Company was merged with the Fuji Precision Industries. (The name Prince Motor Company disappeared in the meantime.) The senior design manager was

Ryoichi Nakagawa was a Japanese aircraft/automotive engineer. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1936 and joined Nakajima Aircraft Company in the same year. Career He improved Nakajima Sakae engine for Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Nakajima Ki-43 and other ...

. *February 1961 - The Fuji Precision Industries changed its name to the Prince Motor Company. (The name "Prince Motor Company" revived.) *September 1963 - The assistant manager of the vehicle development group No. 1 of the passenger car department. *June 1965 - The assistant manager of the vehicle development group No. 2 of the vehicle technology department No. 1. *August 1966 - The Prince Motor Company was merged into the

Nissan Motor Company , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bran ...

. Assigned as the assistant manager of the vehicle development group No. 2, the vehicle technology department No. 1, the Prince division, the Nissan Motor Company. *January 1968 - The manager of the vehicle development group No. 2 of the design department No. 4. *January 1970 - The manager of the vehicle development group No. 8 of the design department No. 4. *January 1971 - Attached to the vehicle development department No. 3. *February 1974 - The chief vehicle coordinator of the vehicle development department No. 3. *February 1976 - The deputy manager of the vehicle development department No. 3. *January 1979 - The chief vehicle coordinator of the product developmentment office. *January 1980 - The senior manager and the chief vehicle coordinator of the product developmentment office. *February 1984 - The senior manager of the vehicle developmentment control department, the product developmentment office. *January 1986 - The senior manager of the technical vehicle design department. *October 1986 - The president of the

. *April 1989 - The part-time instructor of the Osaka Sangyo University. *December 1994 - The president of the S&S Engineering. *October 1995 - The part-time instructor of the

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai ...

. *May 2005 - Inducted to the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame. *August 2006 - The chairman of the S&S Holdings. *October 2008 - The chairman of th
Lenz Environmental Resources
*July 2010 - The chairman of the S&S Engineering. *January 17, 2011 - Died in

Setagaya, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orc ...

Death

Shinichiro Sakurai died of heart failure on January 17, 2011.

References

External links

Shin'ichiro Sakurai - Nissan Legends 04 (nissan-global.com)Start of the Skyline Legend (nissan-global.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, Shinichiro 1929 births 2011 deaths Japanese automotive engineers Nissan people People from Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama National University alumni Tokai University faculty

History

Death

See also

References

External links