Soichiro Honda And His Extraordinary History

Perhaps many do not know who Soichiro Honda was, yet everyone knows the Honda brand. Soichiro Honda is the person who founded this famous multinational, and his story, in addition to being that of a businessman, is also an excellent testimony of struggle and overcoming.

Soichiro Honda was born into a very humble family in a small province of Japan called Komyo  in the early 20th century. When he was still very young , a car first arrived in his city. It was a Ford and Soichiro was fascinated. It seemed incredible to him what he could do. From there he began to dream of being able to build his car one day.

At 15, Soichiro Honda moved to Tokyo. He got a job in a lab  and became a good friend of his boss demonstrating an enormous passion for his work from day one. For this reason, the head of the laboratory proposed that he take some parts of an airplane that were scattered around the laboratory and build a racing car with them.

The beginning of the Soichiro Honda story

Building a car was Soichiro Honda’s dream. That is why when it was proposed to him, he did not hesitate even for a second. Combining industrial and artisanal techniques, he managed to build the first model. He made most of the pieces himself. He sculpted the spokes of the wooden wheels with his hands.

Thus was born the Curtiss model , an extraordinary car that was immediately tested in the race. In 1924 he won the championship in Japan. At the time, Soichiro Honda was only 18 years old.

Not only did he make himself known as a passionate and persevering mechanic, but he also became a racing car driver, an activity in which he also achieved remarkable results. When he managed to get the car to reach the speed of 120 km / h he founded a brand that remained for 20 years in Japan.

A path of perseverance

At 21, Soichiro Honda decided to return to his hometown. He had worked for 6 years as an employee in a laboratory and was ready to take the next step. The following year he founded his first factory, the Toukai presition machine company  which was involved in the production of auto parts, especially piston rings.

It wasn’t easy, but he worked hard and managed to produce them with excellent quality. This allowed him to sell the parts to the Toyota company. This activity was what allowed him to survive for many years.

During his youth, Soichiro Honda did not like studying. I used to say that ” If theory promoted creativity, all teachers would be inventors “. Over the years, however, he realized that studying was a path of growth. That is why he decided to enroll in the Hamamatsu Technical School. However, Honda was expelled from the institute because he refused to take the final exam, deeming it useless.

A survivor

Soichiro Honda had to witness the two world wars and also the war between China and Japan. After the Second World War, the country was completely devastated. Honda lost everything it had built due to the bombing.

He then made a decision. He would take a year off. He built a whiskey distillery in the house. During that year he produced the liqueur for himself and his friends. Surely he also took advantage of that moment to define the direction to follow after losing everything. His reflections must have been very acute, as after that moment his true phase of success began.

In 1946, Soichiro Honda founded a new company which he called the Honda Technical Research Institute. Car traffic in Japan was practically non-existent, so he dedicated himself to producing motorcycles, a cheaper vehicle that could be useful in the new circumstances. Good choice. He built a light and less noisy engine than usual which guaranteed him an unprecedented triumph.

In 1973, Soichiro Honda stopped working for his company. He had created the “Honda Foundation”, dedicated to protecting the environment. From that year on he devoted all his efforts and commitment to this work. He died in August 1991, having established himself as the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.