Yutaka Katayama
Encyclopedia
Yutaka Katayama (born Yutaka Asoh on 15 September 1909), also known as Mr K, is a former Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 automotive executive who was employed by Nissan
Nissan Motors
, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....

 and served as the first president of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A. Katayama expanded Nissan's focus from economy vehicles towards sportier vehicles, and is regarded by Datsun/Nissan Z Car
Nissan Z-car
The Z-car is a series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan Motors Ltd.. The original Z was sold in October 1969 in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and was sold in Japan at Nissan Exhibition dealerships that previously sold the Nissan Bluebird. It was exported as the Datsun 240Z. Since 2009 Nissan...

 enthusiasts as the father of the Z-Car
Nissan Z-car
The Z-car is a series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan Motors Ltd.. The original Z was sold in October 1969 in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and was sold in Japan at Nissan Exhibition dealerships that previously sold the Nissan Bluebird. It was exported as the Datsun 240Z. Since 2009 Nissan...

, as well as the Datsun 510
Datsun 510
The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D...

.

Early years

Asoh was born in Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

, Japan, the second of four children of a well-off businessman whose postings took the family to various places in Japan and also to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. While in Taiwan, the young Yutaka fell ill with malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 and was sent to the estate of his paternal grandfather, a wealthy landowner in Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

, to convalesce and attend school. He would gain his first exposure to the United States in mid-1929, while he was preparing to enter his father's alma mater of Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...

. At that time, he got a job as ship's clerk and assistant purser on the freighter Londonmaru, carrying a cargo of raw silk to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 and Vancouver, as well as 20 passengers to Seattle. By several reports, he spent the next four months traveling around the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

 while the ship was being loaded with lumber for her return voyage.

In 1935, he graduated from Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...

 and landed a job with Nissan. In 1937, he married Masako Katayama and took her family name, as there were no sons in her family and he had two other brothers to carry on the Asoh name.

Career at Nissan

In 1939, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he was ordered to report to a Nissan plant in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

, but managed to obtain a transfer back to Japan in 1941. Near the end of the war in 1945, he refused orders to return to Manchukuo; Katayama later credited his survival of the war to this decision.

He returned to the U.S. in 1960, when Nissan sent him to do market research, after which he returned to Nissan in Japan and persuaded the company to start its own sales company in the United States. In 1968, the Datsun 510 was introduced. It cost $2,000 and carried independent rear suspension on sedans. He persuaded the Nissan corporate office in Japan to export the all new 510 with a larger 1.6 liter motor. This motor allowed the 510 to be viable on American roadways. In 1970, he introduced the Datsun 240Z, which Nissan had originally wanted to be named the Fairlady
Datsun Sports
The first Datsun Sports model was the 1959 S211. It used a 988 cc C-series straight-4 producing . The S211 was based on the Datsun 211 sedan. Incorporated into the side trim were the side badges, which said "Datsun 1000". It was designed by Yuichi Ohta, who had previously designed the Datsun...

. However, his radical ideas for operations did not sit well with the executives of Nissan in Japan. Mr. K left America in 1975 and returned to Japan. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame
Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum and hall of fame covering automotive innovations.-Location:Located in the metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, the museum shares a parking lot with The Henry Ford.-External links:*...

 on October 13, 1998 for his lifetime contributions, among them the Datsun 510
Datsun 510
The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1974, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. According to AutoWeek's G.D...

 and 240Z. He was inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame in 2008.

A 1997 advertisement campaign for the then-introduced Nissan Frontier
Nissan Frontier
Nissan Navara is the name for the D22 and D40 generations of Nissan pickup trucks sold in Asia while in the North, Central and South America and the Philippines it is sold as Nissan Frontier. The line was started in 1998, and its immediate predecessor is the D21 Nissan Hardbody truck...

 featured actor Dale Ishimoto
Dale Ishimoto
Dale Ishimoto was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California.-Military service:...

 portraying Katayama with a Jack Russell Terrier
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...

, stating "Dogs Love Trucks!" The campaign was further expanded to the entire Nissan line in the United States with the tagline "Enjoy The Ride."

Personal life

His son Hiroshi
Hiroshi Katayama
is a retired Japanese football player. His father Yutaka is the first president of Nissan Motors USA.Katayama made 29 appearances for the senior Japan national football team from 1961 to 1971...

 was an Olympic bronze medalist in soccer in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

.

Yutaka Katayama is well known for his "Love cars, love people, love life!" remark.

External links

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