A Samurai's Musical Pivot:
The Rickshaw Driver Who Transformed the World of Music
Did you know that the world’s largest musical instrument company, Yamaha Corporation, was started by an ex-samurai who knew nothing about music? In fact, he pulled a rickshaw for a living, and repaired watches as a side gig.
Take a moment and consider how that resume could launch a company that has produced untold beauty and joy around the globe for almost 150 years.
Born in 1851, the star of our unlikely musical drama was the the third son of a very low-ranking samurai. His name was Torakusu, and he came of age just as Japan was making the difficult transition to a modern society. With the stroke of a pen, the new Meiji government abolished the samurai class, along with their swords, top knots, and a millenium of cultural distinction.
This sudden change left many skilled warriors without a clear purpose or means of support. Men like Torakusu were everywhere in Japan. They bounced around, looking for any kind of work. Torakusu went to Nagasaki to learn watchmaking from an English engineer. Then, he got his “big break”—he became the rickshaw man for a hospital director in the town of Hamamatsu (a town roughly half-way between Nagoya and Tokyo).
Destiny’s Tap
That’s when destiny tapped our seedy samurai on the shoulder. In 1886, Torakusu was asked by the principal of a local elementary school to look at an imported reed organ. It was broken, and the school had no one else to ask.
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