was a Japanese businessman who founded the Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest maker of

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

s, in 1931 in the city of

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, Japan. the company was named after its founder: in the Japanese language, ''ishi'' means "stone" and ''hashi'' (here voiced to ''bashi'') means "bridge", whence the origin of the company's name in English. After the end of the Second World War and the subsequent occupation of Japan, Ishibashi became extensively embroiled in Japanese politics. Ishibashi was close to Ichiro Hatoyama, who was a rival to prime minister Shigeru Yoshida. Ishibashi became an advisor to Hatoyama on Japan's post-war economic development, expressing his views on the economic policy of the parties of Hatoyama's political affiliation. Ishibashi's daughter,

Yasuko Hatoyama was the wife of former Japanese Foreign Minister Iichirō Hatoyama and mother of former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama and Diet (Japan's bicameral legislature) member Kunio Hatoyama. Hatoyama funded the establishment of the Democratic Pa ...

, became

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

to Ishibashi's considerable fortune and has used the inheritance to fund her family's political causes. She married former

Japanese Foreign Minister The is a member of the cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is responsible for implementing Japan’s foreign policy and is also a statutory member of the National Security Cou ...

Iichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician and diplomat. Between 1976 and 1977, he served as Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. He was the son and father of two former Prime Ministers, Ichirō At end of the war, Iichirō was one of 6.6 million ...

. The couple had two sons, who are Ishibashi's grandchildren – politicians

Kunio Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Ministers Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda until 12 June 2009. Biography Kunio Hatoyama was born in Tokyo in 1948. He was a son of Yasuko Hatoyam ...

, who served as

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...

, and

Yukio Hatoyama is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hatoy ...

, who was

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

from September 16, 2009 to June 8, 2010. Ishibashi's motto for Bridgestone was to "serve society with products of superior quality". He founded Ishibashi Cultural Center and the

Bridgestone Museum of Art Artizon Museum , until 2018 , is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. The museum was founded in 1952 by the founder of Bridgestone Tire Co., Ishibashi Shojiro (his family name means stone bridge). The museum's collections include Impressionists, Po ...

(also located at 10 Kyobashi 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104) and was a major benefactor of the

Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art. This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-centu ...

, having also constructed the building in which it is housed.

Prince Motor Company

Prince Sedan AISH exhibition show at the Bridgestone headquarters in March 1952

Ishibashi made sure of birth and the end of the

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. ...

.『「プリンス」荻窪の思い出 II』荻友会編私家版 16 November 1997 "Prince – Memories of Ogikubo" Private press by Tekiyukai Association, November 16, 1997 (Japanese) *February 1949 – Ishibashi financed the Tokyo Electric Car Company (one of the successors of the

Tachikawa Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer in the Empire of Japan, specializing primarily in aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. It was based at Tachikawa, in Tokyo Prefecture. History Tachikawa Aircraft In November 1924, Ishikawajima Shipyar ...

) and became the Chairperson of the Board. *November 1949 – Tokyo Electric Car changed its name to Tama Electric Car Company. *November 1950 – Tama Electric Car ordered the new gasoline engine from the Fuji Precision Industries (one of the successors of the disbanded

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufacture ...

). *April 1951 – Ishibashi bought the most of the stock of the Fuji Precision Industries and became the Chairperson of the Board. At this time, Ishibashi owned both Tokyo Electric Car and Fuji Precision. *November 1951 – Tama Electric Car changed its name to the Tama Motor Company. *November 1952 – Tama Motor Company changed its name to the

. *April 1954 – Prince Motor Company was merged into Fuji Precision. (Prior to this, two of them were owned by Ishibashi.) *February 1961 – Fuji Precision returned its name to

again. *May 1965 – Ishibashi (the owner of Prince), Hidehiko Ogawa (the president of Prince) and Katsuji Kawamata (the president of

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

) signed a merger memorandum. *August 1966 – Prince was merged into Nissan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishibashi, Shojiro 1889 births 1976 deaths Bridgestone people Japanese art collectors Japanese chief executives Japanese philanthropists Museum founders People from Kurume Tire industry people Japanese automotive pioneers