Yutaka Katayama
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, also known as Mr. K, was a Japanese automotive executive who was employed by
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 ...
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 enthusiasts as the father of the Z-Car, as well as the
Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1973, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. The 510's engineering was inspired by contemporary European sedans, particularly the 1966 BMW 1600-2 &mdash ...
.


Early years

Asoh was born in
Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
, 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, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. While in Taiwan, the young Yutaka fell ill with
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
and was sent to the estate of his paternal grandfather, a wealthy landowner in
Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
, 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 , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...
. At that time, he got a job as ship's clerk and assistant purser on the freighter ''London Maru'', carrying a cargo of raw silk to
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
and Vancouver, as well as 20 passengers to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. By several reports, he spent the next four months traveling around the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
while the ship was being loaded with lumber for her return voyage. In 1935, he graduated from
Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...
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 or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he was ordered to report to a Nissan plant in the Japanese puppet state of
Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
, 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. Datsun started to import the first of the Fairlady models starting with the SPL212 in 1960 through to the Datsun Sports 2000, the precursor to the highly successful 240Z. 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 The Nissan S30 (sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and in other markets as the Datsun 240Z, then later as the 260Z and 280Z) is the first generation of Z GT 3-door two-seat coupés, produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan from 1969 until ...
, which Nissan had originally wanted to be named the Fairlady. However, his radical ideas for operations did not sit well with the executives of Nissan in Japan. Mr. K left America in 1977 for Japan and was forced into retirement. He was inducted into the
Automotive Hall of Fame The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to au ...
on October 13, 1998 for his lifetime contributions, among them the
Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1973, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600. The 510's engineering was inspired by contemporary European sedans, particularly the 1966 BMW 1600-2 &mdash ...
and 240Z. He was inducted into the
Japan Automotive Hall of Fame The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (or JAHFA) is based at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 2000 and, since 2001, five or six people have been inducted in an annual award ceremony held at the museum. ...
in 2008. A 1997 advertisement campaign for the then-introduced
Nissan Frontier The Nissan Frontier is a nameplate used on two different pickup truck models by Nissan: * Nissan Frontier (international), an alternative nameplate for the NP300/Navara on some markets * Nissan Frontier (North America), a rebadged NP300/Navara fro ...
featured actor
Dale Ishimoto Dale Ishimoto (April 3, 1923 – March 4, 2004) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California. Military service After being sent to the Gila River internment camp in ...
portraying Katayama with a
Jack Russell Terrier The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour. Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...
, stating "Dogs Love Trucks!" The campaign was further expanded to the entire Nissan line in the United States with the tagline "Enjoy The Ride."


Death and family

Katayama died at a hospital in Tokyo February 2015 and was survived by his wife, Masako, two sons and two daughters, 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.Mr. Katayama death
/ref> His son
Hiroshi is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...
was an Olympic bronze medalist in soccer in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games.


References


External links


The Strange Odyssey of Yutaka Katayama: The Datsun 510 and the Rise of Japanese Cars in America
at Ate Up With Motor {{DEFAULTSORT:Katayama, Yutaka 1909 births 2015 deaths Japanese automotive pioneers Japanese centenarians Japanese Christians Men centenarians Nissan people People from Saitama Prefecture People from Shizuoka Prefecture Keio University alumni