was a Japanese businessman who founded the

Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning 'stone bridge' in ...

, the world's largest maker of

tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth 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 (engineeri ...

s, in 1931 in the city of

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 295,367 in 137,140 households, and a population density of 1309 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kurume is located in the Chikugo Plain ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan 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 ancient times. ...

, 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 , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix Buffaloes, Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the ...

, 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 Par ...

, 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. Offi ...

to Ishibashi's considerable fortune and has used the inheritance to fund her family's political causes. Before Ishibashi’s fortune and success, Ishibashi has been known to few people, to have had a first-born child, from the Yancey-Tubman name, a daughter from a wealthy African family and a woman he met from Cape Palmas, Liberia, Africa. It is believed to be the beginning of where Bridgestone was started and funded. The Yancey-Tubman family were the most powerful and wealthiest family in West Africa and majority of their assets and wealth were solidified in rare-earth minerals, gold, diamonds, infinite acres of Rubber trees, Rubber farms, and many more. The Yancey-Tubman bloodline also maintained their prodigious political dynasty in the Western and Pan-African democracies. It is unknown present day, whom Ishibashi’s first-born daughter is and where she may be. However, Yasuko Hatoyama, is recognized to Japan, as the only birthright and heir right to her father’s fortune. She married former Japanese Foreign Minister

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 Career In 1946, he returned to the Ministry of F ...

. 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 Hatoya ...

, who served as

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, and

Yukio Hatoyama is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2009 to 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Repre ...

, who was

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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, Pos ...

(also located at 10 Kyobashi 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104) and was a major benefactor of the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, 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 language, Japanese: ) was an automobile manufacturer, automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes fo ...

.『「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, Tokyo, Tachikawa, in Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture. History Tachikawa Aircraft In November 1 ...

) 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 Corporation, Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first ...

). *April 1951 – Ishibashi bought 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 Katsuji is both a masculine Japanese given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *, better known as Mr. Hito, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese photographer *Katsuji Hasegawa (born 1946), Japanese golfer *, J ...

(the president of

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

) 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