Kuwahara (bicycle company)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese bicycle
company manufacturing both bicycles and parts.
The company was started as a small family business in Osaka
, Japan
in 1918 by Sentaro Kuwahara (桑原仙太郎). With his wife and eight children, he began a local bicycle parts wholesaler. In 1925 Kuwahara began to export bicycles and parts to Russia, China and Southeast Asia, closing the business from 1940 to 1945 during World War II
. 1959 saw the first delivery of Kuwahara bikes to the USA. Sentaro Kuwahara died the following year, with his son Masao taking his place.
In 1962 Kuwahara sent its first shipment of Apollo brand sport bicycles to Canada
and in 1968 began exporting private label bikes to the USA for other companies such as Schwinn, Takara
, Puch
, Azuki and others.
The first Kuwahara branded bikes for export came in 1972 when it began developing BMX
bicycles for the North America
n, Europe
an and Australia
n markets.
Howie Cohen — who had previously operated West Coast Cycle, importer of Nishiki
bikes — founded the company Everything Bicycles and worked with Kuwahara to build and import BMX bikes carrying the Kuwahara brand name, developing the first major BMX distributorship.
To make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, Cohen ran a promotion giving free stickers to children who called a toll-free phone number and could correctly pronounce the brand name. In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company.
The Kuwahara brand gained international recognition and popularity when its BMX model was used in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
. Following the success of the film, Kuwahara began producing red and white "ET models" in three price and quality levels. Kuwahara reissued the "ET model" in 2002 as part of ET's twentieth anniversary.
Takuo Kuwahara started Kuwahara International in 1988.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
company manufacturing both bicycles and parts.
The company was started as a small family business in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1918 by Sentaro Kuwahara (桑原仙太郎). With his wife and eight children, he began a local bicycle parts wholesaler. In 1925 Kuwahara began to export bicycles and parts to Russia, China and Southeast Asia, closing the business from 1940 to 1945 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...
. 1959 saw the first delivery of Kuwahara bikes to the USA. Sentaro Kuwahara died the following year, with his son Masao taking his place.
In 1962 Kuwahara sent its first shipment of Apollo brand sport bicycles to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in 1968 began exporting private label bikes to the USA for other companies such as Schwinn, Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
, Puch
Puch
Puch is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1889 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles.-Pre 1919:...
, Azuki and others.
The first Kuwahara branded bikes for export came in 1972 when it began developing BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
bicycles for the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n markets.
Howie Cohen — who had previously operated West Coast Cycle, importer of Nishiki
Nishiki (bicycle)
Nishiki was a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cyles in Kobe, Japan and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1965 and...
bikes — founded the company Everything Bicycles and worked with Kuwahara to build and import BMX bikes carrying the Kuwahara brand name, developing the first major BMX distributorship.
To make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, Cohen ran a promotion giving free stickers to children who called a toll-free phone number and could correctly pronounce the brand name. In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company.
The Kuwahara brand gained international recognition and popularity when its BMX model was used in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
. Following the success of the film, Kuwahara began producing red and white "ET models" in three price and quality levels. Kuwahara reissued the "ET model" in 2002 as part of ET's twentieth anniversary.
Takuo Kuwahara started Kuwahara International in 1988.