Caitlin Ali

Mr. Skipper

Encounters 7

February 16, 2024

The Creator of the First Japanese Organ 

Introduction 

There are many types of industries in the world, but the ones that specialize in music may be one of the most popular purchases. These industries have made a positive impact on the world because of the opportunities it brought to others. Music can help others express their feelings and emotions, and the best way to do so can be by playing an instrument or creating music. One of the most well-known manufacturers in the music category is Yamaha Music. This company was originally founded by a Japanese businessman named Torakusu Yamaha. Yamaha had started a company that would sell all over the world. The products can range from sheets of music to the most expensive keyboard instruments that they sell. They also sell learning positions to musicians who would want to learn a certain type of instrument. The products and professional help that Yamaha Music provides are the reason why it’s one of the most well-known names out there.

Early Life

When Yamaha was a child, he was intelligent and knew what he wanted to do later on in life. Torakusu Yamaha was born on April 20th, 1851, in Wakayama, Japan. He was the youngest of three children. His father was in the Kii clan as a samurai warrior and as an astronomer. Because of Yamaha’s father’s position as an astronomer, Yamaha was very blessed with the education given to him. The textbooks that he received from his father gave him a keen interest in engineering, astronomy, and his education. He was also interested in “Western science and technology” (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB). With Yamaha’s interest in certain topics, he became mesmerized by watches. This led to him making watches and studying business. When Yamaha was nineteen, he started a “watchmaking and repair” (Origins of the Yamaha Brand) company that later failed. At the age of twenty, he left for Nagasaki, Japan in 1871 to “study watchmaking” (Torakusu Yamaha, Prabook). When he mastered watchmaking, he also got interested in medical equipment. Because of this, he moved to Osaka so he could “study medical equipment” (Torakusu Yamaha, Prabook). He then became a general handyman in repairing tools for hospitals and gadgets. One of Yamaha’s tasks for his new job was to visit Hamamatsu City, Japan to repair medical equipment at the city's hospital. Another task was to visit an elementary school that had him repair an organ that wasn’t working. This trip to the school would be the most important event in Yamaha’s life because it would be the start of his success later on.

Beginning of Career

Yamaha’s early life was just the beginning of his career. His past would help him throughout his life because of what it would cause. Yamaha’s career started when he went to Jinjou Elementary. The school had hired him to repair “a defective foreign brand organ” (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill), or an “American-made Mason & Hamlin organ” (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB). He found the problems with the organ and started working on it with the help of an ironworker who he worked with to repair medical equipment in the past. Torakusu had repaired and finished the first ever Japanese organ in two months, but he got feedback from the Tokyo Universe of Art and Music who had given the instrument negative comments about its bad tuning and design. Because of the many questions Yamaha had asked about the organ, the university had offered him lessons and classes for “various theories of music” (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill). When Yamaha learned about music theory, he went back to finish what he started. He built a second organ that was said to be “as good as those from abroad” (Torakusu Yamaha, Prabook) in the last two months of the year. Yamaha was a hard worker because he had learned a whole new skill and succeeded in it. He overcame the negative feedback and decided to take matters into his own hands. His hard work would pay off to create a new organ that was musically outstanding.

Career Accomplishments 

Yamaha went from being a general handyman to becoming a founder of his future company. He went through some difficulties, but in the end, he succeeded and now has a business that creates numerous products. Yamaha began his company after he had gotten more orders from others to repair their organs. He had founded a company called "Nippon Gakki Co." (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill) in 1887. He created a production line and had help from carpenters and cabinetmakers. Later, the company sold around two hundred and fifty organs to educational areas. This accomplishment started a new line of different instruments such as “pianos, harmonicas, and xylophones” to be produced and sold to customers (Torakusu Yamaha, Prabook). In Saint Louis, Missouri 1904, the World’s Fair gave the company the “Honorary Grand Prize” (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill). With the progress of the company, Yamaha came up with the logo of a phoenix with a tuning fork to pose as his progress with his first organ repair. During the making of the company, Nippon Gakki Co. headed off to the production of home inventions, water vessels, microchips, and physical equipment. This eventually led to the making of a new company called “Yamaha Motor” (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB) in 1955. With Yamaha’s company, he influenced another famous company called “Kawai Musical Instruments” (Torakusu Yamaha, Prabook). Koichi Kawai, the founder of the other company, was eleven when Torakusu was teaching him. Years later when Kawai was older, he had become Nippon Gakki Co’s new opponent. Even with Yamaha’s success, there weren't many problems while being productive. The only problem that Yamaha experienced between repairing his first organ and his company was the trial and error of the first organ. Yamaha’s first draft of finishing the organ was that it wasn’t tuned properly. He solved it by taking music theory classes and later producing an organ that was “as good as those from abroad” (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill). 

Impact on the World 

The world has an addition to the music industry, which was Yamaha’s Music Company. Yamaha’s company had a positive effect on the world because of the production of its tools and musical instruments. He started his company by creating an outstanding organ to produce numerous instruments for the world, but with every good event comes its bad one. Unfortunately in 1916, Yamaha passed away from an illness. However, after his death, his legacy would still live forever. After the increase in success, the company in 1954 would open its first-ever “Yamaha Music School” (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB). In 1987, Nippon Gakki Co changed its name to “Yamaha Corporation” to bring remembrance to Yamaha (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB), and in 1897, the logo changed to the now-known “three tuning forks” (Torakusu Yamaha, Peoplepill). Although with the success gained, a shocking part of his legacy is the other company that got started after his death. After Yamaha Music started producing other products, “Yamaha Motors” started from the original company in 1955 (Torakusu Yamaha, NNDB). Although Yamaha was gone, his company kept on pursuing and gained major accomplishments over the decades. With the amount of success, his name was well known, admired, and purchased all over the world.

Conclusion 

Yamaha’s company took off from factors that surrounded him, but his personality played a huge role in his success. He had some key traits that helped him in his lifetime. Firstly, his intelligence came from his childhood and his first task as a repairman. The beginning of his profession required a lot of advanced thinking because of how difficult it was to repair his first organ. He also installed a conveyor belt or production line to make his business faster. Persistence is second because it pushed him to do his best. His small struggles during his career could have been difficult to accomplish, but he decided to keep going and eventually achieved his goal. Lastly, Yamaha's curiosity opened up a lot of opportunities. He knew what he wanted to do in life, but he didn’t know where to start. His curiosity eventually led him to his future success. These traits can affect others because of the positive influences they bring. Intelligence can bring great success and can make an impact on the world. Persistence can help others to keep going in life. The negatives in life can be effective, but persistence can ignore the harm and allow positive aspects to continue. Curiosity can introduce new ideas or things to others. It can show a new side of life or even help others find what they want to do in life. All of these traits can help create progress or offer opportunities that can be turned into success. Yamaha’s childhood, the beginning of his career, his success, and the traits that he has made him a person to look up to. What he accomplished and created is a message to never give up and to keep chasing after dreams. 

Works Cited

“Origins of the Yamaha Brand.” Yamaha, www.yamaha.com/en/about/history/brand/.

“Torakusu Yamaha.” NNDB, www.nndb.com/people/584/000175059/

“Torakusu Yamaha.” Peoplepill, peoplepill.com/i/torakusu-yamaha.

“Torakusu Yamaha.” Prabook, prabook.com/web/torakusu.yamaha/3752626.