佐吉 豊田
Sakichi Toyoda was born on February 14, 1867, in Yamaguchi, Tōtōmi Province (present-day Kosai, Shizuoka), to Ikichi and Ei Toyoda. Ikichi was a carpenter and a farmer, and he taught carpentry to his son. Sakichi's boyhood would coincide with the end of the shogunate era, replaced by the Meiji and its reformist policies.
Sakichi was an avid reader in his youth, and he organized a youth study group for teens. Inspired by a trip to Ueno to visit the Third National Machinery Exposition, he would go on to revolutionize the textile industry, powered by steam, oil, and electricity.
Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was the engineering manufacturing company established by Sakichi Toyoda in 1926. It earned him the moniker of father of the Japanese industrial revolution. He is also the founder of Toyota Industries Co., Ltd.
Toyoda invented and innovated numerous textile-focused weaving devices, introducing innovative fueling systems used to power his Toyoda-branded machines. His most famous invention was the automatic power loom in which he implemented the principle of Jidoka (autonomous automation). The principle of Jidoka, which means that the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the Toyota Production System.
Toyoda developed the concept of 5 Whys: When a problem occurs, ask "why" five times to try to find the source of the problem, then put into place something to prevent the problem from recurring. This concept is used today as part of applying lean methodologies to solve problems, improve quality, and reduce costs.
Kiichiro Toyoda establish the world's largest automaker, Toyota.
