The History Of Onitsuka Tiger.

Presented by WalkLikeATiger.co.uk – the UK's only specialist Onitsuka Tiger online store.

Kihachiro Onitsuka, the founder of the now well-known trainers and clothing brand Asics Onitsuka Tiger, had already led an adventurous life. Then in 1949, at the age of 31, he entered a new phase in his life. After years in the military and having worked for a company who bought and sold beer on the black market, Kihachiro Onitsuka decided that sports could play an important role in rebuilding the self-esteem of the youngsters in Japan. He learned how to manufacture trainers and founded Onitsuka Co Ltd. It was the start of a company that would develop into Asics Onitsuka Tiger – one of the five largest brands in the world market of sports shoes.

Onitsuka Basketball Shoes

Yukio Matsumoto, head coach of the Kobe High School basketball team, urged Kihachiro Onitsuka to start manufacturing trainers for basketball. He strongly believed that basketball would soon become a popular sport in Japan. Onitsuka’s first shoe design resembled a straw sandal rather than a basketball shoe and was greeted with mockery by the school coach. From that moment on Kihachiro Onitsuka came over to watch the basketball team practice whenever he could. He observed the movements of the feet and started wondering how he could create trainers that enabled the players to make sudden stops and starts.

In the summer of 1951, during a vacation, Kihachiro Onitsuka saw a plate with pickles and octopus legs. He suddenly realised that the suction cups of the octopus could be the key he had been looking for. He used the concept of the suction cups for the sole of the Onitsuka basketball shoes he was working on at the time and took them to the team. One of the players tried the trainers and the sole design proved so effective that he tumbled and fell when he made a sudden stop. Kihachiro Onitsuka adjusted the shape of the suction cups and he finally had what he wanted: basketball shoes that made it possible to stop and start without slipping.

The support of the coaches and players proved crucial to the success of Onitsuka. When Kihachiro Onitsuka took samples of his trainers to the sports stores, their first reaction was that they could not do business with him because they only bought from wholesalers. Kihachiro Onitsuka then visited the basketball coaches of high schools and showed them his basketball shoes. The coaches were enthusiastic and went with him to the stores to tell them that the students would be wearing Onitsuka trainers from then on. All Kihachiro Onitsuka had to do after that was write down the orders.

Onitsuka Tiger Running Shoes

By 1953 Kihachiro Onitsuka had broadened his interest towards running shoes. Working with top Marathon runner Tooru Terasawa, he decided to try and develop a way to avoid long distance runners getting blisters. The air-cooling system of motorcycles served as an inspiration. He used a loosely woven cloth for the top of the trainers and made a number of holes in the front and the sides. As a result of these measures the trainers now enabled the feet to “breathe”. In addition Kihachiro Onitsuka designed a two-layered sole to soften the impact. Terasawa tried the trainers on and ran 42 kilometres and 195 metres without blisters for the first time.

Onitsuka Tiger And Abebe Bikila

It took a little persuasion to get the legendary Ethiopian Marathon runner Abebe Bikila to wear Onitsuka Tiger trainers. As a matter of fact, up until 1957, Abebe didn’t wear shoes at all. When Kihachiro Onitsuka saw Abebe winning the Olympic Marathon in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, he was worried about the future of Onitsuka Tiger. Abebe ran barefoot. The next year, when Abebe Bikila ran the Mainichi Marathon in Japan, Kihachiro Onitsuka visited him in his hotel. “Why didn’t you bring your running shoes?” he asked. “Because I don’t have any”, was the athlete’s answer. After Kihachiro Onitsuka had explained to him that Japanese roads are littered with glass and therefore running bare-foot could be dangerous, Abebe was willing to give the Onitsuka Tiger trainers a try. Kihachiro Onitsuka hurried back to the factory and gave his technicians the order to manufacture the world’s lightest pair of shoes immediately. The next day Abebe Bikila won the marathon. He wore trainers ever since.

10 Years Of Onitsuka Tiger

In 1958 Kihachiro Onitsuka, who had bought the Tiger brand a year before, celebrated the 10th anniversary of Onitsuka Tiger in an astonishing way. He had decided that Onitsuka Tiger should not become a family-run business, but an employee-run business. He distributed 70 percent of Onitsuka Tiger shares to his employees. Half of the total capital was handed free of charge to senior employees, in accordance with their achievements. Twenty percent of the capital was offered to younger employees for a fee.

A Sound Mind In A Sound Body

Preparing for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics, GTO – manufacturer of sportswear and nets, Jelenk ¬– manufacturer of knit wear and Onitsuka Tiger built a regional sales office together on a piece of land near Hokkaido. It turned out to be the starting point of a historic merger that made an old dream of Kihachiro Onitsuka, a complete sporting goods company, come true. After years of negotiations the deal was finalised towards the end of 1976. In 1977 GTO, Jelenk and Onitsuka Tiger merged to form a new, strong and progressive enterprise. To find an appropriate name for their new company, the founders turned to the Ancient Romans and found an old Latin phrase: Anima Sana In Corpore Sano (a sound mind in a sound body). The world of sports welcomed a new, promising name: ASICS

Presented by WalkLikeATiger.co.uk – the UK's only specialist Onitsuka Tiger online store.