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Rickshaw: Where, Who, When?

Invention of the Rickshaw; Where, Who, When?

  • France, anonymous, before 1660

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Japan, anonymous, 1846

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Japan, Izumi Yoosuke et al., 1869

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Japan, Rev. E. Jonathan Scobie, 1869

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Japan, Rev. Jonathan Goble, 1869-71

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Japan, Simooka Renjo, 1871

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • USA, Albert Tolman, 1846-48

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • USA, Francis C. Pollay, 1871

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Not sure

    Votes: 4 44.4%
  • Total voters
    9

lexico

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Everyone knows what a rickshaw is.
Some people call it jinriki, jinrikisha, or jinricksha ﾂ人窶氾?#63746;.

Outside of Japan, the rickshaw first appeared in Bankok in 1871,
Beijing, 1873,
Hongkong, 1874,
India, around 1880,
Singapore, 1882,
Sri Lanka, 1883
Korea, 1894,
and South Africa, around 1902.
Some people think Europe and South America had rickshaws, too.

Rickshaw pullers had a hard life. Some people called them coolies 窶ｹﾃｪ窶氾 for "bitter labor."
Many died young from exhaustion. Some countries have banned the rickshaw.
But some people think rickshaws are the way of the future.

Have you heard of Japan's first rickshaw?
 

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Last edited:
Hey, epigene...thanks for looking it up! And the ria-car,too!

I actually haven't figured out anything yet...other than the answer is undecided.
Each source is giving a me different answer.
Which leads me to the corollary question: How are individuals responding, exposed to such conflicting, confusing material?

So, although historical truth may not be decided by majority vote; I reckoned the subject of people's beliefs is something that I can learn more about.

Coming to the Bridgestone Tires page, I get the following from Google translation. It goes,

"The Japanese original rickshaw
In the one of the Japanese who are surprised to the stranger carriage, Chikuzen (Saga) Izumi main point help was. Following the going/participating working hard/employment alternately of the lord, when the main point help which appears to Edo admires to the light running of the stranger carriage and the person pulls in place of the horse, you thought how probably will be. It is invention of the rickshaw. Main point help of the loyal retainer family coming out, using the discouragement loyal retainer family after the restoration, starts rickshaw trading, directly becomes big hit. You can say it was the inventor, was the manager, was the social work house." (underline by me)

I suspect this machine translation is garbled, especially in the proper nouns. The text you found appears to say that a person called "Main point help" invented the rickshaw right after the restoration. I wonder if "Mainpoint help" is not the official title of the person, not the name. But I can't be sure. Do you recognize the Japanese or Kanji of "Main point help"? And also, what is the year of the restoration? Does it have a place?
 
Missionary, maybe?

The story that a European missionary (J. Gable) has invented the rickshaw because he was unhappy with being carried around in a palanquin seems to have the biggest validity. But there are other stories around. One old colonial dictionary put the origin to somewhere in the Malay Peninsula.
 
ﾋ彗ﾂ静ｲ窶牌ﾂ鞘?｢ (Izumi, "main point," help/associate). I'm pretty sure that's simply a name.
 
I did quite a bit of research and thinking on this. I have to say that this came from the Europeans, thus the first choice. When we first see the rickshaw - who uses it? None other than the native elite or the European residents, diplomats, or tourists.
 
This is a translation of the Bridgestone Tire article on the rickshaw (jinrikisha in Japanese):

Japan's Original Jinrikisha (Rickshaw)

Yousuke Izumi of Chikuzen (present-day Saga) was one of many Japanese who was surprised by the horse-driven carriage of Westerners. Yosuke arrived in Edo (Tokyo) in his tour of duty as escort of his lord and was strongly impressed by the swiftness of the Western carriage. He thought of what would it be like if the carriage was pulled by a man instead of a horse. This resulted in the invention of the "jinrikisha." Born in a samurai family, Yousuke began the rickshaw business, employing former samurais who have become jobless after the Meiji Restoration, and his business became a big success. He was inventor, business entrepreneur and a major contributor to society in this way.

French journalist Emile Gime (phonetic spelling) describes his impression of riding Japan's unique jinrikisha: "I felt a bit guilty of riding a jinrikisha, because it was being pulled by someone who is the same as me (human). When you get used to it, however, it is the most comfortable ride there is."
 
Last edited:
mikecash said:
Let's pause a moment to reflect on the rickshaw's all-but-forgotten progeny: the rintaku.
Click to expand...
Oh, I've ridden those in the Philippines! I think they still have those there, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia... If I remember correctly, they were called "tricycles." (Natsukashii!!)
 
Is the Rintaku the Riaka? How confusing!! The three r's - Riaka, Rickshaw, Rintaku..
 
Elizabeth said:
ﾋ彗ﾂ静ｲ窶牌ﾂ鞘?｢ (Izumi, "main point," help/associate). I'm pretty sure that's simply a name.
Click to expand...
I wonder if that's the same person as Izumi Yoosuke, 1869, as some sources say.
 
Hiroshi66 said:
Is the Rintaku the Riaka? How confusing!! The three r's - Riaka, Rickshaw, Rintaku..
Click to expand...

There's also the "entaku"
 
New Information!

This strangely reminds me of the invention of a "chair with wheels" by Erich von Burenheimer, Germany, in 1672 for his mother who had crowfeet. Although that was supposed to be the wheelchair, there might be a connection.
The missionary Rev. J. Galble (British?) is new information. Your refence to Malay Island is also new. Thanks for the research; this is getting exciting, Bossel!

I owe you big for this one...wow, translation of the full text...thanks so much! Now I know Yousuke was a samurai, the first rickshaw pullers were also samurai, and the social aspect of the rickshaw as an reemployment program; iluminating!
 
Last edited:
Scholarly Opinion

Your insight seems to be backed by the following;
1. importing of the European horse carriage
2. the initial clientel being those who were used to riding horse carriages
3. Bossel's reference to the European misssionary J. Gable
4. French artist Claude Gillot's painting. See the brief article on rickshaw here http://www.printsofjapan.com/taiso_yoshitoshi.htm (other beautiful prints also)
5. other evidence yet to be found ???

I appreciate you deep historical thinking, Hiroshi!

Great photos, Mike! Let's drink to that!

What a great find! A very vivid picture of the times!
It has one major theory the the poll is missing;

"Akiha Daisuke...according to Akiha family tradition, ran a saddlery around the time of the Meiji Restoration...according to one theory, was the first to invent the jinrikisha but the second to apply for an application to manufacture it. Perhaps Goble's wayward plan passed through Renjo's hands to Daisuke's." (p. 3)

It would seem that all these missionaries, ex-samurais, and businessmen were vying for the honor of inventing the rickshaw; or is it only so in retrospect?
 
Last edited:
Arigatou, lexico-san!

I think that the Japanese argument is all convincing - perhaps there was a modified rickshaw built in France prior to the 1600s and the rickshaw we know today was built in Japan perhaps?
 
ENTAKU, RINTAKU, RIKISHA, RIAKA, anything else you wish to add, Mike?

mikecash said:
There's also the "entaku"
Click to expand...
I'd like to learn more about the EN-taxi, Mike, unless...you were...of course! Cheers, anyway!

However, looking at the photos of the RIN-TAKU somehow tells me they have to be descendants of the European REAR-CAR's without the motor. The real rear cars assumed the title of RIN-TAKU while the old KURUMA reassembled with modern parts inherited the title of RIA-KA from the original REAR-CAR's which then got a new name. How confusing indeed!

Hiroshi66 said:
Arigatou, lexico-san!
I think that the Japanese argument is all convincing - perhaps there was a modified rickshaw built in France prior to the 1600s and the rickshaw we know today was built in Japan perhaps?
Click to expand...
You did it again, Hiroshi! This "Dual Origin of the Rickshaw" deservers some serious attention, I think. We may even have to consider the possibility of "Multitple Origins." Independent or parallel inventions have been documented elsewhere, so it's quite possilbe. In which case, we will have to find proof for each independent invention. Up to now, we have theories pointing to Japan, USA, South America, some country in Europe, Malay Is. and even China. China is also known as the birthplace of the single wheeled wheelbarrow, but this is another topic, or isn't it? Study Japan first, but not forgetting the alternatives.
 
Thanks Leixo-san.

I think that the actual rickshaw was developed in Asia but the riaka was probably used in France or other nations in Asia. Someone may have come up with the idea of transporting people on the riaka rather than items.. which resulted in the invention of the rickshaw.
 
On-Line?

You were there, Hiroshi, what a surprise!
You know, you never cease to amaze me, Hiroshi.
In fact, I think you are getting close to the heart of it all. I don't have an answer myself, but that sounds really promising. You've trained yourself well, in my opinion. Regardless of the result, the thought process is very sound and creative!
 
The "entaku" was, if I understand it correctly, a regular motorized taxi similar to the ones we have now. It was called "entaku" because the fare was one yen, no matter where you went in the taxi's service area.
 
mikecash said:
The "entaku" was, if I understand it correctly, a regular motorized taxi similar to the ones we have now. It was called "entaku" because the fare was one yen, no matter where you went in the taxi's service area.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I wasn't sure whether you were talking about the "round table!" I even suspected it a riddle!! Apologies!! And quite unique marketing, like those all-you-can-eat places, makes you hungry, entaku!
 
I believe the entaku were most common right after the war. Remember, one yen was quite a bit of money back then. Also, I suspect that the reason for the entaku might have been because of the difficulty/expense of getting taxi meters in following the war. That's just my guess, though.

Immediately after the war was also the heyday of the rintaku. Notice that at one time there were about 4,000 of them in Tokyo. Compare that with the approximately 6,000 taxis which are in Tokyo now. Also consider that the population was much lower then than it is now.

Some other factors which help put them in perspective:

1. Public transit (bus, subway, etc) was far less developed then.

2. The roadways were less developed. And were in a horrible condition due to the war anyway.

3. Private ownership of automobiles was far, far less then.

Combine all this, and we can see what a large role the rintaku must have played in daily life in Tokyo. When there is a social need and an economic opportunity, something will always appear to fill the niche. And there must have been quite a need and quite an opportunity, otherwise there wouldn't have been 4000 pedal pumpers trying to fill the niche.
 
RINTAKU: Mem~m'ri~z....and some questions!

epigene said:
Oh, I've ridden those in the Philippines! I think they still have those there, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia... If I remember correctly, they were called "tricycles." (Natsukashii!!)
Click to expand...
I almost forgot riding one myself in San Francisco. It felt good to drive around with my family in the back!
I wonder if you can say bicycle trailers and tricycles are the same in everyday usage? It's a little confusing for me.
Another question I've always wanted to ask; does anyone in Japan ever call a RIA-KA a KURUMA?
Your article on the RINTAKU~ENTAKU made me look up this Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos, where the RINTAKU is also called pedicabs, trishaws, pedal rickshaws, samlors, the becak, beca, and the cyclo. It also says that the "RINTAKU" displaced the hand-pulled rickshaws during 1930s and 1950s which fits quite nicely into what you described in your article. Thanks for giving the big picture, Mike. And I would have to agree with you on the importance of the role of the RIN-TAKU in that period!
 
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Okay - this is my official hypothesis.

The riaka was developed in France prior to the 1600s where people would transport goods. It was eventually brought to Asia. In the 1800s - the rickshaw was developed in Asia - where Europeans were too lazy to walk through busy streets.
 
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