【Treasures of Fukuoka】No. 11 Arrow Gou -the oldest Japanese automobile still in drivable condition

 Arrow Gou (Under the possession of Yano Special Vehicle Co., Ltd.) a vehicle made in Fukuoka is currently displayed at the permanent exhibition room of the Fukuoka City Museum. It was designated as a Mechanical Engineering Heritage in 2009 by The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers as the oldest Japanese automobile that exists today. The car is twice as small as the size of the present-day vehicles, and the silver body covered by aluminum plates attracts people’s eyes in the exhibition room.

Arrow Gou

The maker of this vehicle was Koichi Yano, a graduate of a Technical school in Fukuoka (Now, Fukuoka Technical High School). Yano had a strong urge to produce an airplane. He made an engine for a model plane by himself. However, Yoshitaro Murakami, a successful businessman in the transportation industry from Fukuoka, suggested that Yano should produce automobiles instead. Murakami recognized the importance of improving the land transport system in Japan and considered that it was essential to making a vehicle that would be suitable for Japan’s road condition. After learning of Murakami’s suggestion, Yano started to research Japanese automobiles. After graduating from the technical school, he started to fully engage in the planning and building of a Japanese automobile. He named the car Arrow Gou after his name 矢野. (“矢” means an arrow in Japanese.).

With the help of Murakami, Yano rented Ironworks to work on the project. Sometimes, he used the facilities of Fukuoka Technical School or Kyushu Imperial University. Most of the car parts are handmade by Yano, created by processing metals. However, he used foreign-made products for some parts like tires, plugs, and magnets.

In August 1915, Yano conducted a test drive of Arrow Gou but it didn’t move due to an engine’s malfunction. Yano heard from a German Engineer of Mercedes‐Benz that the car’s vaporizer might have a problem. This happened in the middle of World War I, while the German engineer was a captive and detained in a camp in Fukuoka city. Yano went to Shanghai taking a sea route to purchase a vaporizer made in England and installed it to Arrow Gou. As a result, the engine of Arrow Gou started to function properly, and the car moved. After that, he constructed the body of the car using the aluminum plate and Japanese papers and completed making Arrow Gou in August 1916. The total cost of building the Arrow Gou was about 1,224 yen, which means that it was a large sum of money spent on making the Arrow Gou considering that the average first salary of the university graduates at that time was only 35 yen.

Arrow Gou's symbol mark is inscribed on the cap of the oil tank.

One of the reasons why Arrow Gou is so special is that it is still in a drivable condition. In October 2016, we held an event that commemorates the vehicle’s 100th anniversary, which was titled “Run! Arrow Gou!” In this event, Arrow Gou successfully moved around the pond in front of the museum while making a loud engine noise. About 200 visitors observed this historical moment. While I was watching this car running courageously, I thought about the marvelous manufacturing technique that already existed 100 years ago and people’s passion that enabled Arrow Gou to run after 100 years. I don’t mean to sound too emotional.

Arrow Gou is on display at our permanent exhibition room. It is impossible to drive the vehicle there, but you can still listen to the sound of the engine by watching a video on display. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. We will be waiting for you at the museum!

This photo was taken at the event "Run! Arrow Gou!" The one driving the vehicle is Mr. Yano, the president of Yano Special Vehicle Co., Ltd. The one taking photos of the vehicle is Fukuoka City Museum's director, Mr. Arima