Kihachiro
Onitsuka,
A
Portrait
of
the
Pioneer

The Enduring Spirit of
Kihachiro Onitsuka

Onitsuka Co., Ltd., began as a company with only two employees, driven byan aspiration to make shoes in the chaotic postwar period.
Here, we delve into what Onitsuka—our indomitable founder, who built thisworld-class brand in just his own lifetime—was really like.

In 1949, shortly after the end of WorldWar II, Kihachiro Onitsuka foundedOnitsuka Co., Ltd., with the aim ofmanufacturing sports shoes. Onitsuka,inspired by the ancient Roman saying, “Asound mind in a sound body,” believedthat sports were essential for the physicaland mental development of the young. Itwas his duty, he believed, to popularizesports, and began manufacturing sportsshoes from scratch.
Onitsuka, however, was a completelyinexperienced in not only sports, but alsoshoemaking, and from the start hisbusiness was a series of trials and errors.His first project was basketball shoes,considered to be an extremely difficulttask among sports shoes manufacturersat the time.
Upon delivery of the prototype to thehigh school coach who had proposed theidea, the coach knocked it to the floor,claiming disparagingly that “It looks like astraw sandal!” From that day on, Onitsukabegan visiting the high schoolgymnasium regularly, retrieving balls ashe observed the players’ footwork andlistened directly to their opinions.Thinking to improve shoe grip, he deviseda pair of shoes with soles inspired byoctopus suction cups. The new soles,however, proved to be too strong: theexcessive traction had the playerstripping all over the court. Finally, afterrepeated fine-tuning, he completed thefirst Onitsuka basketball shoes. The teamwearing his shoes went on to win theirtournament.
Onitsuka’s sports shoes would go on tosupport the performances of top athletesin numerous international spor tingevents. However, regardless of the size orsignificance of the stage, Onitsuka’sphilosophy of shoemaking has remainedunchanged throughout. By alwaysprioritizing athletes first and confrontingchallenges with a research-orientedapproach based in trial and error,Onitsuka ultimately succeeded increating innovative new technologies. “ If you start with what ’s dif ficult,everything else will come easy”—thatwas Onitsuka’s motto. The spirit ofKihachiro Onitsuka, a man who, even inthe face of the seemingly impossible,conf ronted c hal l enges wi th anunflinching gaze and carved his own pathin the industry, continues to live on inOnitsuka Tiger to this day.

Kihachiro Onitsuka

Kihachiro Onitsuka
Founder

Founded Onitsuka Co., Ltd., in1949. In 1977, ASICS was formedout of the merging of Onitsuka Co.,Ltd., and two other companies. Thecompany name is derived from theinitials of the Latin phrase animasana in corpore sano , meaning “asound mind in a sound body.”
Untilhis passing in 2007 at the age of89, it was said to be a daily routinefor him to take a walk wearing hisOnitsuka Tiger shoes.

Kihachiro Onitsuka’s Favorite Sayings

In the archive room at the ASICSheadquarters in Kobe, there is a privatespace recreated to resemble KihachiroOnitsuka’s office. On the large desk sits asma l l notebook Onitsuka carr iedeverywhere with him during his lifetime.Between its weathered leather covers,written in meticulous, dense script, arethe numerous sayings that were ofprofound inspiration to Oni tsuka,encountered in his daily conversationsand in books, magazines, TV programs,and more. Onitsuka’s words adorn eventhe walls of the archive room, where hisworks of calligraphy echo these sayings,their presence a reminder of Onitsuka’shonest, steadfast nature and spirit ofchallenge.

Looking back to the very start, whenOnitsuka first embarked on the ventureof manufacturing sports shoes, therewere the words “A sound mind in a soundbody.” In the face of unexpected illnessor continuous failures of trial and error,the phrase drew him back to his feetonce more, to try again and again: “If youfall, just get back up. If at first you don’tsucceed, try, try again.” For Onitsuka, words were a surge ofenergy.
Even when faced with seeminglyinsurmountable challenges, sayings suchas “When, if not now? Who, if not me?”and “Where there is a will, there is a way”provided the impetus for Onitsuka tocontinue undaunted in the pursuit ofambitious goals.
All of his beloved sayingsget right to the point, imbued with auniversal power that propels peoplepositively forward.
Over the course ofthe company’s 75-year history, numerousathletes wearing the shoes and apparelcreated by Onitsuka have been crownedworld champions on the internationalstage.
Onitsuka’s brand now boastsstores all over the world and hasattracted fans of all backgrounds andgenerations. Onitsuka embraced thesayings that inspired him as the guidingprinciples in his life and business,following steadfastly the path he believedin. Behind the great strides made by thisworld- class Japanese brand lies afearless, challenge-driven spirit, and thesimple but profound words that fueled it.