Consulting Kobe High School and the First Obstacle
When ASICS founder Kihachiro Onitsuka decided to enter the athletic footwear market, he sought guidance from Yukio Matsumoto, a teacher at Kobe High School whom Onitsuka had met while working at Nishii Shoji, according to documentation cited by Zai. Kobe High School maintained a prominent basketball program established in 1925, and Matsumoto served as the chairman of the Hyogo Basketball Association.
When Onitsuka asked what kind of footwear he should build, Matsumoto answered directly: a basketball shoe. At the time, standardized basketball footwear was virtually nonexistent in Japan. According to the sourced accounts, a single small workshop in the shoe manufacturing district of Nagata produced them on a very limited scale, falling far short of the quality Matsumoto required.
Rejection from Rubber Manufacturers
Sensing an opportunity, Onitsuka approached the president of Yana Rubber Industrial Co., but was immediately turned down. The manufacturer rejected the proposal, stating that producing a basketball shoe was simply too difficult given the state of the market and the complex manufacturing requirements involved.
Undaunted, Onitsuka turned to another firm based in Nagata, Yoshikawa Rubber Industrial Co., following an introduction by a contact named Hori. The president of Yoshikawa agreed to take on the project. Operating as an established producer of rubber-soled canvas shoes, the factory began trial production through hand-built methods, gathering feedback from floor craftsmen to navigate an entirely unfamiliar product category.
The Rejected Prototype and a Turning Point
After navigating numerous design hurdles, the factory completed an initial prototype. Onitsuka brought the shoes to Matsumoto at Kobe High School for inspection, but the reception was swift and severe. Upon examining the footwear, Matsumoto’s demeanor changed entirely, and he rebuked the design as inadequate.
According to the accounts, Matsumoto had expected a prototype equipped with the functional performance required for basketball, but Onitsuka had rushed ahead with production without establishing clear performance benchmarks. Matsumoto delivered a strict directive: if Onitsuka genuinely wanted to build basketball shoes, he needed to observe the team’s practices daily to study player movements and shoe performance before bringing another prototype.
Next Steps and Official Updates
The early developmental struggles laid the groundwork for Onitsuka’s eventual iterations of athletic footwear.
