Why the 1950's? (Part 2)

次回、この記事の日本語版を投稿します。

(↓Click on the photo below↓)

In the previous post we took a look at how bicycle production began to be controlled starting in 1932; how bicycle plants were transformed into munition plants; how bicycles were donated to scrap drives in support of the war-effort; how in the period immediately after the war high demand and low supply, in addition to rationing, created a desperate situation whereby what was made in the morning sold in the afternoon on the black market; how bicycles were of questionable quality due to lack of standards and materials but still sold even without tires. 

To correct the inferior quality and establish a legal base for manufacturing standards, in June 1949 Japan enacted The Industrial Standardization Law which became the foundation for JIS (Japan Industrial Standards). However, in the case of the bicycle industry, this was implemented incrementally and, as can be seen below, it took nearly a full decade for the law to be applied to the entire bicycle industry.

1953: Rims, spokes, chains
1955: Chainwheels, crank arms, pedals, freewheels, sprockets
1956: Brakes, handlebars, hubs
1957: Frames, forks
1958: Fenders, saddles
1960: Complete bicycles
1962: Shipments of completed bicycles

Note:  The JIS mark is one, among several other clues, that can serve as an important reference when trying to ascertain the year a bicycle was manufactured.

So the stage is set for the dawn of the golden age of utility bicycles.  In the early 1950's the Allied led occupation is drawing to a close; munition factories have been converted to peacetime production; good materials are becoming available, industrial standards are beginning to be implemented, demand is high as bicycles are the only affordable form of good reliable durable transportation; the status of a bicycle is similar to that of today's automobile costing two months' salary, and a free enterprise system is spurring fierce competition thereby creating better products.