T
orakusu Yamaha was
born in 1851 into a family
with a strong technical
leaning. His father was an as
-
tronomer, and young Torakusu
devoured his library of books on
astronomy, leading to a fascina-
tion with technology.
At just 20 years of age,
Torakusu headed to Nagasaki,
where he studied watchmak-
ing and subsequently medical
P144
FEATURE I CELEBRATING YAMAHA'S FIRST PRODUCT
Official factory
photograph of the YA-1.
Genichi Kawakami, the man who put
Yamaha on the map.
