Ryoichi Nakagawa
中川 良一
Ryoichi Nakagawa at the age of 26 in 1939 or 1940
Born(1913-04-27)27 April 1913
Tokyo, Japan
Died30 July 1998(1998-07-30) (aged 85)
NationalityJapanese
EducationTokyo Imperial University
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineMechanical engineering
Significant designNakajima Homare engine (Ha-45)
Significant advanceNakajima Sakae engine
AwardsJapan Automotive Hall of Fame (2018) [1]

Ryoichi Nakagawa (中川 良一, Nakagawa Ryōichi, 1913–1998) was a Japanese aircraft/automotive engineer. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1936 and joined Nakajima Aircraft Company in the same year.

Career

He improved Nakajima Sakae engine for Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Nakajima Ki-43 and other planes. He was the chief designer of Nakajima Homare engine for Nakajima Ki-84, Nakajima C6N, Kawanishi N1K and others.[2][3][4]

After World War II, Nakajima Aircraft Company was disbanded and was banned from producing aircraft by the GHQ. It was divided into 12 companies. Two of them were Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) and Fuji Precision Industries (Prince Motors). Prince Motor Company operated out of the old Nakajima premises in Ogikubo, Tokyo and Nakagawa was appointed the senior engineering manager, leading its engineers.[5][6] He supervised all the Prince vehicles projects including Skyline, Gloria, R380, S390P-1 Royal limousine and others.[2][6] Nakagawa was the motivating force behind Prince's early use of Italian design houses, and went on to use the knowledge gained to promote and guide Japanese designers like his protégé Shinichiro Sakurai.[7]

He received a Doctorate of Engineering from his old school Tokyo University in 1961.[1]

After the merger of Prince and Nissan in August 1966, he was promoted to the senior executive director of Nissan in 1969.[6]

Later he became the chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. (JSAE). He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1990.[8]

He died on July 30, 1998.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 JAHFA press release on November 8, 2018 (Japanese)
  2. 1 2 Fukushima, Mutsuo (2004-01-14). "Zero inspired today's innovations - Warplane's engineers later excelled in auto, rocket sectors". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2016-11-17.
  3. ↑ Nakagawa, Ryoichi (1982-02-05), "航空機から自動車へ : 一内燃機関技術者の回想" [From Aircraft To Automobile ― Memoirs of an Engine Designer], Journal of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (in Japanese), The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), 85 (759): 214–220, doi:10.1299/jsmemag.85.759_214
  4. ↑ Maema, Takanori (July 2007), 悲劇の発動機「誉」 : 天才設計者中川良一の苦闘 [Homare, the Engine of Tragedy – the Anguish of Genius Engine Designer, Ryoichi Nakagawa] (in Japanese), Soshisha Publishing Co., Ltd., ISBN 978-4-7942-1513-0
  5. ↑ Ikari, Yoshirō (1993-03-14), "傑作発動機‶誉"設計主務者の横顔 [Profile of the chief designer of the masterpiece ‶Homare" engine ]", 彩雲・零水偵 [Saiun/Type 0 Reconnaissance], Mechanic of World Aircraft (in Japanese), vol. 3, Koujinsha, p. 28, ISBN 4-7698-0633-7
  6. 1 2 3 Katsuragi, Yoji (2003), "The Beam of Light of Prince Motor Company", Grand Prix Book Publishing Co., Ltd., (Japanese) ISBN 4-87687-251-1
  7. ↑ Ikari (1993), p. 29
  8. ↑ NAE Member Dr. Ryoichi Nakagawa NAE Website
  9. ↑ Ueda, Masaaki; Hirayama, Ikuo; Nishizawa, Junichi and Miura, Shumon "Japanese Biographical Dictionary" Kodansha Ltd., Dec. 6, 2001, (Japanese) ISBN 4-06-210800-3
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