Pop Japan

Contrary to popular belief that it came from China, the rickshaw is actually an invention of Japan. Known in Japan as the jinrikisha, is a two, sometimes, three-wheeled vehicle, normally being operated by a person pulling the cart. The term jinrikisha, actually is composed of three Japanese words. The first word, jin, means "human." The second word, riki, means "power." The third word, sha, means "car" or "vehicle." Put together, the jinrikisha is a human-powered vehicle.

The invention of the jinrikisha was credited to three people: Izumi Yosuke, Suzuki Tokujiro and Takayama Kosuke.

Photo by David Stanley. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Tags: china, rickshaw, jinrikisha, jin, riki, sha, Izumi Yosuke, Suzuki Tokujiro, Takayama Kosuke