Arai Helmet’s origins can be traced to the kepi-style caps made by Yuichiro Arai in the early 1900s. Upon taking the helm of his father’s company in 1930, Hirotake Arai was petitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army to create a sun-barrier hat that prioritized ventilation. After World War II, Hirotake Arai opened the Arai Sewing Machine Co., which crafted T-shirts and coveralls. When industry demanded protective headwear, Hirotake Arai developed helmets for construction workers and miners made from a resin shell lined with a textile tape cradle. “Initially, my father didn’t know how to make a shell,” explained Michio. “He bought a
A framed print of that picture takes pride of place at the Arai Helmet factory in Omiya, on the outskirts of Tokyo. The image captures the determination with which Hirotake Arai founded the company respected worldwide for its unwavering commitment to rider protection. Hirotake Arai is wearing a classic straw boater hat, standard summer fare for millions of men in the early 20th century. His revolutionary motorcycle helmet, with its fiberglass shell, cork lining, expanded polystyrene crown and leather details, was still years in the future.
“My father was the son of a hat maker, and riding motorcycles was his hobby,” said Michio Arai, one of Hirotake’s four children and his only son. “He used to say, ‘I am a good rider.’ I don’t think that was actually true, but he loved to ride a motorcycle.”
surplus American army helmet that U.S. soldiers had discarded. He then constructed a shell in the helmet. After that, he started to make shells himself. “I was in grammar school. I remember the first shell was canvas with resin. My father could have survived making construction and mining helmets. Meanwhile, he also found time to work out a motorcycle helmet for his own protection, a product that didn’t exist in Japan.”
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