A Visit To Hokkaido

By Staff
Published on April 1, 1994
1 / 6
Danshaku Shiryokan's Beeman Garden Tractor.
Danshaku Shiryokan's Beeman Garden Tractor.
2 / 6
3 / 6
Historical Village of Hokkaido: Kubota CHC 5-6 HP. Production began in 1953.
Historical Village of Hokkaido: Kubota CHC 5-6 HP. Production began in 1953.
4 / 6
Yoshida type C 4 HP engine at the Historical Village of Hokkaido.
Yoshida type C 4 HP engine at the Historical Village of Hokkaido.
5 / 6
Historical Village of Hokkaido: Alpha engine.
Historical Village of Hokkaido: Alpha engine.
6 / 6
Historical Village of Hokkaido, Alpha Type J No. 25574,8 HP, 350 RPM.
Historical Village of Hokkaido, Alpha Type J No. 25574,8 HP, 350 RPM.

805 Nagatani Mansion 3-42-13 Nishiogikita Suginami-ku,Tokyo-to
167 Japan

Hokkaido, the northernmost of the four main islands which make
up Japan, was not systematically settled until the nineteenth
century. At that time it was found that agricultural techniques
employed in mainland Honshu were not suitable for the cold, dry
climate of Hokkaido, and American agricultural advisers were
employed, with the result that farming in Hokkaido bears a
resemblance to farming in the U.S. Along with advisers,
agricultural machinery was also imported, some of which survives in
museums today.

Danshaku Shiryokan’s Cleveland Tractor Co. (Cleveland, Ohio)
tractor, serial number 1076. Tractor is powered by a Weidely Motor,
made in Indianapolis, U.S.A., Model M, serial number 30141.

During the summer vacation, I visited two such museums. The
Historical Village of Hokkaido, near Sapporo, the main city of
Hokkaido, is an open-air pioneer village, with over seventy
buildings dating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth
century.

A collection of farm tractors and gas engines is displayed in
one of these buildings, which was originally a farm machinery shed
on a sheep farm. The Danshaku Shiryokan, near the port of Hakodate,
is dedicated to the memory of Baron Ryokichi Kawada, who is famous
throughout Japan for having developed the ‘Danshaku’
(Baron) potato. Baron Kawada also owned the first private
automobile in Japan, a Locomobile Style 2 number 3605, which he
purchased in 1901 for 2,500 yen. The car, restored to working
order, is on display at the museum, and was featured in a number of
Japanese films and documentaries. Also on display is a tractor made
by the Cleveland Tractor Company, Cleveland, Ohio, serial number
1076. The tractor’s power unit is a Weidely motor, from
Indianapolis, U.S.A., model M, serial number 30141. I would be
interested to receive information about this tractor, and any of
the other machinery shown in the photographs.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388