In 1936, Shōnen Club magazine published an illustrated article entitled "World Transportation Invention Competition," which took a look at the future of transportation.
Sphere-wheeled car -- Reiji Iizuka, 1936
This futuristic car with spherical wheels, illustrated by Reiji Iizuka, is based on an idea from a German inventor. The vehicle's tires -- a pair of oversized rubbery spheres -- offer a smoother ride than the conventional tires on a four-wheeled car, and they act as a cushion in the event of an accident.
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Amazingly swift flying machine -- Matsujirō Murakami, 1936 [+]
This ultra-fast airplane, illustrated by Matsujirō Murakami, is based on a design by an American inventor. The vehicle is powered by propellers that blast air through a pair of large ducts.
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Ship with built-in boat dock - Gyosui Suzuki, 1936 [+]
This safety-conscious passenger ship, illustrated by Gyosui Suzuki, is based on an idea by an American inventor. The hull of the ship is designed to open up in an emergency, and it contains a small fleet of boats that allow people to escape quickly and safely.
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Mountain monorail - Kikuzō Itō, 1936 [+]
The design for this innovative monorail train, illustrated by Kikuzō Itō, originated with an American inventor. The two-wheeled design looks rather precarious, but the powerful airplane propeller and tail fin manage to keep the train upright and stable as it zips through the mountains. Extra wheels extend out from the sides when the train comes to a halt.
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High-speed tank-style boat - Matsujirō Murakami, 1936
This high-speed battle boat, illustrated by Matsujirō Murakami, is also inspired by an American design. A pair of caterpillar tracks allow the vessel to roll across the water like a tank on land.
[Source: 昭和之雜誌廣告・ナツカシモノ]
Will
It's quite interesting to see what the world believed for what the future held all those years ago. Especially from the perspective of Japan which is well known for it's constant new ideas. My particular favorite is the Sphere-wheeled car.
[]R J
Why does the author of this post say 'inspired by American' without citing any sources?
[]Bruce T.
If one were to look at, say, POPULAR SCIENCE of about the same time the cover concepts were kind of similar. But that may have just been the way folks were thinking back then. http://bit.ly/boyW5U
[]Deanna
I have seen commercials this year where (whatever his first name is) Dyson is shilling his newest invention in the Dyson vacuum line: the Dyson ball which looks exactly like the front of the future car in the first picture. The development came about because "old vacuums can only go in straight lines."
[]Several scenarios are possible here:
-Dyson, though, judging by his accent, is not American, is older than we think and inspired the 1936 Reiji car
-Dyson reads 1930's Shonen Club Magazines and was inspired by Reiji
-there being no connection,great minds think alike
-there is nothing new under the sun
-there really are things that are new under the sun but they were invented by another Dyson (Freeman Dyson) a famous astrophysicist. See short Youtube video of a talk by his son George Dyson whom I knew in Vancouver when he was living 90' up a Douglas Fir and like me, kayaking up and down the BC coast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l2QopJbDBs
One episode of "Star Trek, the Next Generation" had the Enterprise enter a Dyson Sphere
-which possibly leads us back the sphere on the front of the newest incarnation of the (I can't remember his first name) Dyson vacuum.
Renmin Villanueva
Some of these look like Charles Radebaugh illustrations. Is it possible Shonen syndicated them and the artist just supplied the Kanji? The ship looks like the modernist Bel Geddes yacht design as well. I guess that's what they mean by the American inspiration.
[]Stuart Dobson
It's interesting to see how the environment of the time (ie: War) inspired the designs. Even more interesting is how they never saw the light of day, for whatever reason.
[]The
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