We’re still reeling from the loss of Melbourne “Mike” J. Wilson last week, but now, I have the burden of telling you guys that another icon of the motorcycle world has left this world. Kenji Ekuan, the 85-year old Japanese industrial designer that is considered as one of the most influential designers in Japan, has died.
Ekuan is mostly known for his design of the now iconic Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, but all of us in the motorcycle industry know him as the brains behind the design of Yamaha motorcycles, including the V-Max that is actually celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
That’s right, without Ekuan, the V-Max might have never come to our lives, a fact that’s a lot more meaningful now after Yamaha Motor Europe announced the V-Max Carbon, a carbon fibre-clad version of the V-Max that Yamaha will release later this year to commemorate the model’s 30th anniversary.
Ekuan’s contributions to Japan is more than just him designing bikes for Yamaha. He was also the man behind GK Industrial Design, a company that was at the design forefront of Japan’s own rise from the ashes after the damages inflicted to the country during World War II.
The man was considered a design legend, not just in Japan, but throughout the world. In fact, his contributions netted him a Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass) award, a prestigious Italian design award given by the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI).
Our condolences to the family and friends of Kenji Ekuan. Rest in peace, sir.
Click past the jump to read more about Kenji Ekuan’s passing.
Yamaha V-Max Designer Kenji Ekuan Passes Away originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 10 February 2015 12:00 EST.
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