If you were asked to sum up the history of Yamaha Corporation in one word, you'd have two appropriate responses to choose from: 1) [impolite] and b) "diversify!" The hundred-year-old plus company is not only one of the largest in the world, but its production portfolio is also one of the most varied; the Yamaha brand has adorned musical instruments, personal audio electronics, semiconductors, residential furniture, machine tools, motorcycles, recreational watercraft, industrial robots and archery equipment (for real; 1959 - 2002). But there's a reason the Yamaha company logo, whether its emblazoned on an acoustic guitar or a motorcycle, is comprised of three, interlocking tuning forks. Yamaha started off as a manufacturer of musical instruments.

Founder of Yamaha Organ Manuf. Co. and Nippon Gekki Co. Ltd., Torakusu Yamaha.

Company founder and namesake, Torakusu Yamaha (1851 - 1916), was born into a tumultuous period of Japanese history. Yamaha was in his late teens during the Meiji Restoration — a dramatic cultural shift that saw the simultaneous reinstatement of the Japanese imperial monarchy and a move towards a "western-style" capitalist and technologically progressive economy. Yamaha's family belonged to japan's upper-middle class, educated, quasi-nobility; his father was a samurai who worked as a surveyor, but also studied astronomy and mechanics, in addition to having a purportedly massive personal library. The young Torakusu showed an aptitude for all things mechanical, and he studied watchmaking in his early twenties with the hopes of turning it into his living. This first yamaha business wasn't to flourish; however, his reputation as a technician landed him a one-off job repairing a broken Mason & Hamlin reed organ at a primary school in Hamamatsu. It was soon after that, in 1889, that Yamaha Organ Manufacturing Company — the business that would become modern-day Yamaha Corporation — was founded.

An early Yamaha Reed Organ, on display in the showroom at Yamaha's Hamamatsu factory. (from whathifi.com)

Yamaha's product diversification started early in their history, with the production of home furniture beginning in 1903. But musical instruments were at the core of the company's business. The 20th century before World War II saw Yamaha (which changed its name to Nippon Gakki in 1897) expanding rapidly and move into piano, harmonica, guitar, and accordion production. They opened an acoustics lab in 1930 to help give their instruments a competitive edge over the high-quality imports that were still dominating the market.

During the war, the company's factories were requisitioned by the government in the production of parts for Zero fighter planes. The expertise would enable further production diversity during the post-war years; the company began designing and producing motorcycles and Yamaha Motor Corporation was founded in 1955.

Prior to World War II Nippon Gakki benefitted greatly from post-Meiji Japanese governmental investment in manufacturing concerns; after the war, the company stayed afloat and continued to diversify its production with support from allied reparations. The company's fourth president, Gen'ichi Kawakami, helped stoke the consumer market with the foundation of the Yamaha music schools, allowing the company to become less reliant on institutional purchases for income. Kawakami also made a push to enter more foreign markets, and in 1960 the Company began selling motorcycles in the United States.

An unadvisable Yamaha Motorcycles endeavor got Nippon Gakki into a spot of financial trouble in the 1980's. In an attempt to overtake Honda's motorcycle market superiority, Yamaha corp gambled on an aggressive redesign and production campaign — but the result was massive debt that would have crippled a less diversified company.

Yamaha DX-7 Digital Synthesizer.

During the 60s and 70s Nippon Gakki's musical instruments divisions were experimenting first with tube-replacing transistors, and then transistor-replacing integrated circuits, developing and manufacturing their own ICs in-house. It was Yamaha's developments in digital synthesis that kept Nippon Gakki solvent — the Yamaha DX-7 was introduced in 1983 and became wildly popular. Still, the 80s were a difficult period for Nippon Gakki; a period of massive product failures and poor management.

In 1992 Seisuke Ueshima took charge of the floundering Yamaha Corporation (so renamed by his predecessor in 1987) and made some significant changes to the corporate culture — e.g., he made the company come up with reasons for developing a specific product. His methodical approach actually saw Yamaha delve into some of its more progressive designs, including the proto-workstation-keyboard computer Disklavier and the Silent Piano series (which would be followed by a Silent Trumpet, Violin, Cello, etc., all extremely popular).

Present-day Yamaha Corp. is a massive, global interest with multiple, wholly-owned subsidiary companies in multiple industries and companies. It's the largest producer of musical instruments in the world, yet its products still enjoy the respect and admiration of musicians both professional and amateur — no small feat for a company of Yamaha's size.

Next week it's back to the States with a profile of Peavey.