History of Asics Shoes

Asics is a Japanese company that officially started business on September 1, 1949 under the name Onitsuka Co., Ltd.  Its founder – Kihachiro Onitsuka – set up shop in Kobe, Japan.  Onitsuka had a mission.  He wanted to use sports to rehabilitate youth in Japan growing up in the aftermath of World War II.  Kobe, Japan had been badly destroyed by B-29 bombers on March 17, 1945.  The attack resulted in the death of 8,841 civilians and the destruction of 21 percent of the urban area.  
Onitsuka did not have any experience making shoes when he decided to start his own company but this lack of experience did not dampen his ambition.  Onitsuka Co., Ltd. was the first Japanese company to design basketball shoes.  Legend has it that the soles of these basketball shoes were inspired by the suction cups of an octopus that Onitsuka Co., Ltd. was eating in a salad.  In 1951, Onitsuka Co., Ltd. went on to develop the country’s first volleyball shoes.  Soon the shoe company was experiencing international success and even becoming a popular choice among athletes at the Olympics.  
One of the most legendary stories surrounding the Asics brand is its relationship to marathon runner Abebe Bikila.  Bikila, who was from Ethiopia, was in the habit of running marathons barefoot.  The 1960 Olympics in Rome were no exception.  Bikila won the race in world record time, becoming the first black African to receive an Olympic Gold Medal.  Four years later, before the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Onitsuka decided to have a word with Bikila.  He convinced the marathoner to wear a lightweight pair of Onitsuka shoes with ventilation holes to keep the soles of the feet cool.  Bikila decided to take Onitsuka up on his offer.  He won the marathon in world record time and became the first athlete to win Olympic gold in the marathon two Olympics in a row.  The relationship between Onitsuka and Bikila remained, and when Bikila passed away Onitsuka donated one million dollars to Unicef in Bikila’s memory.
It was not until 1977 that Onitsuka Co., Ltd. became Asics.  The new company name is an acronym that stands for, “anima sana in corpore sano.”  This Latin phrase translates to, “a sound mind in a sound body.”  Asics continued to be a favorite among Olympic athletes throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.  Their line of running shoes is considered to be one of the best in the world.