記録を遺す自動車殿堂へ

自動車殿堂の目的のひとつは、自動車技術と自動車産業の発展に貢献した先人を顕彰、長く維持保存することにあろう。私は自動車史を研究するものとして、それに加えて自動車殿堂が正しい歴史の記録者であってほしいと思う。人間は物を忘れる動物である。国の内外を問わず、たかだか100年も前のことを調べようとすると、記録が失われていたり、諸説が出てきたりして、確かな裏付けが得られないことが少なくない。願わくば殿堂者の口から発せられた生きた言葉を記録にとどめてほしい。必ずや貴重な歴史が遺されるであろう。

The Japan Automobile Hall of Fame as an authoritative record keeper

One of the roles of the Japan Automobile Hall of Fame is considered to praise the predecessors who had contributed to the automotive technologies and industry and, in addition, to maintain and preserve their records. As a researcher on the history of automobiles, I hope the Japan Automobile Hall of Fame would be a record-keeper of accurate history. A human being is an animal of forgetting things. When I investigated no more than 100 years old matters, regardless of domestic or foreign history. I often could not succeed to find an unquestionable evidence because of disappearance of the records or the existence of various popular beliefs. I hope the Japan Automobile Hall of Fame would compile the records of the authentic words spoken by the inductees. The records would undoubtedly be our precious national heritage.

Shizuo Takashima
Researcher on automobile history