(item number) 1007
(title) Kosuge's Jeep
(maker) Kosuge Toy Industry
(the date of issue) 1945-52
(size) 105 mm
(Country) Japan
(Material) Tinplate
(detailed) [Box: main item: 9]
(starting bid price) 50,000 yen
(comment) Kosuge, a toy manufacturer that existed before the war, has two tinplate toys that represent the postwar period. The first item is a Marusan/Kosuge Cadillac that was released in 1952. The other is the so-called "Kosuge's Jeep", which is the origin of what is called "Kosuge's automobile".
Kosuge's jeep became the first tin toy after the war, and was born by Kosuge Matsuzo, who had evacuated from Tokyo to Otsu immediately after the end of the war in 1945.
It is said that he came up with the idea of turning it into a toy after seeing a jeep by the U.S. Army running around town, and measured it on the spot to create a drawing. Despite its small size of less than 10 cm, the back not only comes with a spare tire and an oil tank, but also has a rear seat, and the star mark representing the U.S. Army is firmly reproduced. In December 1945, it was sold at a round goods department store in Kyoto for 10 yen each, and it is said that the sales speed did not slow down even if the production was mobilized and the price was raised, and 100,000 units were sold in one month. The first generation Jeep, which used empty cans from the advancing army, did not come with a box, and because it was unable to procure spring power, it was rubber power, which was simple compared to Japanese tin toys that flourished as export products before the war.
The Kosuge Jeep exhibited this time is a product that was released a few years after the first generation, and there is no Occupied in MADE IN JAPAN notation, but the company name of Kosuge Toy Industry depicted on the box is from 1955 to 27, so it is a product sold during this period. The vehicle is the same, but unlike the first generation, which was created at a time when there were no supplies immediately after the end of the war, it does not use reused tinplate, but is equipped with a spring and incorporates pre-war Kosuge's technology such as moving the front wheels with a lever on the bottom of the vehicle.
Also, unlike the first generation, it will be a specification with soldiers on board. The soldier is a different part, and not only is the arm different, but the handle is also added as a different part. As the exterior box is included along with the review of the car body, the intention of a deluxe version can be felt, and it is a specification such as the finished form of Kosuge's Jeep that Kosuge Matsuzo originally wanted to make.
Since this Jeep was a hit, other toy manufacturers also flourished in the production of Jeep tinplates, which led to the revival of the Japanese tinplate toy industry after the war.
This item not only comes with a box, but also has a body with almost no signs of being played, and the painting of the body and soldiers has been preserved as if it had been in place for 79 years after the war (Koshizaki)
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