Origin[edit] Rickshaws were invented in Japan about 1869,[3][4] after the lifting of a ban on wheeled vehicles from the Tokugawa period (1603–1868),[5] and at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement in Japan.[4][6] Inventor[edit] There are several theories about the inventor. It was invented in Japan in 1869,[4] by Izumi Yosuke,[7][8] who formed a partnership with Suzuki Tokujiro and Takayama Kosuke to build the vehicles,[9] having been "inspired by the horse carriages that had been introduced to the streets of Tokyo a few years earlier".[10] Jonathan Scobie (or Jonathan Goble), an American missionary to Japan, is also said to have invented the rickshaw around 1869 to transport his invalid wife through the streets of Yokohama.[6][11][12] An American blacksmith Albert Tolman is said to have invented the rickshaw, or "man drawn lorry", in 1846 in Worcester, Massachusetts, for a South American bound missionary.[13] In New Jersey, the Burlington County Historical Society claims an 1867 invention by carriage maker James Birch, and exhibits a Birch rickshaw in its museum.[14] Japan historian Seidensticker wrote of the theories: Though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear, they seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The most widely accepted theory offers the name of three inventors, and gives 1869 as the date of invention.[3] Description[edit] The vehicle had a wooden carriage that rode on "superior Western wheels" and was a dramatic improvement over earlier modes of transportation. Whereas the earlier sedan chairs required two people, the rickshaw generally only required one. More than one person was required for hilly or mountainous areas. It also provided a smoother ride for the passenger. Other forms of vehicles at the time were drawn by animals or were wheelbarrows.[4] The Powerhouse Museum has had a rickshaw in its collection for 120 years. It was made about 1880 and is described as: A rickshaw, or Jinrikisha, is a light, two-wheeled cart consisting of a doorless, chairlike body, mounted on springs with a collapsible hood and two shafts. Finished in black lacquer-ware over timber, it was drawn by a single rickshaw runner.