Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Why the Motorcycle? -- 1 Japan's Transportation Revolution, 1896-1931 -- 2 Motorcycle and Empire: A Study in Industrial Self-Sufficiency -- 3 Know Your Customers: Designing Products for an Impoverished Postwar Market -- 4 Know Your Competitors: Finding a Niche in a Crowded Manufacturing Field -- 5 The Rise of the Big Four -- 6 Bitter Realities: Going Bankrupt in Japan -- 7 Sales and Safety -- Appendix A: Motorcycle Production, Use, and Exports -- Appendix B: Profiles of Motorcycle Manufacturers -- Notes -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.