Shoichi Kimura

Sir **Shoichi Kimura** KT CB KP CMG MBE GCVO (Japanese: ショーイチ キムラ or 木村省一, Hepburn: *Shōichi Kimura* or *Kimura Shōichi*, IPA: /ˈʃoʊːiːtʃiː ˈkiːmuːrɑ/; May 18, 1878 - April 26, 1964) was a Japanese-Scottish teacher, farmer and businessman. He was also a father of ***Makoto Kimura***, who was adopted by him.

As of March 25, 2021, Shoichi Kimura appears as a GoAnimate Wrapper character in Robin Hood's video *Evil Max for Hire #253*, along with Makoto Kimura and his family, who is also reunited and revived in GoAnimate Wrapper.

## Background Information

### Also known as

 *Angus Shoichi*  (Scotland),  *Michio Kimura*  (US)

### Born

May 18, 1878Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

### Died

April 26, 1964Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan

### Burial

May 1, 1964Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

## Early Life

Shoichi Kimura was born on May 18, 1878 in Urayasu Village, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to Robin MacKenzie and Komachi Kimura. His grandfather (Robin MacKenzie) was a Scottish teacher and inventor. Shoichi's ethnicity was of Japanese origin, tracing back to the last name of Kimura. In this Japanese family name, the name "Kimura" means "tree village", hence the Kanji characters: 木村. When Shoichi was age 6, his parents died, leaving him an orphan. At age 9, he was enrolled in a public school near present-day Ueno Village in Gunma Prefecture. Studies say that Shoichi was fluent in multiplication and was obviously the math geek. In Makoto's information, Shoichi studied the times tables in his head. He was also fluent in American English when he turned 14 years old, still retaining his Scottish accent. On Christmas Day of 1892, Shoichi was received by his first gift - a typewriter, which was very useful for him to create a novelty or book.

## Career

On August 20, 1896, Shoichi was starting his senior year in present-day Suginami Ward near Tokyo, Japan. Shoichi was asked to fill in for him because his math teacher was feeling ill. By the time he wrote down the algebra problems in the blackboard, his students filled out the answers for each problem. Over time, he was coincidentally called as the ***Math Killer***, because he was remaining a math geek until his retirement at age 64. He was enrolled at Harvard University near Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 7, 1898. Shoichi was also awarded with a teacher's degree while enrolling, making him the first Geometry-Algebra 1 math teacher and instructor. One person quoted that if Shoichi was still alive today, he would have been the first Japanese-Scottish ***Andrew Tatro*** in the history of Harvard University. On April 24, 1903, Shoichi graduated from Harvard University with a college degree.

### **Shoichi Kimura's Transport to Glasgow**

Shoichi Kimura started his first ever career as a businessman at a nearby workplace in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 26, 1906. His employee called him *Angus Shoichi*, because of his style and his Scottish accent being reverted. He stayed in Glasgow for 4 months until he left the workplace on January 21, 1907.

### **Shoichi's Transportation to the southern US**

He flew to Orlando, Florida to become a farmer. Shoichi set up a company called ***Shoichi Farms Industry, LLC*** (accidentally converted into a conglomerate company). He was given a black-and-white poster, which attracted many people from out-of-state and his business mates from Scotland. Shoichi Farms Industry was barely seen in the depths near present-day State Route 434 (or Alafaya Trail), Orlando, Florida.

## Personal Life

On May 18, 1913, Shoichi turned 35 years old. He was married to Kaori Kimura (aged 45) in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on March 22, 1925, and they had lived there ever since. On January 16, 1926, Shoichi Kimura gave birth to ***Makoto Kimura***, whom he was adopted as the son of Shoichi Kimura. Makoto Kimura's nationalities were as follows: Scottish-American. However, scientists studied that Shoichi had Makoto retained his family name, tracing it back to Japanese origin. Shoichi celebrated his 50th birthday on May 18, 1928. He was then retired at age 64, making him the first Japanese-Scottish man to ever do so on September 6, 1942.

## Rehabilitation and death

Due to medical problems regarding his malignant tumor, Shoichi was sent to a rehab center somewhere near Sapporo, on October 23, 1948. It was shown that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's on February 20, 1962.

### **Death and cause of death**

On April 26, 1964, Shoichi Kimura died at age 85. The cause of death was problems with his kidney stones and severe influenza.

### **Cremation and burial of Shoichi Kimura**

Ashes and flowers were given to the families and relatives of Shoichi Kimura on May 1, 1964, following the cremation and burial of Shoichi Kimura in the Sonei-ji Cemetery Pavilion, near Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

## Revival of Shoichi Kimura

On March 25, 2021, a user named *Robin Hood Productions Ltd.* revived Shoichi Kimura using a Pale Moon browser, which supports Flash Player. Retaining the same characteristics as shown, he added the final touches to Shoichi Kimura. Shoichi Kimura was reunited with Makoto Kimura and his family in *Evil Max for Hire #253*.

## Legacy

Shoichi Kimura has been awarded for his achievements. He was given the following titles and honors:

* The title of **Sir** Shoichi Kimura (he was knighted by King George V in 1917)
* KT (Knight of the Thistle, the highest order of chivalry in Scotland)
* CB (Companion of the Order of the Bath, a British order of chivalry)
* KP (Knight of St Patrick, an Irish order of chivalry)
* CMG (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, a British order of chivalry)
* MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire, a British order of chivalry)
* GCVO (Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, a British order of chivalry)

He was also given the honorific title of ***His Excellency the Honorable Sir Shoichi Kimura***.

Some of the reasons were:

* He was knighted by **King George V** in 1917 for his services to the British Empire during World War I.
* He was appointed as a **Companion of the Order of the Bath** in 1920 for his civil service and public works in Scotland and Japan.
* He was made a **Knight of St Patrick** in 1921 for his role in the Irish War of Independence and the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
* He was awarded the **Order of St Michael and St George** in 1922 for his diplomatic efforts and trade relations between Japan and the Commonwealth countries.
* He was granted the **Order of the British Empire** in 1923 for his charitable and humanitarian activities in Japan and abroad.
* He was bestowed the **Royal Victorian Order** in 1924 for his personal service to King George V and Queen Mary during their visit to Japan.

A historian noted: "Although having lived in Scotland for 5 months, he remains a legend worldwide."

## Notes

Although sharing the same Western/English name, Shoichi Kimura is ***unrelated*** to the professor emeritus of chemical engineering who graduated from Osaka University with a bachelor's degree. The other Shoichi Kimura passed away on June 23, 2020 at age 75, as mentioned in the Oregon State University's website.

## References

1. ↑ Common family names: Chinese characters of Kimura.
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Kimura, The Timeline of Kimura Shoichi. 2020.
3. ↑ William, Angus. *Kimura Shoichi before Schoolhouse Rock*. 2019.
4. ↑ McMillan, Campbell. Harvard's Unidentified History. 2018.
5. ↑ Arbor School of Central Florida: Teacher Names.
6. ↑ Kimura, Peter. Shoichi Kimura's Unprecedented Companies. 2020.