I was going through the archives looking at some of Takao Noda's postings from the past and came across this one about what some of the Japanese bike company's names translate to and found it quite interesting...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (snip) Among other Japanese brand names in the States, like Sekai (world), Katana (sword), Takara (treasure), Shogun (the top of samurai), I cannot help smiling to hear the name of Azuki (red beans). Those days, Azuki was called "red diamonds" because it was the main item for speculation at the future commodity market in Japan. Takao Noda Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
.