Eight brand-new cars driving all in a row, glittering in the sun. What an impressive sight! The shop sign says Fuji Automobile Co. Automobiles (zidongche) are what we call cars (qiche) today. (At the time, qiche was used to refer to trains due to the fact that they were steam [qi] powered.)
In 1912, Taiwan started to see cars on the roads. Most of those using cars were Japanese officials. In 1914 (Taishō 3), some people imported five cars from Japan and started a pseudo rental car business between Taipei and Beitou. They called it “hiring” a car. Of course, it was the wealthy who were able hire cars at the time. The average person only hired cars during weddings and funerals to make their processions more impressive.
In the next picture one can see the company was also called in English: FUJI TAXI CO.
The Car Rental Company’s English Sign
- NCL Special Collection / Zhu Cheng-yuan / Japanese Colonial Period (1895-1945) / 8×5.8cm / 《Visual Feast》