Momofuku Ando

Momofuku Ando
Born (1910-03-05)March 5, 1910
Kagi County, Japanese Taiwan
(now Puzi, Chiayi County, Taiwan)
Died January 5, 2007(2007-01-05) (aged 96)
Ikeda, Osaka
Nationality Japanese/Taiwanese
Alma mater Ritsumeikan University [1]
Known for Inventor of instant noodles
Spouse(s) Masako Ando
Children Hirotoshi Ando
Koki Ando
Akemi Horinouchi
Momofuku Ando
Traditional Chinese 吳百福
Simplified Chinese 吴百福

Momofuku Ando (Japanese: 安藤 百福 Hepburn: Andō Momofuku), ORS, (March 5, 1910 – January 5, 2007) was a Japanese inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.. He is known as one of the inventors of instant noodles, instant ramen, and Cup Noodles.

Early life

Ando was born Go Pek-Hok (吳百福) in 1910 into a wealthy Taiwanese family in Kagi-chō (嘉義廳) (modern-day Chiayi), Japanese-era Taiwan, and raised by his grandparents within the city walls of Tainan-chō (臺南廳) (modern-day Tainan) following the deaths of his parents.[1] His grandparents owned a small textiles store, which inspired him, at the age of 22, to start his own textiles company, using 190,000 yen, in Eiraku-chō (永樂町), Daitōtei, Taihoku-shi (modern-day Taipei).

In 1933, Ando traveled to Osaka where he established a clothing company while studying economics at Ritsumeikan University.[1]

After World War II, Ando became a Japanese citizen and moved to Japan, where he entered Ritsumeikan University and at the same time founded a small merchandising firm in Osaka with the inheritance from his family. "Momofuku" is the Japanese reading of his Chinese given name (百福), while Andō (安藤) is a common Japanese surname.

He was convicted of tax evasion in 1948 and served two years in jail. In his biography, Ando said he had provided scholarships for students, which at the time was a form of tax evasion. After he lost his company due to a chain reaction bankruptcy, Ando founded what was to become Nissin in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan, starting off as a small family-run company producing salt.

Nissin Cup Noodles (1971 ~)

With Japan still suffering from a shortage of food in the post-war era, the Ministry of Health tried to encourage people to eat bread made from wheat flour that was supplied by the United States. Ando wondered why bread was recommended instead of noodles, which were more familiar to the Japanese. The Ministry's response was that noodle companies were too small and unstable to satisfy supply needs, so Ando decided to develop the production of noodles by himself. The experience convinced him that "Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat."[2]

On August 25, 1958, at the age of 48, and after months of trial and error experimentation to perfect his flash-frying method, Ando marketed the first package of precooked instant noodles. The original chicken flavor is called Chikin Ramen (チキンラーメン). It was originally considered a luxury item with a price of ¥35,[3] around six times that of traditional udon and soba noodles at the time. Ando began the sales of his most famous product, Cup Noodle (カップヌードル Kappu Nūdoru), on September 18, 1971 with the masterstroke of providing a waterproof polystyrene container.[4] As prices dropped, instant ramen soon became a booming business. Worldwide demand reached 98 billion servings in 2009.[5] As of 2007, Chicken Ramen is still sold in Japan and now retails for around ¥60, or approximately one third the price of the cheapest bowl of noodles in a Japanese restaurant.

In 1964, seeking a way to promote the instant noodle industry, Ando founded the Instant Food Industry Association, which set guidelines for fair competition and product quality, introducing several industry standards such as the inclusion of production dates on packaging and the "fill to" line. He was also the chairman of the International Ramen Manufacturers' Association. The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum is named after him.

According to The Financial Times, Ando's invention of Cup Noodles in 1971, at the age of 61, helped spark the popularity of instant noodles overseas. He had observed that Americans ate noodles by breaking the noodles in half, putting them into a cup, and pouring hot water over the noodles. They also ate them with a fork instead of chopsticks. Ando was inspired, and felt that a Styrofoam cup—with a narrower bottom than the top—would be the ideal vessel for holding noodles and keeping them warm. Eating the noodles would then be as easy as opening the lid, adding hot water and waiting. This simplicity, efficiency and low price of Cup Noodles went on to transform Nissin's fortunes.[6]

Death

Ando died of heart failure on January 5, 2007 at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture at the age of 96.[2]

Ando was survived by his wife Masako, two sons and a daughter. Ando claimed that the secret of his long life was playing golf and eating Chicken ramen almost every day. He was said to have eaten instant ramen until the day he died.[7][8]

Honors

Ando was repeatedly honored with medals by the Japanese government and the emperor, including The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Second Class, in 2002 which is the second most prestigious Japanese decoration for Japanese civilians.

Foreign decoration

Order of precedence

Commemoration in the United States

In 2015, Google placed a doodle on their main web page commemorating his birthday on March 5.[10]

The name of the Momofuku restaurants alludes to Momofuku Ando.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 速食麵之父 吳百福病逝. Liberty Times (in Chinese). 2007-01-07.
  2. 1 2 "Ando was king of instant ramen". Japan Times. Kyodo. 2007-01-07. Archived from the original on 2007-05-19.
  3. ↑ "RCCラジオ－土曜はドドーンと満員御礼" (in Japanese). RCC Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  4. ↑ "Space-age funeral for 'Mr Noodle'". BBC News. February 28, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Expanding Market". World Instant Noodles Association. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  6. ↑ "Obituary: Momofuku Ando". Financial Times. 2007-01-15. Archived from the original on 2007-02-22.
  7. ↑ 安藤百福さん　死去前日、社員とチキンラーメン雑煮 [Mr. Ando ate Chikin Ramen with colleagues the day before he passed away.] (in Japanese). The Sankei Shimbun Web-site. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  8. ↑ Người phát minh ra mì ăn liền qua đời (Vietnamese)
  9. ↑ ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ให้แก่ชาวต่างประเทศ, เล่ม 118, ตอน 13 ข, 30 กรกฎาคม 2554, หน้า 7
  10. ↑ Cavna, Michael (5 March 2015). "Momofuku Ando: Inventor of instant ramen artfully saluted with Google Noodle Doodle". Washington Post (Washington DC, United States). Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Chang, David; Stabile, Peter Meehan; photographs by Gabriele (2009). Momofuku (1st ed.). New York: Clarkson Potter. p. 28. ISBN 0-307-45195-X.

External links


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