By Tadan Shingoose [@tadan_goose]….
French cars had no relevance in my life growing up in Southern Alberta. Unlike out east, Peugeot, Renault, and Citroën have little to no presence in the prairies. Aside from the occasional Renault-AMC Alliance or Peugeot 504, I simply never saw any French cars as a child, unless it was in a book or on the internet. In recent years, a few of the hatchbacks have made their way over from Japan, such as the Renault Clio and Citroën C2. However, I’ve never had the opportunity to experience any of the more iconic classic French cars, such as the 2CV, DS, and SM. That was, until I moved to Japan.
As part of my degree requirement, I had to do a semester abroad. I had always wanted to visit Japan, and seeing as this would be a low-cost opportunity to live there temporarily for four months, I settled on Nagoya, located in Aichi prefecture. The automobile has played a very important roll in the prefecture’s development over the decades, as this is where Toyota’s factories are located, along with several of the major parts suppliers, museums, shipping ports, and other related facilities.
You would think that because of Toyota’s dominance in the area that you’d see a strong presence of classic Japanese cars. However, this wasn’t the case. Rather, European and American classic cars were a far more common sighting on a days out. And while the majority of the new cars on the roads were Japanese, there was also a surprising amount of new Citroëns rolling around, often with very well-dressed people behind the wheel.
Japan is a very fashion-conscious society, so it wasn’t uncommon to see a correlation between a person’s choice in car and the ways in which they dressed. In the case of many of the French car owners I observed, their outfits could be described as a romanticization of the French aesthetic; the kind often seen in media. This wasn’t the case for everyone, and by no means is this meant to sound reductive. It’s simply one aspect I noticed, and was a trait also shared by those who drove cars from other countries (Rockabilly aesthetic was commonly seen by those who drove the classic American cars, for example). Frankly, I took great joy in seeing such dedication in seeing people coordinate their outfits to match their cars.
Of the French manufacturers, the love for Citroën is remarkably strong in Japan. I noticed this immediately while attending various car shows in the Aichi prefecture, such as the Nagoya Nostalgic Classic Car Festival and Coppa Centro Giappone.
That’s when I first started to take note of the enthusiasm for the brand. Occasionally I would speak to various classic car enthusiasts presenting anything from a Lancia Fulvia to a Buick Roadmaster, and I would ask them if they had other cars and what they might be. Very often the case was that they had a classic Citroën in their roster.
Citroën has had a very interesting history in Japan. Up until the 1990s, very few Citroën dealers existed in the country. This changed thanks to a partnership with Mazda in the early 1990s, who gained exclusive import rights to Citroën’s cars and sold them alongside their Eunos and ɛ̃fini brands. Unfortunately for Mazda, their lofty goals in growing the brand failed. The rights were subsequently sold to former Eunos dealers, after the Eunos brand fell by the wayside, who took on the roll of distributing Citroëns in Japan until 2011, when Citroën Japan was finally established.
Since then, Citroëns have grown steadily in popularity. It wasn’t an uncommon sight to see cars like the C3 Aircross or the neo-modern C6 rolling around on a day-to-day basis. The latter was certainly something to behold the first time I saw it. It was actually around the back of a mechanics shop that I found a number of C6 sedans parked together, presumably for repairs. I imagine what makes the C6 a popular choice in Japan is that their relaxed driving characteristics are well matched to the Japanese expressways.
Speaking of relaxing highway drives, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a rally by the owner of the café Plus-Alpha (@plus_alph.a on Instagram), Takashi Isowa, in his Citroën D Super 5.
This event initially materialized after I went to visit his café in Inuyama, having seen it years ago in a YouTube video. Since it was located close to where I was living, I took the train to go and visit the cafe. If you’re ever in the Nagoya area, I highly suggest visiting Café Plus-Alpha as a Citroën enthusiast. The café has a bit of a French car theme woven in throughout its interior design, and has become a little hub for local car enthusiasts to meet.
This was Takashi Isowa’s vision, to “make a store where car enthusiasts can gather,” as he told me. His passion for Citroën started when he purchased a GSA at 21. Subsequently he has had a BX, SM, and this lovely D Super 5. In addition to being a lover of cars, Takashi Isowa is also hoping that his business can help revitalize the local economy. As he mentioned to me, “In recent decades, younger generations have moved out of the countryside of Japan in order to find opportunities that they cannot get a hold of in the sticks. Unfortunately, this has been damaging to the economies in rural communities. I want young people to come and have somewhere to visit.” Well, I’d say he’s done a great job, providing a space that’s aesthetically pleasing with a great ambiance.
A few days after my visit to Café Plus-Alpha, Takashi Isowa sent me a message inviting me to join him and his friends on the Ena Rally in his D Super 5. Needless to say, I was touched by his invitation, and so naturally I accepted. The event was comprised of classic cars and modern WRC rally cars, all driving up and down the Ena, Gifu countryside. Everything from Alpine A110’s to Toyota’s latest GR Yaris WRC car was present. Thankfully, the event was comprised of both a road rally and two parking lot gatherings.
The French car contingency turned out in spades, with some 2CV’s, Renault 4’s, a Renault 8 Gordini, and even a Matra-Bonnet Djet turning up! (Here’s a link to the 2024 Ena, Gifu rally page. It’s run by Rally Japan; https://rally-japan.jp/en/news/topics/outline-of-forum8-rally-japan-2024-announced/.)
One of the most spectacular French cars at the event was a ‘49 Traction Avant 11BL, owned by Bernard Heberle, a French pastry chef who owns a pastry shop in Hamamatsu named Abondance (@abondance_patisserie on Instagram).
In addition to his 11BL, Bernard also owns a very interesting 2CV that has been modified with extra windows, which he has named Titine.
Bernard pointed out that the reason why classic Citroëns are so popular in Japan stems from their attractive designs and their accessibility. “It (the 2CV) is a French symbol, an icon. It’s easy to repair, easy to source new parts, and they’re different from Japanese cars.” He also cited the prominence of Citroën cars in animations and comics/manga as another factor, such as in Lupine the third, Tin Tin, and some of Hayao Miyazaki’s works (who is also a classic Citroën fan and owner). Judging by how many classic French cars I saw during my stay in Nagoya, I’d say he’s spot on.
The 2CV in particular has carved itself an interesting spot in Japanese automotive culture. Go to the Toyota Automobile Museum and you’ll find a ripple bonnet prominently on display among its peers, a car which Toyota borrowed styling queues from, (along with the Ami 6 for the rear window), when designing the Toyota WiLL Vi.
Nissan also drew inspiration from Citroëns cars when designing their Pike series of compact cars in the 1990s, with the Nissan S-Cargo clearly borrowing design touches from the 2CV.
You could even find Citroëns being displayed in themed art galleries, as I found out when I visited gallery Director Hiramatsu Masamitsu’s Auto Galleria LUCE, located in Nisshin. During the fall, the theme of the gallery was “The World of Joji Nagashima – Watercolours and French Automobiles”. Though it’s a small gallery, the space comfortably fit a black D Super 5 and 2CV inside, along with some other amazing classics.
It’s a rotating gallery, so I considered myself quite fortunate to get to see this amazing display of art pieces and French automobiles. And speaking of Hiramatsu Masamitsu, he was one of the principal organizers of Coppa Centro Giappone, an event held under the Mirai tower in Sakae, a suburb in Nagoya. The themed display for 2024 was a “Tribute to Marcello Gandini”. Among cars like the Lamborghini LP400 Countach, Lancia Stratos, Alfa Romeo Montreal and Lamborghini Miura, sat a little red Citroën BX, displayed as prominently as Gandini’s other iconic designs. It was quite heartening to see that the little BX was not left out, and was given the same treatment as the others.
Needless to say, I was not expecting this much classic Citroën exposure during my exchange to Japan. And amazingly, this only scratches the surface of the automobile-related activities I got to be involved in during those four months.
Citroëns on display at the Motorcar Museum of Japan.