NOSTALGIC: Searching For Michiko Kondo

Japan's first woman driver of the post-war era

This photo is of 21-year-old university student Michiko Kondo (近藤 美智子), and unless I have overlooked someone who raced from the years 1963 to 1964, or even someone who raced in the pre-war era of automobile racing at Tamagawa Speedway, she should be credited as the first Japanese woman to race cars in her home country.

Michiko Kondo career statistics - JAF Motor Sports Archive

Kondo was born in either 1943 or 1944, and had a very brief career in motor racing that spanned just five official race meetings in 1965 - just two years after the inaugural Japan Grand Prix Car Race at Suzuka Circuit in 1963, the official start of Japan’s post-war era of circuit racing.

Kondo made her first appearance in the 4th National Stock Car Race at Kawaguchi Speedway on 28 March, 1965, in the Junior Continental class. She finished 7th out of 10 cars in her Honda S600.

Three months later, Kondo raced at Suzuka Circuit in the Kansai Sports Car Club (KSCC) 1 Hour Race, GT-C class, on 20 June. This time, she drove an MG Midget. Kondo qualified 11th, and finished 9th.

Kondo’s best known-appearance would come at the famous All-Japan Car Club Championship Race, the inaugural event held at Funabashi Circuit near Tokyo on 18 July 1965. It was in this event that Kondo was one of four drivers taking part in a four-car “Formula Exhibition” session, though this was more of a demonstration run than a race.

She was also one of 40 drivers fighting for just 20 grid spots in the GT-I class main event. Kondo qualified 25th in time trials, less than a second off the cut-off time to qualify.

But as Minkara user tokirioma5 wrote in a blog post about Kondo from 2018 - in 1965, Kondo’s mere participation was not greeted warmly by most of a crowd of 36,000 spectators.

“A woman, racing! And in a Lotus that cost over 7 million yen at the time.”

“The spectators shouted and cursed at her. In addition, [during the Formula Exhibition,] she was blocked by another car and went off course. When she got out of the Lotus, he broke down in tears.”

“It was a man's society that I can't imagine even now, 50 years later.”

“But at the end of the day, she and Tojiro Ukiya, the winner of the main race, go home with their bag, in good company.”

At the time, Kondo was dating Tojiro Ukiya, who had won that GT-I race in spectacular fashion, as well as the GT-II race earlier in the day, driving two different cars. Ukiya was one of the most promising young talents in the early years of the Japanese racing scene.

Kondo drove just two more races at Suzuka, on 8 August, and two weeks later on 22 August, in a Daihatsu Compagno Spider. That last race, the 2nd KSCC Suzuka 1 Hour Race, was held less than 48 hours after Ukiya suffered a catastrophic testing accident, and died of his injuries the next morning, 21 August, 1965.

I don’t know for sure if Ukiya’s death was the final straw that led Kondo to end her racing career, but it would be completely understandable if it were the case.

Japanese women such as Tomiko Yoshikawa, Kaori Okamoto, Kumi Sato, Keiko Ihara, and more recently the likes of Miki Koyama, Ai Miura, and young Juju Noda have since been able to race at the highest levels of motorsport, and achieve milestones that seemed unthinkable in the days when young Michiko Kondo was racing.

There’s still a lot more that I’ve yet to learn about Ms. Kondo and her fascinating, groundbreaking foray into racing.