One of the disappointing things about visiting Japan, from a car enthusiast’s perspective, is that you won’t see many kei trucks that are older than about 10-15 years old. That made this approximately forty-year-old Mitsubishi Minicab at the Ryozen Kannon Temple in Kyoto particularly interesting.
This Buddhist temple was founded in 1955 as a memorial to all those who died in the Pacific Theater during World War II. I photographed the giant Buddha statue with a Kodak Premo Cartidge No. 00 camera from 1916, as they do.
This sacred site has extensive landscaping and beautiful gardens, which means maintenance vehicles are needed. This is a fourth generation Mitsubishi Minicab Truck, built sometime between 1984 and 1991. Mitsubishi still sells Minicab trucks, but since 2014 they have been renamed Suzuki Carrys.
The Japanese market TV commercials for this generation of Minicab are definitely worth watching.
It is clear that this truck has not been driven under its own power in years. The shaken the registration sticker shows a date of the 16th year of Emperor Akihito’s reign, which is 2004 according to the Gregorian calendar we use in the West.
Mitsubishi still sells the Minicab Truck, although it has been a rebadged Suzuki Every since 2014.
This Minicab has been working hard to maintain the grounds of Ryozen Kannon Temple in Kyoto, Japan.
The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation emblem has grown some moss.
The 霊山観音 characters painted on the tailgate show that it belongs to the temple.
These windshield wipers have not budged for years.
