1. The First Inventor Crashed Into a Mirror
Who first made a device with wheels on shoes is not clear. Some theories say it was made in the Netherlands in the early 18th century, or used in a London play in 1743 [1]. The most famous person in the records is John Joseph Merlin, a Belgian inventor working in Britain. Around 1760, he showed off his invention at a party [1].
He attached a row of wheels to his shoes and entered the room playing the violin. This design was close to what we now call inline skates. As a performance, it was impressive. However, he could not stop. The result was a failure. Merlin could not slow down or change direction, so he crashed into a large mirror in the room and was badly hurt.
This sounds like a joke, but it shows the core problem. Early skates had wheels in a single row, with no mechanism to change direction or stop. They could go forward. That did not make them a useful tool. The question of "how to turn" and "how to stop" took 100 years to solve.
2. The Day Skates Learned to Turn
The solution came 100 years later. In 1863, James Plimpton in the United States patented a skate with four wheels arranged in two pairs, front and back [1]. This is known as the quad (four-wheel) skate.
The key was not just having four wheels. The base holding the wheels (the truck) was designed to tilt slightly using rubber or other cushions. When the rider leaned their body to the left, the axle angle changed slightly, and the skate turned left. Leaning right turned it right. Instead of using a handle, moving your weight became the steering.
Plimpton’s skates were safer and easier to handle than earlier ones, and they turned roller skating from a spectacle for a few into entertainment for many [2].
Now even beginners could turn, because shifting weight steered the skate. It was the moment the skate became a real tool. From here, roller skates spread around the world as both a game and a sport. The idea of putting wheels on shoes existed early on, but it did not become a usable tool because the missing pieces were "stopping" and "turning," which were unglamorous but essential.
3. Roller Skates Arrive in Japan
Encyclopedias state that roller skating became very popular among children in Japan around 1913, and skating rinks were built across the country before the war [1]. One of the major post-war booms came in the late 1960s.
Television sparked the trend. From 1968, TV broadcasts of "Roller Games" began [1]. This was a team sport where players wearing roller skates raced around an oval track shaped like a mortar, bumping into each other to pass opponents. It was flashy, easy to understand, and cool. Children who watched it became obsessed.
At that time, the type that spread was roller skates that strapped onto your own shoes with belts. You did not need to buy special boots, so they were cheap and within reach of many children [1].
In the late 1970s, "Roller Disco," where people skated to music, spread and became a huge boom around 1980 [3]. Specialized shops opened, and people gathered there. What started as a sport combined with music to become fashion and culture.
4. In 1987, Idols Singing While Skating
The most famous event in the history of roller skating in Japan happened in 1987. The idol group Hikaru GENJI debuted that year. They sang and danced while wearing roller skates [4].
Boys skating and singing on TV was a sight people had never seen before. Children who watched it all wanted roller skates at once. This created an unprecedented boom across Japan [4].
If we line up the post-war trends, we see a pattern. From 1968, TV Roller Games spread to children, and cheap strap-on types sold well. From the 1970s to the 1980s, Roller Disco connected skating with music and fashion. In 1987, Hikaru GENJI caused a nationwide boom.
5. Ice Hockey Players Training in Summer
The skates with wheels in a single row, often seen in parks today, are called inline skates. Their origin was not play, but summer training for ice hockey players.
Around the late 1970s, inline skates appeared for summer practice for ice skating [1]. Around 1980, the Olson brothers in Minnesota, USA, created and sold skates close to today’s inline skates for ice hockey summer training [1]. This company became "Rollerblade." The founding year varies by source, so we say "around 1980."
With wheels in a single row, skaters can feel close to ice skates (which have one blade). The body movements for turning are also similar to ice. That is why it works for training. From around 1989, they were used in hockey and competitions that required speed, and users expanded [1]. In Japan, a big boom followed in the 1990s.
Remember that Merlin’s 1760 skates also had wheels in a single row. He failed because he could not stop or turn. Over 200 years later, the single-row design became the main character again. But this time, it had brakes and better boot performance.
6. What Is Happening Now?
Today’s skates are divided by purpose. Fitness inline skates are the most common, with brakes, for enjoying skating in parks and facilities. Speed inline skates have large wheels and low boots for skating fast and long. Aggressive inline skates are sturdy with parts for grinding rails, used for jumps and tricks. Quad (four-wheel) skates are stable sideways, used for roller dance, roller derby, and beginners.
Some children’s models have adjustable sizes. They can be extended by a few centimeters as the child grows, so they need to be replaced less often.
The most important piece of equipment is actually not the skates. It is a helmet and protectors for the wrists, elbows, and knees. When people fall, they usually put their hands down, so wrists are easily hurt, and hitting the head is the most dangerous. Good skaters wear their protective gear properly, because being injured and unable to skate is a far bigger loss.
Be careful about where you skate. In Japan, skating on busy roads is prohibited by the Road Traffic Act [5]. Some parks also forbid it or limit the hours. Check that you are at a skating rink, skate park, or permitted plaza before you start.
7. The Future of Roller Skates
The history of roller skates is a cycle of booms and lulls. In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, it rose and settled each time. But it has never disappeared. For 260 years, someone has always been skating.
In the 2020s, popularity is rising again, centered in the US [6]. This time, the trigger is not TV, but video. People post videos of skating, and viewers start skating. The mechanism of spread is the same as TV in 1968 or music shows in 1987.
Things likely to happen include more entry points for young generations via video, continued tool improvements (lightness, safety, size adjustment), and the persistent problem of securing places to skate. This last point may be the most important. No matter how good the tools get, skating cannot spread without safe places. How to build skate parks and plazas is also a matter of city planning.
8. If You Want to Try It Yourself
If you want to try it, there is an order. First, prepare protective gear: helmet, wrist guards, elbows, and knees. This comes before the skates. Next, check where you are allowed to skate: skating rinks, skate parks, or permitted plazas. Then, learn how to stop first: using a heel brake or spreading your feet to slow down. After that, learn how to fall: put your hands down and fall forward, landing on your knees, and avoid falling backward. Finally, learn to skate straight.
It is interesting that the first thing to learn is "how to stop." This is exactly what Merlin could not do 260 years ago.
Asking family can reveal things. Where are the local skating rinks or parks? When were they built? What kind of skates did parents or grandparents have? Asking often brings out stories. How do wheel hardness and size change the feel? Why does leaning turn you? Compare it to bicycles or skiing.