Camera Works

Names ending in Camera Works were used by various Japanese distributors before and during World War II. These names are found in advertisements and logos, ostensibly as the manufacturers of the distributed cameras. In many cases the name of the actual manufacturer is known from other sources and it is a different Japanese-sounding name. It seems that no actual Japanese company had such a name ending in "Camera Works".

The first "Camera Works" probably corresponded to the manufacturing branch of major distributors but were probably not independent companies. (The same way, Rokuoh-sha was the manufacturing branch of the distributor Konishi, later Konishiroku, predecessor of Konica, but was not an independent company.) The earliest example is "Star Camera Works", whose initials "S.C.W." are notably found on the Star watch camera, and which was certainly the manufacturing branch of Ueda Shashinki-ten in the 1910s and 1920s. The next is "Tokyo Camera Works", which used the initials "T.C.W." and was the manufacturing branch of Sone Shunsuidō.

It seems that the later "Camera Works" were mere dummy names used by the distributors, actually corresponding to an independent company which was not called that way. The earliest example is "First Camera Works", a name used by Minagawa Shōten after the introduction of the First plate folders, and actually corresponding to Kuribayashi. Other distributors would use the same trick, and the old name "Star Camera Works" was even resuscitated in the mid-1930s by Ueda Shashinki-ten for cameras made by small independent companies.

The reason for using these fake names is probably two-fold: on the one hand, a Western name was certainly thought to sound better in advertising than the true company name; on the other hand, this allowed the distributor to hide the true names of its various camera suppliers and to give the impression that all the cameras were made in its own factory.

List of "Camera Works"

This list is incomplete:

• Condor Camera Works, actually corresponding to Motodori
• Dan Camera Works, used by Dan Shashin-yōhin
• First Camera Works, used by the distributor Minagawa Shōten, actually corresponding to Kuribayashi
• Gelto Camera Werke, actually corresponding to Tōa Kōki
• National Camera Works, used by the distributor Eikōdō, actually corresponding to Tōa Kōki
• Star Camera Works, used by the distributor Ueda Shashinki-ten
• Tokyo Camera Works, manufacturing branch of the distributor Sone Shunsuidō
• Victor Camera Works, actually corresponding to Motodori
• Walz Camera Works, used by the distributor Nihon Shōkai, perhaps corresponding to Okada Kōgaku
• Zeitax Camera Works (reported only)