Difference between revisions of "Korok"

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{{Japanese plate}}
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{{Japanese plate strut-folding}}
The '''Koroku''' (コロク) or '''Vest Koroku''' (ベストコロク) is a Japanese strut-folding plate camera. It was made from about 1914 by Rokuoh-sha, manufacturing branch of [[Konica|Konishi]] (predecessor of [[Konica]]), and it exists in 6.5×9cm (''daimeishi'') and 8×10.5cm (''tefuda'') size.<REF> Date: Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10, {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, Lewis, p.35. </REF> It was the successor of the [[Minimum Idea]].
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The '''Korok''' (コロク) or '''Vest Korok''' (ベストコロク) is a Japanese strut-folding plate camera. It was made from about 1914 by Rokuoh-sha, the manufacturing branch of [[Konica|Konishi]] (predecessor of [[Konica]]), and it exists in 5.5×8cm ({{meishi}}) and 8×10.5cm ({{tefuda}}) size.<REF> Date: Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10, {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, Lewis, p.35. </REF> It was the successor of the [[Minimum Idea]].
 +
 
 +
== Name ==
 +
The Roman name "Korok" is found in an original catalogue by [[Konica|Konishiroku]]; the Japanese name was written either "''Koroku kamera''" (コロク、カメラ) or "''Vesuto Koroku kamera''" (ヴヱスト、コロク、カメラ).<REF> "Korok", "''Koroku kamera''": catalogue by [[Konica|Konishiroku]] reproduced in Yazawa, p.4 of {{CCN}} no.259. "''Vesuto Koroku kamera''": advertisement reproduced in [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/koroku.htm this page at the R.&nbsp;Konishi Rokuoh-sha website]. </REF>
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 +
In the 1920s or 1930s, the word "Vest" (''Vesuto'') would commonly designate [[127 film]] in Japan (as in [[Minolta Vest]]); at the time of the Vest Korok, the prefix was simply used to bring to mind the [[Vest Pocket Kodak]].
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The Japanese name "''Koroku''" was certainly formed after the company name Honten <U>Ko</U>nishi <U>Roku</U>emon. (The name "Konishiroku" would later be constructed in a similar way.) The name, pronounced as "Korok", is also obviously made with "Kodak" in mind.
  
 
== Description ==
 
== Description ==
The Koroku is one of the first Japanese cameras to have a metal body. It is inspired from the [[Vest Pocket Kodak]] and has a pop-out rectangular front standard mounted on trellis struts. This front standard contains a single [[brilliant finder]] at the top, in the middle, a meniscus lens and a simple shutter giving Time, Bulb and Instant settings selected by an index above the lens. The words ''MANUFACTURED BY ROKUOH-SHA TOKYO.'' are inscribed around the lens. The aperture is set by an index at the bottom, with four positions indicated both by the numbers ''1'', ''2'', ''3'', ''4'' and by words in ''kanji'' script.<REF> Words in ''kanji'' script: {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080. </REF>
+
The Korok is one of the first Japanese cameras to have a metal body. It is inspired by the [[Vest Pocket Kodak]] and has a pop-out rectangular front standard mounted on trellis struts. This front standard contains a single [[brilliant finder]] at the top, and in the middle a single-element meniscus lens and a simple shutter.<REF> Single-element lens: Yazawa, p.2 of {{CCN}} no.259. </REF> The shutter release is placed behind the front standard, to the right of the brilliant finder.
 +
 
 +
The speed settings are Time, Bulb and Instant, selected by an index above the lens; the ''T'', ''B'', ''I'' indications are complemented by a caption in ''kanji'' characters: 定時 ("fixed time") for T and B, 瞬時 ("instant") for I.<REF> Detailed picture in Yazawa, p.3 of {{CCN}} no.259. </REF> The words ''MANUFACTURED BY ROKUOH-SHA TOKYO.'' are inscribed around the lens. The aperture is set by an index at the bottom, with four positions indicated both by the numbers ''1'', ''2'', ''3'', ''4'' and by words in ''kanji'' script: 近き人物 and 曇天景色 ("close portrait" and "cloudy landscape") for "1", 晴天景色 ("fair-weather landscape") for "2", 遠景 ("distant landscape") for "3", 雪海景 ("snow or seascape") for "4".<REF> Detailed picture in Yazawa, p.3 of {{CCN}} no.259. </REF>
  
 
The rear part of the camera has no similarity with the [[Vest Pocket Kodak]], and simply consists of a box with attachment rails for the ground glass or plate holders.
 
The rear part of the camera has no similarity with the [[Vest Pocket Kodak]], and simply consists of a box with attachment rails for the ground glass or plate holders.
  
== Versions ==
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== Commercial life ==
The advertisement for the Koroku reproduced [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/koroku.htm here at the R.&nbsp;Konishi Rokuoh-sha website] presents the camera as a new model, evolved from the [[Minimum Idea]] through various improvements. The camera is called "Vest Koroku Camera" (ヴェスト、コロク、カメラ) in the title and simply "Koroku Camera" (コロク、カメラ) in the text. The format is mentioned as ''meishi'' size, approximately corresponding to 5.5×8cm. The camera was sold with six single-sided plate holders, the same as the [[Minimum Idea]]. It cost ¥15 with cloth wallets and ¥16 with a leather case.
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The camera was reportedly released in October 1914.<REF> Chronology of the official company history ''Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen'', reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF> In a March 1916 catalogue by [[Konica|Konishi Honten]], the camera is called "Korok Camera" (コロク、カメラ, ''Koroku Kamera'') in ''katakana'' writing and "Korok Hand Camera" in Roman writing.<REF> Catalogue by [[Konica|Konishi Honten]] dated 15 March 1916, reproduced in Tanaka, p.92 of {{KKS}} no.10, and in Yazawa, p.4 of {{CCN}} no.259 (the reproduction is more readable in Yazawa). </REF> It is presented as a new model (最新型), evolved from the [[Minimum Idea]] through various improvements. The format is mentioned as {{meishi}} (名刺) size, given in older units as 1&nbsp;''sun'' 8&nbsp;''bu'' (一寸八分) width and 2&nbsp;''sun'' 7&nbsp;''bu'' (二寸七分) height; this translates as 5.5×8.2cm, commonly rounded to 5.5×8cm. The dimensions of the camera are given as 10.3×7.3×3.3cm, and its weight as 263g.<REF> This is given in old units: 3&nbsp;''sun'' 4&nbsp;''bu'' length, 2&nbsp;''sun'' 4&nbsp;''bu'' width, 1&nbsp;''sun'' 1&nbsp;''bu'' depth, 70&nbsp;''monme'' weight. </REF> The camera was supplied with six single-sided plate holders in a choice of two sets: set A (A號) with a cloth wallet, at {{yen|15|1916}}, and set B (B號) with a leather case, at {{yen|16|1916}}.
  
It seems that the surviving example pictured in the various sources is one and the same.<REF> Example pictured in {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, in Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10, in Lewis, p.35, and in [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&key=103310371017&APage=2 this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology]. The camera is said to belong to M. Morihara in the two first sources, and the picture is the same in the last three. </REF> Its format is quoted as 6.5×9cm or ''daimeishi'' in some sources.<REF> Format quoted as 6.5×9cm in {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, and as ''daimeishi'' in Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF> In others, the format is given as 57×83mm for the camera in general, not necessarily referring to the pictured example;<REF> Format quoted as 57×83mm in Lewis, p.35, and in [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&key=103310371017&APage=2 this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology]. </REF> this is an alternate approximation for ''meishi'' size. The picture in {{Sugiyama}} shows the full set, complete with original buck-skin wallets for the camera and for the six plate holders.<REF> {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080. </REF>
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The advertisement for the Korok reproduced [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/koroku.htm here at the R.&nbsp;Konishi Rokuoh-sha website] is an abridged version of the catalogue contents, and the main text is exactly the same. However the title differs and reads "Vest Korok Camera" (ヴヱスト、コロク、カメラ, ''Vesuto Koroku Kamera'').
  
According to Kikuoka, apparently quoting the official company history ''Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen'', the camera also existed in 8×10.5cm (''tefuda'') size, and there was perhaps a wooden version in ''meishi'' (5.5×8cm) format, called the '''Sketch Camera''' (スケッチカメラ).<REF> Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF>
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The chronological list of the official company history ''Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen'' published in 1973 has a '''Sketch''' (スケッチ) {{meishi}}-size camera released in September 1914, one month before the Korok.<REF> Chronological list reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF> A picture of this camera is shown elsewhere in the same book, but it seems indistinguishable from the Korok.<REF> Extract of ''Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen'' reproduced in Tanaka, p.93 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF> For some reason, Kikuoka reports that the Sketch was made of wood and has no B setting.<REF> Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF> However these features are perhaps mistaken, and "Sketch" was perhaps the original name of the Korok. A {{tefuda}}-size (8×10.5cm) version of the Korok is also reported in Kikuoka, but this is unconfirmed.<REF> Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF>
  
== Name ==
+
== Surviving example ==
The name "Koroku" was certainly formed after <U>Ko</U>nishi <U>Roku</U>emon, name of the founder of the Konishi company; "Konishi Honten" and "Honten Konishi Rokuemon" were two alternative names of the company at the time. The name, pronounced as "Korok" or "Kolok" in Japanese, is also an obvious imitation of "Kodak".
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It seems that the surviving example pictured in the various sources is one and the same.<REF> Example pictured in {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, in Yazawa, pp.1–3 and cover pages of {{CCN}} no.259, in Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10, in Lewis, p.35, and in [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&key=103310371017&APage=2 this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology]. The camera is said to belong to M. Morihara in the three first sources, and the picture is the same in the last three. </REF> Its format is quoted as 6.5×9cm or {{daimeishi}} in some sources, and as 57×83mm or {{meishi}} in others; the latter seems more plausible.<REF> Format quoted as 6.5×9cm in {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080, and as {{daimeishi}} in Kikuoka, p.32 of {{KKS}} no.10. &mdash; Format quoted as 57×83mm in Lewis, p.35, and in [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&no=103310371017 this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology], and as {{meishi}} (50×77mm actual picture size) in Yazawa, p.2 of {{CCN}} no.259. The most detailed account of the camera is found in Yazawa, who seems to have examined the example at first hand instead of merely via pictures. </REF> Some pictures shows the full set, complete with original buck-skin wallets for the camera and for the six plate holders.<REF> {{Sugiyama}}, item 1080; Sakai, p.10 of {{KKS}} no.10. </REF>
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
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== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
 
* Kikuoka Sei (菊岡清). "Konica history 3. Meiji 41-nen – Taishō 12-nen." (Konica history 3. 明治41年–大正12年. From Meiji year 41 (1908) to Taishō year 12 (1923).) {{KKS010}} Pp.24–32.
 
* Kikuoka Sei (菊岡清). "Konica history 3. Meiji 41-nen – Taishō 12-nen." (Konica history 3. 明治41年–大正12年. From Meiji year 41 (1908) to Taishō year 12 (1923).) {{KKS010}} Pp.24–32.
* {{Lewis}} P.35 (the camera is called "Korok").
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* {{Lewis}} P.35.
 +
* Sakai Shūichi (酒井修一). "'Anbako' kara 'ōtofōkasu' he: kamera no hensen to tomo ni ayunda 114-nen" (「暗函」から「オートフォーカス」へ・カメラの変遷と共に歩んだ114年, From 'camera obscura' to 'autofocus': 114 years of camera evolution). {{KKS010}} Pp.8–13.
 
* {{Zukan}} Item 1080.
 
* {{Zukan}} Item 1080.
 +
* Tanaka Yoshirō<!-- or Yoshio --> (田中芳郎). "Meiji–Taishō jidai no Konishi Honten no kamera wo shiru tame no hon" (明治・大正時代の小西本店のカメラを知るための本, Books about the Konishi Honten cameras of the Meiji and Taishō eras). {{KKS010}} Pp.92–4.
 +
* Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (169) Koroku kamera" (レンズの話[169]コロク・カメラ, Lens story [169] Korok camera). In {{CCN}} no.259 (January 1999). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha.
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==
 
In Japanese:
 
In Japanese:
* [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&key=103310371017&APage=2 Koroku] in the [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/set_brws_01.php?id=1033 Camera database] of the [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/ Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology]
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* [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?id=1033&no=103310371017 Korok] in the [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/set_brws_01.php?id=1033 Camera database] of the [http://sts.kahaku.go.jp/ Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology]
 
* Pages of the [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/index.htm R.&nbsp;Konishi Rokuoh-sha website]:
 
* Pages of the [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/index.htm R.&nbsp;Konishi Rokuoh-sha website]:
** [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/koroku.htm Advertisement for the Koroku]
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** [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/koroku.htm Advertisement for the Korok], and [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/korokul.htm enlargement of the drawing]
** [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/korokul.htm Drawing enlarged from the previous advertisement]
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** [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/record.htm Korok] in the [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/11year.htm camera list]
** [http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ter-1212/sakura/11year.htm Camera list]
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{{Konishiroku prewar and wartime}}
  
 
[[Category: Japanese 6.5x9 folding]]
 
[[Category: Japanese 6.5x9 folding]]
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[[Category: Strut folding]]
 
[[Category: Strut folding]]
 
[[Category: K]]
 
[[Category: K]]
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[[Category: Konica]]
 
[[Category: 1911-1914]]
 
[[Category: 1911-1914]]

Revision as of 10:44, 28 March 2018

Japanese plate strut-folding cameras (edit)
No.0 (4×5cm) CH
atom (4.5×6cm) Idea Spring
meishi (5.5×8cm) Minimum Idea | Korok
daimeishi (6.5×9cm) Idea Spring | Minolta | Auto Minolta | Auto Press Minolta | Nifca-Dox | Vester Klapp
tefuda (8×10.5cm) Focal Happy | Idea Spring | Idea Telephoto
10×15cm Kongo Press
kabine (12×16.5cm) Idea Spring | Idea Telephoto
Japanese plate film: monocular, box, folding bed and SLR ->
3×4 and 4×4, 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->

The Korok (コロク) or Vest Korok (ベストコロク) is a Japanese strut-folding plate camera. It was made from about 1914 by Rokuoh-sha, the manufacturing branch of Konishi (predecessor of Konica), and it exists in 5.5×8cm (meishi) and 8×10.5cm (tefuda) size.[1] It was the successor of the Minimum Idea.

Name

The Roman name "Korok" is found in an original catalogue by Konishiroku; the Japanese name was written either "Koroku kamera" (コロク、カメラ) or "Vesuto Koroku kamera" (ヴヱスト、コロク、カメラ).[2]

In the 1920s or 1930s, the word "Vest" (Vesuto) would commonly designate 127 film in Japan (as in Minolta Vest); at the time of the Vest Korok, the prefix was simply used to bring to mind the Vest Pocket Kodak.

The Japanese name "Koroku" was certainly formed after the company name Honten Konishi Rokuemon. (The name "Konishiroku" would later be constructed in a similar way.) The name, pronounced as "Korok", is also obviously made with "Kodak" in mind.

Description

The Korok is one of the first Japanese cameras to have a metal body. It is inspired by the Vest Pocket Kodak and has a pop-out rectangular front standard mounted on trellis struts. This front standard contains a single brilliant finder at the top, and in the middle a single-element meniscus lens and a simple shutter.[3] The shutter release is placed behind the front standard, to the right of the brilliant finder.

The speed settings are Time, Bulb and Instant, selected by an index above the lens; the T, B, I indications are complemented by a caption in kanji characters: 定時 ("fixed time") for T and B, 瞬時 ("instant") for I.[4] The words MANUFACTURED BY ROKUOH-SHA TOKYO. are inscribed around the lens. The aperture is set by an index at the bottom, with four positions indicated both by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and by words in kanji script: 近き人物 and 曇天景色 ("close portrait" and "cloudy landscape") for "1", 晴天景色 ("fair-weather landscape") for "2", 遠景 ("distant landscape") for "3", 雪海景 ("snow or seascape") for "4".[5]

The rear part of the camera has no similarity with the Vest Pocket Kodak, and simply consists of a box with attachment rails for the ground glass or plate holders.

Commercial life

The camera was reportedly released in October 1914.[6] In a March 1916 catalogue by Konishi Honten, the camera is called "Korok Camera" (コロク、カメラ, Koroku Kamera) in katakana writing and "Korok Hand Camera" in Roman writing.[7] It is presented as a new model (最新型), evolved from the Minimum Idea through various improvements. The format is mentioned as meishi (名刺) size, given in older units as 1 sunbu (一寸八分) width and 2 sunbu (二寸七分) height; this translates as 5.5×8.2cm, commonly rounded to 5.5×8cm. The dimensions of the camera are given as 10.3×7.3×3.3cm, and its weight as 263g.[8] The camera was supplied with six single-sided plate holders in a choice of two sets: set A (A號) with a cloth wallet, at ¥15, and set B (B號) with a leather case, at ¥16.

The advertisement for the Korok reproduced here at the R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha website is an abridged version of the catalogue contents, and the main text is exactly the same. However the title differs and reads "Vest Korok Camera" (ヴヱスト、コロク、カメラ, Vesuto Koroku Kamera).

The chronological list of the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen published in 1973 has a Sketch (スケッチ) meishi-size camera released in September 1914, one month before the Korok.[9] A picture of this camera is shown elsewhere in the same book, but it seems indistinguishable from the Korok.[10] For some reason, Kikuoka reports that the Sketch was made of wood and has no B setting.[11] However these features are perhaps mistaken, and "Sketch" was perhaps the original name of the Korok. A tefuda-size (8×10.5cm) version of the Korok is also reported in Kikuoka, but this is unconfirmed.[12]

Surviving example

It seems that the surviving example pictured in the various sources is one and the same.[13] Its format is quoted as 6.5×9cm or daimeishi in some sources, and as 57×83mm or meishi in others; the latter seems more plausible.[14] Some pictures shows the full set, complete with original buck-skin wallets for the camera and for the six plate holders.[15]

Notes

  1. Date: Kikuoka, p.32 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, Sugiyama, item 1080, Lewis, p.35.
  2. "Korok", "Koroku kamera": catalogue by Konishiroku reproduced in Yazawa, p.4 of Camera Collectors' News no.259. "Vesuto Koroku kamera": advertisement reproduced in this page at the R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha website.
  3. Single-element lens: Yazawa, p.2 of Camera Collectors' News no.259.
  4. Detailed picture in Yazawa, p.3 of Camera Collectors' News no.259.
  5. Detailed picture in Yazawa, p.3 of Camera Collectors' News no.259.
  6. Chronology of the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen, reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
  7. Catalogue by Konishi Honten dated 15 March 1916, reproduced in Tanaka, p.92 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, and in Yazawa, p.4 of Camera Collectors' News no.259 (the reproduction is more readable in Yazawa).
  8. This is given in old units: 3 sunbu length, 2 sunbu width, 1 sunbu depth, 70 monme weight.
  9. Chronological list reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
  10. Extract of Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen reproduced in Tanaka, p.93 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
  11. Kikuoka, p.32 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
  12. Kikuoka, p.32 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.
  13. Example pictured in Sugiyama, item 1080, in Yazawa, pp.1–3 and cover pages of Camera Collectors' News no.259, in Kikuoka, p.32 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10, in Lewis, p.35, and in this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology. The camera is said to belong to M. Morihara in the three first sources, and the picture is the same in the last three.
  14. Format quoted as 6.5×9cm in Sugiyama, item 1080, and as daimeishi in Kikuoka, p.32 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10. — Format quoted as 57×83mm in Lewis, p.35, and in this page of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology, and as meishi (50×77mm actual picture size) in Yazawa, p.2 of Camera Collectors' News no.259. The most detailed account of the camera is found in Yazawa, who seems to have examined the example at first hand instead of merely via pictures.
  15. Sugiyama, item 1080; Sakai, p.10 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.10.

Bibliography

Links

In Japanese:


Konishiroku prewar and wartime cameras (edit)
plate hand cameras stereo hand cameras strut folders box telephoto SLR
Idea (original) | Idea A | Idea B | Idea Snap | Idea No.1 | Idea (metal) | Lily (original) | Lily (horizontal) | Lily (metal) | Tropical Lily | Noble | Ohca | Sakura Palace | Sakura Pocket Prano | Sakura Prano Idea Binocular | Sakura Binocular Prano Minimum Idea | Idea Spring | Korok Champion | Cherry | Sakura Army | Sakura Honor | Sakura Navy Idea Telephoto Idea Reflex (1910 and 1911) | Idea Reflex (1932) | Neat Reflex | Sakura Reflex Prano
rollfilm folders box or collapsible TLR
Pearlette | Special Pearlette | B Pearlette | Pearl (for plates and rollfilm) | Pearl No.2 | Pearl (Year 8) | Baby Pearl | Semi Pearl | Sakura Palace Record | Sakura (box) | Sakura (bakelite) Sakura-flex