Marusan

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Marusan is a Japanese toy maker, which is still active today.

Marusan's roots can be traced back to the company Ichida Seisakusho (石田製作所), a toy manufacturer founded in 1923 by Ichida Naokichi (石田直吉).[1] In 1947, Marusan Shōten (マルサン商店) was founded by Ichida Haruyasu (石田晴康), Ichida Minoru (石田實) and Arai Yasuo (荒井康夫), two sons and a relative of Ichida Naokichi.[1] The company's name is made of the words maru (meaning "circle") and san (meaning "three", because of the three founders), and the logo is SAN written inside a circle.

The company was incorporated as K.K. Marusan Shōten (㈱マルサン商店) in 1950, and began to manufacture its own toys, many of which were exported to the United States.[1] At around that time, it distributed the Youngflex pseudo TLR camera taking Bolta film.

The company's name was changed to K.K. Maruzan (㈱マルザン) in 1967, then the company went bankrupt in 1968.[1] In 1969, the business was revived as K.K. Marusan (㈱マルサン) by Ichida Minoru, and it still exists under that name today (2008).

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 See the English-language and Japanese-language company histories.

Bibliography

  • Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5.

Links

In English:

In Japanese: