Zuihō

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Zuihō Kōgaku Seiki K.K. (瑞宝光学精機株式会社[1]) was a Japanese company in the 1950s. It was based in Kyōbashi, Tokyo.[2]

In 1952–3, it made the Tomy, a 4.5×6 camera with a Z-shaped folded light path, designed by Sakurai Minoru (桜井実). Nothing is known of the company's activities between 1953 and 1956, at which date it released the Honor S1, a Leica copy. At the beginning, Zuihō only appeared as the distributor of the camera, which was produced by Mejiro Kōgaku Kōgyō. From autumn 1958, the documents mention Zuihō as the maker and distributor of the Honor, perhaps because it absorbed its subcontractor Mejiro. The company's final camera model was the Honor SL, an improved rangefinder camera released in 1959, which met limited success only.

The company was still active in 1964, certainly as a binocular maker; its CEO Yamada Shizuka (山田静) also presided an association promoting the export of Japanese binoculars (日本双眼鏡輸出振興事業協会).[3]

Notes

  1. Written 瑞寳光学精機株式会社 in old writing in some ads.
  2. The exact address was Tōkyō-to Chūō-ku Kyōbashi 3–7 (東京都中央区京橋3–7). Source: advertisements dated June 1953 to September 1958 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.151 and 225.
  3. Notes from a committee of the Japanese Diet, dated May 13, 1964.

Bibliography

Links

In Japanese: