Sugaya

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Sugaya Kōki Seisakusho, early 1940s

Sugaya Kōki Seisakusho (菅谷光機製作所)[1] was a Japanese company based in Tokyo, Kanda during World War II.[2] Its name appears in an advertisement dated October 1943 for rangefinder conversions distributed by Sankō-sha and by Matsuzaki Shashinki-ten.[3]

Sugaya Optical, late 1940s and early 1950s

A company called Sugaya made various subminiature cameras taking 17.5mm or 16mm film in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In late 1949, its full name was Sugaya Seikō K.K. (菅谷精光㈱), and it was based in Tokyo, Kanda; its address seems very close to that of the former company Sugaya Kōki Seisakusho, and it might correspond to the same physical location after some reorganization of the postal system.[4] One source dated April 1950 gives the name Sugaya Kōki (スガヤ光機), perhaps by mistake.[5] The English name used by the company was Sugaya Optical Co., Ltd., as indicated by the markings on the Hope and Myracle cameras.

List of cameras :

Sugaya Optical, late 1970s

The company Sugaya Optical Co. made the Minimax Pocket 110 EE, an oversized camera taking 110 film, in the late 1970s. It is not known if this company was related to the previous Sugaya or not — most likely it wasn't. It is said that it was founded by Mr Sugaya, an engineer formerly working for Nikon, and that it made a prototype after the Pocket 110 EE, which was sold to Asahi Optical and became the Pentax Auto 110.[6] The company was perhaps merged into Nikoh, which made a series of Minimax cameras taking 8×11mm pictures on Minox film.

Notes

  1. The name 菅谷 could conceivably be read Sugedani as well, but Sugaya is much more common.
  2. Its address in 1943 was Kanda-ku Kajichō (神田区鍛冶町) 3–5 in Tokyo. Source: advertisement reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.112.
  3. Advertisement in Shashin Bunka October 1943, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.112.
  4. Its address in 1949 was Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Kanda Asahi-chō 16 (東京都千代田区神田旭町十六). Source: advertisement in Kohga Gekkan September 1949, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.180.
  5. Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.370, lists a single article in Kohga Gekkan April 1950 for the Myracle (item 954). It attributes the camera to "Sugaya Kōki" (スガヤ光機), certainly after this source.
  6. Message by Mr Morine at this page at Scott's Photographica Collection.

Bibliography

Links

In English: