ARCHIVE PEOPLEPeople

☺20 people

Founders and executives: 12; engineers: 5; researchers: 3. They are listed in order of birth year (or, if unknown, the earliest year of a related event).

1. Ikegai ShotaroShotaro Ikegai

   1869–1934Founders & executives

   Founder of Ikegai Works (later Ikegai Iron Works)

   Born in October 1869 (Meiji 2) in Kanda, Edo. A lathe hand at Tanaka Hisashige's works, he went independent and in May 1889 started Ikegai Works in Shiba Kanasugi, Tokyo, in a rented shop with two English-type lathes. The English-type 9-foot lathe he built with his younger brother Kishiro at the end of that year is the oldest surviving Japanese-made powered lathe (Mechanical Engineering Heritage No. 53). He died in 1934, and his eldest son took over the name Shotaro (the second).[1, frame 31][2, frame 45][3][4][5, frame 218]

   • LathesMay 1889Ikegai Shotaro founds the Ikegai Works in Shiba Kanasugi, Tokyo (May), starting in a rented shop with two English-type lathes. At the end of the year, he and his younger brother Kishiro…
   • Lathes1905Ikegai builds an American-type lathe to Francis's specifications and begins volume production of the "Ikegai standard lathe" (until then mostly English-type)…

   Famous machines: Ikegai Works Lathe No. 1 (English-type 9-foot lathe) (1889)

2. Okuma EiichiEiichi Okuma

   Born 1870Founders & executives

   Founder of Okuma Noodle Machine Co. and Okuma Iron Works (today's Okuma)

   Born in 1870 (Meiji 3) in Saga Prefecture. In 1898 he started Okuma Noodle Machine Co., a one-man business making noodle machines in Nagoya, and moved into machine tools after building lathes from drawings supplied by the army arsenal in 1904. In 1918 he formed Okuma Iron Works, Ltd. and put the Type OS engine lathe on sale.[6, frame 51][7, frame 25][8, frame 6][8, frame 18][9]

   • Lathes1918Okuma Iron Works, Ltd. is formed and puts on sale the Type OS engine lathe, an improved version of a lathe by Sebastian of the US
   • Grinders1918Okuma receives drawings from an army arsenal and builds the Type GA-1 tool grinder, modeled on the Norton (US) No. 1 universal tool grinder…

   Famous machines: Type OS engine lathe (1918)

3. Ito KaheijiKaheiji Ito

   Founders & executives

   Of Yamagata (smith and machine builder)

   Around 1875 (Meiji 8), he built a treadle lathe of forged iron. One of the oldest lathes made by a private individual, it was designated Mechanical Engineering Heritage No. 3 in 2007 and is on display at Museum Meiji-mura.[10][2, frame 25]

   • Lathesc. 1875Ito Kaheiji of Yamagata builds a treadle lathe of forged iron. Mechanical Engineering Heritage No. 3 (Museum Meiji-mura)

   Famous machines: Treadle lathe (made by Ito Kaheiji) (1875)

4. Ikegai KishiroKishiro Ikegai

   Engineers

   Ikegai Works / Ikegai Iron Works (Shotaro's younger brother)

   With his elder brother Shotaro, he built Ikegai Works Lathe No. 1 in 1889. The chronology in the 1961 Nihon no kosaku kikai (Japan's machine tools) credits Kishiro with inventing a profile reducing copy-cutting machine.[3][11, frame 109]

   • LathesMay 1889Ikegai Shotaro founds the Ikegai Works in Shiba Kanasugi, Tokyo (May), starting in a rented shop with two English-type lathes. At the end of the year, he and his younger brother Kishiro…

   Famous machines: Ikegai Works Lathe No. 1 (English-type 9-foot lathe) (1889)

5. Naruse MasaoMasao Naruse

   1898–1979Researchers

   Researcher at Tohoku University (Research Institute for Scientific Measurements), gear research

   He systematized gear theory from the study of mechanisms and clarified the workings of the Swiss Maag gear system. At Tohoku University's Research Institute for Scientific Measurements he studied helical gears and gear making by rolling. In May 1953 he received the Japan Academy Prize with Waguri Akira and Nakata Takashi for "Research on Gears".[12][13, frame 75][13, frame 110][13, frame 111][14, frame 33]

   • Gear cuttingChapter 4: The Lineage of Gear Cutting Machines

6. Charles A. FrancisFrancis, Charles A.

   Engineers

   Practical-training instructor at Tokyo Higher Technical School (American)

   Hired by Tokyo Higher Technical School as a practical-training instructor in August 1903 (Meiji 36). In 1905 Ikegai built an American-type lathe to Francis's specifications and went on to volume production of the "Ikegai standard lathe".[15, frame 64][15, frame 65]

   • Lathes1905Ikegai builds an American-type lathe to Francis's specifications and begins volume production of the "Ikegai standard lathe" (until then mostly English-type)…

7. Otori SeizaburoSeizaburo Otori

   Born 1912Researchers

   Professor at the University of Tokyo, EDM research

   Learning of the Soviet researchers Boris and Natalya Lazarenko's work in 1947, he began research the following year, 1948, and set up experimental equipment. He named the process "hoden kako-ho" (electrical discharge machining), creating the starting point for EDM research in Japan.[16][17]

   • EDM1948Professor Otori Seizaburo of the University of Tokyo, who learned of the Lazarenkos' research in 1947, begins research and has experimental equipment ready the following year. He…
   • EDM1954Otori Seizaburo and Kurafuji Hisao publish Hoden kako (Electrical discharge machining) (Corona Publishing), Japan's first academic book on EDM, which introduces the Japanese makers…

8. Kashifuji TomesaburoTomesaburo Kashifuji

   Founders & executives

   Founder of Kashifuji Iron Works (today's Kashifuji)

   In February 1913 (Taisho 2) he set up Kashifuji Iron Works, a limited partnership in Kyoto, and began making testing machines, dyeing machinery and woodworking machinery. The company history says that in 1918 he built a prototype of the first 40-inch hobbing machine and began making repair gears for the Kyoto City trams.[18, frame 141][19]

   • Gear cutting1918According to Kashifuji's company history, in 1918 its founder Kashifuji Tomesaburo built a prototype of the first 40-inch hobbing machine and, for the Kyoto City trams…
   • Gear cutting1920Kashifuji Iron Works completes a 40-inch hobbing machine, modeled on a Pfauter (Germany) machine

   Famous machines: 40-inch hobbing machine (1920)

9. Yamazaki SadakichiSadakichi Yamazaki

   Died 1962Founders & executives

   Founder of Yamazaki Iron Works (today's Yamazaki Mazak)

   He started Yamazaki Iron Works in Nagoya in 1919 (the company history says its first products were tatami-making machines). In September 1927 it began making machine tools such as lathes and milling machines, and in 1928 it completed its first commercial machine, a 4-shaku lathe. He died in September 1962 while still president. In 2000 the US magazine American Machinist honored him as an innovator of manufacturing from the 1910s.[20]

   • Lathes1919Yamazaki Iron Works is founded in Nagoya (initially tatami-making machines). It begins making lathes and milling machines in September 1927…

10. Inaba SeiuemonSeiuemon Inaba

    1925–2020Engineers

    Automatic Control Department, Fuji Tsushinki → founder and president of FANUC

    Put in charge of the control department at Fuji Tsushinki, he chose to develop NC, taking his lead from MIT reports in the US. In 1956 he developed Japan's first NC unit and servo by a private company, and in 1958 delivered the first commercial unit for Makino Milling Machine's NC milling machine. Fujitsu's 1963 technical journal credits Inaba's Automatic Control Department with the NC of OM Ltd.'s numerically controlled vertical turret lathe. In 1972 the NC division was spun off as Fujitsu FANUC, and as its president he drove the spread of NC.[21][22, frame 17][22, frame 18][23][24, frame 4]

    • Lathes1956Fuji Tsushinki (later FANUC) becomes the first private company to develop an NC unit and servo (first used on a turret punch press…
    • Milling/MCMarch 1958Makino develops the K series of vertical milling machines and Japan's first NC milling machine. The NC unit is Fuji Tsushinki's first commercial…
    • Lathes1972The era of CNC with built-in computers begins. Fujitsu's NC division becomes independent as Fujitsu FANUC and announces…

    Famous machines: FANUC's first NC unit (1956), NC vertical lathe VT5-14 (1962)

11. Okamoto KakusaburoKakusaburo Okamoto

    Founders & executives

    Founder of Okamoto Senyo Kosaku Kikai Seisakusho (today's Okamoto Machine Tool Works)

    He started Okamoto Senyo Kosaku Kikai Seisakusho as a one-man business in 1926 and incorporated it as Okamoto Machine Tool Works in 1935. In 1930, on an order from the Kure Naval Arsenal, he completed the Type ASG-2, Japan's first spur gear grinder, which set the company on the path to becoming a full-line grinder maker (Mechanical Engineering Heritage No. 106).[25][26]

    • Grinders1930On an order from the Kure Naval Arsenal, Okamoto completes the Type ASG-2, the first spur gear grinder made in Japan. Max. pitch diameter 500 mm, module…
    • Gear cutting1930On an order from the Kure Naval Arsenal, Okamoto Machine Tool Works completes the Type ASG-2, the first spur gear grinder made in Japan (Chapter 3)

    Famous machines: Type ASG-2 spur gear grinder (1930), Surface grinder PSG-6B (1953)

12. Makino TsunezoTsunezo Makino

    Founders & executives

    Founder of Makino Milling Machine

    In May 1937 he started the "Makino Shoten Manufacturing Department", a maker specializing in No. 1 vertical milling machines (Makino Vertical Milling Machine Works from 1942). At Makino's request, Fuji Tsushinki and the company jointly developed an NC milling machine, and Japan's first NC milling machine was completed in 1958.[27][22, frame 18][23]

    • Milling/MCMay 1937Makino Tsunezo founds the "Makino Shoten Manufacturing Department", a maker specializing in No. 1 vertical milling machines (renamed Makino Vertical Milling…
    • Milling/MCMarch 1958Makino develops the K series of vertical milling machines and Japan's first NC milling machine. The NC unit is Fuji Tsushinki's first commercial…

    Famous machines: FANUC's first NC unit (1956)

13. Tsugami TaisukeTaisuke Tsugami

    Founders & executives

    Founder of Tsugami Seisakusho (today's Tsugami)

    In June 1923 he began research on gauge blocks in Tokyo. In March 1937 he set up Tsugami Seisakusho in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, and began producing gauge blocks. In 1939 he completed the T-UG300 hydraulic universal cylindrical grinder.[28][29, frame 48][30, frame 7]

    • Grinders1939Tsugami Seisakusho completes the T-UG300 hydraulic universal cylindrical grinder with an incentive grant from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. An early example of a hydraulically driven grinder

14. Inoue KiyoshiKiyoshi Inoue

    Founders & executives

    Founder of Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho (later Japax)

    An engineer who had researched EDM at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In 1953 he hit it off with Okazaki Kaheita, then president of Ikegai Iron Works, and set up Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho, which the following year, 1954, completed Japan's first practical EDM, the Japaxtron D3. He later became president of Japax (Doctor of Science).[17][31, frame 19]

    • EDM1953Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho is founded as an affiliate of Ikegai Iron Works. Its founder, Inoue Kiyoshi, was an engineer who had researched EDM…
    • EDMMarch 1954Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho completes Japan's first practical EDM, the "Japaxtron D3", and delivers it to the Tokyo Institute of Technology…

    Famous machines: Die-sinking EDM Japaxtron D3 (1954)

15. Okazaki KaheitaKaheita Okazaki

    Founders & executives

    President of Ikegai Iron Works (as of 1953)

    In 1953, while president of Ikegai Iron Works, he hit it off with Inoue Kiyoshi, who had been researching EDM, and set up Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho as an affiliate of Ikegai Iron Works.[17]

    • EDM1953Nihon Hoden Kako Kenkyusho is founded as an affiliate of Ikegai Iron Works. Its founder, Inoue Kiyoshi, was an engineer who had researched EDM…

16. Nagaoka ShinkichiShinkichi Nagaoka

    Engineers

    Engineer at Okuma Iron Works

    In 1954 he developed the Okuma non-circular plain bearing, which forms wedge-shaped oil films at three points around the spindle to raise rotational accuracy and stiffness. Together with the Type GPB cylindrical grinder that used it, it was designated Mechanical Engineering Heritage No. 59 in 2013.[32][33]

    • Grinders1954Okuma's Nagaoka Shinkichi develops the Okuma non-circular plain bearing (year per the Mechanical Engineering Heritage; the National Museum of Nature and Science database gives 1943)…
    • GrindersMarch 1956Okuma's Type GPB cyclic cylindrical grinder is completed. It performs roughing, finishing and sizing in one continuous cycle, and at the 2nd Osaka…

    Famous machines: Type GPB cyclic cylindrical grinder and Okuma non-circular plain bearing (1956)

17. Yamazaki TeruyukiTeruyuki Yamazaki

    Died 2011Founders & executives

    President and chairman of Yamazaki Iron Works (today's Yamazaki Mazak)

    Joined the family business in 1946 and assisted his father Sadakichi. He became president in October 1962, and during his tenure the company produced its first NC lathe, the MTC (1968), and the MTC-2500R (1970), the first Japanese NC lathe exported to the US. He became chairman in 2001 and died in September 2011.[20]

    • LathesSeptember 1968Yamazaki Iron Works completes its first NC lathe, the "Mazak Turning Center (MTC)". At launch, one unit cost 7.3…
    • Lathes1970Yamazaki Iron Works' NC lathe MTC-2500R (serial no. 200; FANUC 240, paper tape, electro-hydraulic pulse…

    Famous machines: NC lathe MTC-2500R (serial no. 200) (1970)

18. Furukawa ToshihikoToshihiko Furukawa

    Founders & executives

    Founder of Sodick

    He led development of the UF105C power supply for die-sinking EDMs (1974). Using transistors as switches, it cut electrode wear to 1% or less and was called a "no-wear electrode power supply". In 1976 he split off from Japax and started Sodick in Yokohama.[34][17][35]

    • EDM1974The UF105C power supply for die-sinking EDMs. Using transistors as switches, it cut electrode wear to 1% or less and was called a "no-wear…
    • EDMAugust 1976Sodick splits off from Japax and is founded in Yokohama. The same year it releases SIX-LORAN, Japan's first orbiting device (…

    Famous machines: Die-sinking EDM 22-NC 8000 (1980), Die-sinking EDM AM series (AM35L) (1998)

19. Momoi ShojiShoji Momoi

    Engineers

    Engineer at Yamazaki Iron Works (today's Yamazaki Mazak)

    In 1977, to cut the processes and man-hours for machining the spindles of the company's own machine tools, he led the start of full-scale development of multitasking machines. This work produced the SLANT TURN 30 Mill Center in 1979 and the 40N ATC Mill Center in 1983.[36]

    • Multitasking/5-axis1977At Yamazaki Iron Works (today's Yamazaki Mazak), full-scale development of a multitasking machine begins, led by Momoi Shoji. The spindles of the company's own machine tools…
    • Multitasking/5-axis1983Builds a 30-tool ATC in-house and shows the "SLANT TURN 40N ATC Mill Center" at EMO (Paris)…

    Famous machines: SLANT TURN 40N ATC Mill Center (1983), INTEGREX 40ATC Mill Center (1988)

20. Nakata TakashiTakashi Nakata

    Researchers

    Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, gear research

    In May 1953 he received the Japan Academy Prize with Naruse Masao and Waguri Akira for "Research on Gears".[13, frame 110][37, frame 398]

    • Gear cuttingChapter 4: The Lineage of Gear Cutting Machines

How we present the people

• Birth and death years only when confirmed. We checked them against National Diet Library authority data (the birth and death years attached to author headings), company histories and directories of the time, and official company histories. Where only one of the two could be confirmed, we give only that one.
• Beware of people who inherited the same name. The name Ikegai Shotaro was taken over by his eldest son in 1934 (the second). The Ikegai Shotaro on this page is the founder.
• We do not repeat company claims as they are. For "world first" or "Japan first", the text or the chapter timeline says which source makes the claim.

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