Outline of Hisashige Tanaka's Life

One of the founders of Toshiba, Hisashige Tanaka was born into a family of tortoiseshell craftsman in Kurume, Kyushu and showed his talent as an inventor and a craftsman at an early age.

He made many mechanical dolls, which were exhibited in local festival.
He became very popular because of it, and people started calling him "Karakuri (mechanical) Giemon."
In his mid-thirties, he moved to Osaka, and then to Kyoto to invent and manufacture clocks and lighting devices.
When he was in Kyoto, he opened a shop named "Karakuri-do (Mechanical Gadget Shop)."
He also studied astronomy and western technology as well as gaining knowledge far beyond that of a normal craftsman.
When he passed 50, because of his talent, he received an invitation from the Saga Domain, who were very eager to introduce Western technology at the end of the Edo era.
He moved to Saga and worked on the domestic production of steamships, telegraph devices, and Armstrong cannons.
He went to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration (1868) and started to manufacture telegraph equipment.
In 1875 he founded a shop and factory in present-day Ginza, Tokyo.
That was the beginning of Toshiba.
We'd like to introduce you to the life of Hisashige Tanaka who had passion, an inquiring mind, and a challenging spirit to try new things even after the age of 50.