Tanaka Manufacturing founded in Ginza, Tokyo, predecessor of Toshiba

Background. Tanaka Hisashige, a prominent inventor during the Edo period, was invited to Tokyo in 1873 by the Ministry of Industry to produce telegraphs. This initiative led to the establishment of Tanaka Seisakusho in 1875. The company was the first in Japan to manufacture telegraph equipment, marking a significant development in Japanese telecommunications and industrial history.

Establishment. On 11 July 1875, Tanaka Seisakusho was established in Tokyo. It was the first Japanese company to manufacture telegraph equipment. Tanaka Hisashige, known for his engineering skills, founded this entity, which is regarded as a predecessor of Toshiba; Toshiba itself was founded in 1939 by the merger of Shibaura Seisakusho and Tokyo Denki, and the supplied passages do not detail the intermediate steps.

Legacy. After Tanaka Hisashige's death in 1881, his son founded Tanaka Engineering Works. The company became partly owned by General Electric and expanded into military production, including torpedoes and mines, for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Tanaka Seisakusho is regarded as a predecessor of Toshiba, which was founded in 1939 by the merger of Shibaura Seisakusho and Tokyo Denki.