Nikon

A Celebration - Third Edition

Brian Long

• Publisher: Crowood
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781785004698
• eBook ISBN: 9781785004704
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Fotografía

This book is much more than just a history of the high-quality cameras and lenses that have made the Nikon brand a household name; it is also a chronicle of the birth of this most famous of Japanese photography equipment manufacturers and the way in which it has evolved over 100 years to keep abreast of advances in technology and ahead of the competition. This fully updated and expanded third edition is heavily illustrated throughout with rare archive material from around the world, and augmented by a feast of original shots and pictures of the cameras in use. The text is backed up by extensive appendices containing everything the avid Nikon collector needs to know. A celebration of the birth of this most famous of Japanese photography equipment manufacturers Nikon 2017 was the 100th Anniversary of Nikon. Fully updated and expanded third edition for 2018.

CHAPTER ONE

THE EARLY DAYS

JAPAN HAD BEEN LARGELY isolated from the outside world until the American commander, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, first sighted the Land of the Rising Sun from his ‘black ships’ in 1853. Perry’s visit, basically one to demand trading rights, coincided with the people’s wish to see an end to the feudal society that had existed in Japan for more than 600 years. The days of rule by the sword were numbered, and the brief war of 1868 (known as the Meiji Restoration) finally put an end to the Tokugawa regime.

For several years before the Meiji Restoration, however, cities open to business with the West were few and far between, including only Yokohama (close to where Perry first dropped anchor), Kobe, Hakodate, Niigata and Nagasaki, the oldest trading post of the Edo era (1600–1868). If one goes today to the northern port of Hakodate, which escaped the heavy bombing Japan suffered during the Second World War, one can see an eclectic mix of architecture from around the world, providing the visitor with a glimpse into the past when this great nation first felt foreign influence.

Mutsuhito, or Emperor Meiji, was only fifteen years old when he took up the role of head of state in Edo (later renamed Tokyo) following the death of his father a year earlier, becoming the 122nd emperor. The Meiji era (1868–1912) brought about a new dawn and, as time passed, a far greater willingness to deal with and adopt the ways of the West. Emperor Meiji built up a particularly good relationship with Britain and other parts of Europe, helping Japan to model its railways and roads, its postal system and growing navy on that of the UK. Grand, European-style buildings sprang up in the business quarters of the major cities, with Western clothing gradually replacing traditional Japanese attire in the country’s bustling city streets as the nineteenth century came to a close.

This interesting Tokyo street scene from before the Great Kanto Earthquake shows the European influence on Japanese life brought about by the Meiji Restoration. COURTESY NATIONAL SCIENCE MUSEUM, TOKYO

KOYATA IWASAKI. Born in 1879, Iwasaki was the head of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu at the time Nippon Kogaku was formed. He was largely responsible for the company’s creation, bringing together Tokyo Keiki, Iwaki Glass and Fujii Lens, and providing a great deal of financial support to get the business off the ground.

YOSHIKATSU WADA, the inspirational leader of Tokyo Keiki and Nippon Kogaku’s first President. Although his time in office was quite short, he managed to persuade Koyata Iwasaki to become more personally involved with Nippon Kogaku. Given Iwasaki’s business clout, this doubtless had an effect on order levels.

It was an exciting era of change and growth, but, unfortunately, Emperor Meiji fell ill at the start of 1912 and died that July. His son, Yoshihito, was duly sworn in as Emperor Taisho. Europe, which provided Japan with a great deal of trade and also supplied it with the majority of its industrial and military requirements, however, was about to be plunged into turmoil.

The First World War – a Catalyst

The Russo-Japanese war of 1904–5 had been fought and won by Japan with British-built ships and armaments, German and French binoculars, and, notably, English rangefinders. European countries were quick to realize that modern warfare called for good optical equipment – after all, firing one shell on target is far more effective than firing 10,000 if they all miss!

During the years following its victory over Russia, the Imperial Japanese Navy grew in strength, but, despite the fact that Japan had been studying the production of optical equipment since 1892 (such as microscopes, cameras and surveying instruments), virtually all of its military technology continued to be bought in from abroad.

This situation was all well and good until the First World War brought an abrupt halt to supplies from Europe. When Germany and her supporters first clashed with the Allied forces in the summer of 1914, military exports stopped almost overnight. Indeed, most of Europe’s trade with the Far East was suspended, as domestic considerations were given priority in countries with which Japan was in league, and Germany became the enemy on 23 August 1914.

This unexpected development in Europe speeded up Japan’s resolve to produce its own military equipment. In fact, several high-ranking officers had been saying that Japan needed its own optical industry for some years before the First World War. One of the key visionaries to preach the importance of becoming self-sufficient in this area was a naval officer named Akira Ando, who approached the Tokyo Imperial University in 1906 to study mathematics and physics with a view to furthering lens technology. His later role as an armaments inspector only strengthened his views regarding the need for domestic expertise.

With the help of Tokyo Keiki Co. and Fujii Lens, Ando successfully made a pair of rangefinders to his original designs in 1913. By this time a few small Japanese companies were commercially producing microscopes and camera obscura (traditional camera bodies). Although high-quality camera lenses and shutters were still beyond the ability of these pioneering concerns, the seeds for an optical industry had definitely been sown.

When the time came to equip Japan’s latest battleship, Haruna, with its telescope and rangefinders, Britain was at war and the order could not be fulfilled. The Navy therefore approached Fujii Lens regarding the telescope on the main armament, and Tokyo Keiki for the 1.5m and 4.5m rangefinders. While the 1.5m item was duly produced in 1915, the larger rangefinder proved too difficult to make with such limited experience. Ando’s worst fears had been confirmed, but Japan took the initiative to send two naval engineers to Britain to learn as much as possible about rangefinder technology.

Meanwhile, the First World War brought a great deal of business the way of Japan’s fledgling optical firms, as the UK, France and Russia ordered items such as field binoculars from their Japanese ally.

Ando, now a Rear Admiral, was Japan’s naval attaché in England during the war. He learnt that a Fujii Lens representative was in America, exhibiting binoculars at the exposition held to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, and requested a meeting in London to obtain a number of...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 The Early Days
• 2 The Rangefinder Years
• 3 The First SLR Models
• 4 The F3 and F4 Era
• 5 New F Models and The Digital Revolution
• Appendices
• Index