It looks like Team Rocket has Ash surrounded! If only we knew where Pikachu was!
Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Chris
Team Rocket & Ash
Tag Japan
Yashica’s Factory in the late 1950s – Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture
I’ve been on a rather long quest to discover Yashica’s roots during their earliest days as a start-up in the tech-savvy region along the shores of Lake Suwa – also known as the “Switzerland of the Orient”.
With the help of my good friend Paul Sokk from Australia (www.yashicatlr.com), we’ve nailed down the location of Yashica’s second factory which was opened in 1956. I say second because Yashica’s (then Yashima) first factory was located across Lake Suwa in the town of Suwa – possibly established as early as the late 1940s. Yashica likely operated its first camera factory in Suwa – an early 1954 advertisement in English claims that the head office was located at 244, 4-Ku Ohwa, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, Telephone: Suwa 1350-4 (see scan below). My thinking is that is a less than an accurate translation of the Japanese to English. I’ve had more luck in finding the general area on today’s maps by using 2-4-4 Owa, Suwa which brings me very close to the present day Seiko-Epson headquarters.
Likely 1954 advertisement in an English language newspaper circulated in Japan. As best as I can tell it may be the first ad for the Yashima Flex in English.
My fear all along during this search was that since Yashica was bought out by Kyocera in 1983 that the fate of the factory in Shimosuwa would be lost in time since Kyocera’s current factory in Okaya is not related to the Shimosuwa factory.
With Paul’s sharp eyes, attention to detail, and sheer determination he was able to find Yashica’s old factory in present-day Shimosuwa.
Yashica’s “new” factory in Shimosuwa as it looked in late 1956 (at least to the artist). Lake Suwa and the distant shoreline can be seen in the distance. Of note, this artists rendering is in no way even close to scale – many of the buildings are in the wrong location and the smokestacks seem to be placed for artistic “balance” vice accurate representation. Of course, this drawing may be more conceptional and not reflective of reality.
The image above is an artist’s rendering of the Shimosuwa factory complex before the addition of the massive gym structure (see below) and before the central administration building was built.
Looking south across Yashica’s factory campus as it appeared in the mid-1960s. The large building on the bottom center in this picture is Yashica’s gym and auditorium. The administration building is shown about centered in this scan.
The famous and easily identifiable Yashica factory administration building at night.
Aerial view of the Yashica factory campus from around 1959 or so. The gym building is on the extreme upper left in this picture. The factory administration building with the large verticle “Yashica” on it can be seen from behind (from the south looking north).
This image is from a 1958 Yashica sales brochure. The distinctive Yashica factory administration building as it looked when new. At this point in time, it still had the covered parking area just to the building’s right – two modern full-sized “service” vehicles are parked underneath.
A view of the Yashica factory campus from around 1960. I would guess that the view is taken from the hillside that overlooks the grounds. Very similar view of the artist’s rendering from 1956. (Document scan courtesy of Paul Sokk)
Current view of the original site of Yashica’s first factory in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture. The present use of this site is by Mutoh Industries, Ltd. – a maker of large-scale inkjet printers for commercial use and sold around the world.
In the above capture, Yashica’s gym building (large silver roof structure in the upper left portion of the highlighted area) can still be seen. Most of the original buildings appear to have saved.
It’s been a long but enjoyable process searching for this site. For a Yashicaphile such as myself, I would love to be able to visit the site and tour the facilities. I would like to meet with previous employees of Yashica and speak with them about their experiences while working for Yashica. Maybe someone knows the exact location of Yashica’s first factory in Suwa. That would be neat. I’ve reached out to the Mutoh company and have inquired if they would be interested in acquiring any of my collected scans of the factory from its earliest days.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Yashica’s L AF – good things come from plastic rectangles
A true plastic fantastic from Kyocera-Yashica. Released around 1986, this little gem is a modern classic. It gives much better-known (and much more expensive) point & shoots a run for the money.
Poor man’s T* Series with Zeiss lenses (I’m pretty sure these lenses are Zeiss without the coating).
Not much control over this camera – it was designed to take pictures without much fuss – and do it well.
It says Yashica lens but I’m sure it’s a Zeiss – why wouldn’t it? By the way, the 32mm f/3.5 lens is as fast as the other T* Series lenses – with the exception of the Kyocera T Scope (Japanese market T3) which is f/2.8
Good condition Yashica L AF’s are not common on online auction sites but nice ones still go for less than $40 or so. This nearly mint one went for $20!
Sharp contrasty lens – quick but not super quick AF but excellent auto exposure – perfect pics nearly every shot!
Images were taken on Fujicolor Superia color negative film. No post-production on any of these outside pics.
Headed our way from Japan!
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Happy SUNday!
A couple of the advertising boys from Yashica
Could this be the camera that our Sailor Boy is holding? Yashica’s Auto Focus Motor 35 from 1981.
Since Yashica has never officially named their advertising doll, I’ve always referred to him as ‘Sailor Boy’ for obvious (to me) reasons. Sailor hat and blue sailor pants. The other boy – well that’s still up for discussion. I originally thought of him as being a party boy and then a Christmas elf and now back to party guy and now… Yashica’s take on the nursery rhyme, “Wee Willie Winkie”. Floppy hat with the little ball or tassels on the end, and pointy slippers. It appears that Yashica used him to “announce” the arrival of their new camera. A stretch but thanks to my friend Paul, a good stretch.
The camera that the boy is holding resembles the Yashica Auto Focus Motor which was released in the early 1980s. The brochure shows the camera on a table with party hats, presents and a cake with candles – a birthday cake?
Party hat? Christmas hat? Sleeping cap? It is missing a green decal on the front of the hat that says Yashica in katakana. The green decal and the white hat with red stars made me think that these were Christmas colors.
The Sailor Boy (far right) with his proper green decal on his cap. Pointy (elf?) shoes and what appears to be a Christmas ball hanging from the cap… or maybe not.
A true Christmas Sailor Boy – he’s a candle and so is his tree.
Could this be Yashica’s inspiration??? Hmmmm
Thanks for stopping by Y’all! Have a great day!
Chris and Carol
Blondie – ‘Heart of Glass’ – 1979
Recently discovered within our older collection of “neat stuff” from Japan (Carol and I lived in Yokohama in the late 1970s) is this almost new Blondie 45rpm record that was purchased at a nearby record shop – Hama Gakki.
Thanks for stopping by!
Be sure to visit our online store at https://www.ccstudio2380.com for bunches of stuff!
Chris and Carol
Happy Earth Day 2018!
Celebrate the Earth and all of its creatures –
Do something nice for the Earth today!
Thanks, Chris and Carol
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
A Face in a Crowd – WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge
We went deep into our archives for these two images in response to this week’s challenge – A Face in a Crowd –
Taken along a typical busy shopping street in Sugita, Japan (just south of Yokohama) in the late 1970s. If you look closely you can see the faces of at least two women inside looking out.
One of our favorite images from our time living in Japan in the late 1970s. The face of the bus driver is clearly seen as he is busy checking me out in his rearview mirror.
Hope you enjoyed our contribution to this week’s challenge. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit our online shop at https://www.ccstudio2380.com
C&C ^.^
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Dolls from Japan – 1978
These lovely dolls were handmade for us while we were living in Japan between 1977 and 1980. A wonderful artist came to our home and we helped “design” the dolls we wanted.
Specifically, we lived in a Western-style home in Honmoku, Naka-ku, Kanagawa Prefecture – just south of Yokohama City proper.
The artistry and attention to detail are amazing.
Thanks for stopping by!
C&C ^.^
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Yashica J-3 Sales Brochure – 1962
We don’t have an exact date on this brochure – we’re mainly basing it on the recognized release date in the United States. Since this is a Japanese brochure it could have been earlier or later.
Of interest, the first M42 screw mount camera made by Yashica was the Penta J which was also known in Japan as the “Jaguar”. The name Jaguar never appeared on the camera body, just in advertising. It is possible that the “J” in the J-3 could have been for Jaguar but the marketers from Yashica decided to shorten it to just “J” at the last minute.
Front and back covers for the first J-3 brochure.
These images (below) are from two different J-3 instruction booklets that we have in our collection. The one on the left appears to be from a rare early version of the book with the image on the right from the later and more common book. Of note, the camera in the left image does not have a name on the body while the camera in the book on the right shows J-3. It’s an entirely different picture of the J-3. Our guess is that the book on the left has either a prototype or pre-production camera before Yashica finalized the name for the camera. They may have still been up in the air about naming it J-3 or possibly Jaguar something.
The left camera appears without a name and very different (and rather odd looking) accessory shoe. The camera on the right carries the J-3 name and the “correct” accessory shoe that ended up in production.
Same instruction booklet but with the “J-3” written in on the image. Look closely, notice how crude it is. Another clue that the camera was a pre-production or prototype camera.
Well, there you have a bit of Yashica controversy discovered 56 years after the fact! lol
Thanks for your visit!
Remember to stop by our store at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
C&C ^.^
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Hi! Mickey Mouse by Fujifilm – 1996
New arrival at our store! Straight from a collector in Japan – this cool little compact P&S from Fujifilm.
These are nearly impossible to find outside of Japan as they were only licensed by the Walt Disney Company to Fuji Photo Co., Ltd. with the Fujifilm brand on it. This one was sold at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo.
More to come on this one soon – we have the original box and all papers and it’s never been used!
Thanks for your visit!
Be sure to stop by https://www.ccstudio2380.com
Chris ^.^
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 