Tamaya Technics Inc.

Tamaya Technics Inc. (タマヤ計測システム株式会社) is a Japanese manufacturer of optical instruments and measuring equipment headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company traces its origins to 1675, when Tozaemon Tamaya founded Tamaya Megane-Ten, a shop for optical lenses and eyeglasses. During the Meiji period the business was renamed Tamaya Shōten in 1901 and incorporated; it became the first Japanese company to import and sell overseas optical surveying instruments and subsequently manufactured such instruments itself. In 1894 Tamaya Shōten patented Japan's first optical length-measuring device, and its product line included pocket compasses. From 1901 the company operated as a joint-stock company in two divisions: Tamaya Shōten Co., Ltd., whose production was oriented more toward military than civilian use, and Tamaya Co., Ltd., which focused more on private customers. Both were based in Tokyo. During the Taishō period Tamaya Shōten increasingly produced its own developments rather than importing or license-manufacturing foreign products. It produced theodolites and, from 1922, Japan's first domestically made sextants. The company specialized in the manufacture, sale and export of optical surveying, measuring, navigation and drawing instruments, as well as weather equipment and optical instruments. By the end of 1964 it had produced more than 41,000 instruments. Early production used telescopes from Germany, which were replaced by Japanese products in the 1970s. In 1978 the two companies were reunited and in 1983 renamed Tamaya Technics Inc. Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co., Ltd. acquired the company in 2017 and holds 100% of its shares. Today Tamaya Technics supplies a broad portfolio organized around navigation instruments, surveying instruments, dam-body observation equipment, meteorological and environmental instruments, water-level and flow measurement, and fiber-optic sensing. Its navigation line includes sextants (including a gold sextant), navigation calculators, chronometers, marine wind vanes, and marine binoculars. Surveying products include levels, Invar precision staffs, leveling data collectors, planimeters (PLANIX series), single-beam precision echo sounders such as the ECHOTRAC E20, laser theodolites, laser pointers, laser plumb bobs, and 2D scanners. For dams it offers plumb-line systems (normal and reverse), coordinators, deflection measurement devices, and dam leakage water measurement devices with float-type and ultrasonic leak-water level transmitters. Meteorological equipment covers wind direction and speed, rainfall (tipping-bucket rain gauges, TAMAPod LLUVIA-2, TAMAPod PULSO-2), temperature and humidity, solar radiation and radiation balance, snow depth, comprehensive weather observation, upper-air wind observation, and present-weather visibility. Water measurement includes water-level gauges (KDC-S10 series), water-level recording and monitoring devices (TAMAPod AQUA-2), small crystal water-level gauges, and crisis-management water-level recorders. Fiber-optic sensing includes temperature, strain, pressure and displacement sensors and fiber-optic measurement instruments. The company is a member of several Japanese industry associations, including the Japan Surveying Instruments Manufacturers Association, the Japan Marine Equipment Association, the Japan Meteorological Instruments Manufacturers Association, the Japan Association of Surveyors, the Japan Institute of Navigation, and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Tamaya Technics Inc. traces its origins to 1675, when a Japanese named Tozaemon Tamaya founded a shop for optical lenses and eyeglasses called Tamaya Megane-Ten. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), Tamaya Megane-Ten was renamed Tamaya Shōten in 1901 and incorporated. Tamaya Shōten was the first Japanese company to import and sell overseas optical surveying instruments in Japan and subsequently to manufacture such instruments itself. In 1894 Tamaya Shōten patented the first optical length-measuring device. Its products also included a pocket compass. From 1901 the company operated as a joint-stock company in two divisions: Tamaya Shōten Co., Ltd., whose production was oriented more toward military than civilian use, and Tamaya Co., Ltd., which focused more on private customers. Both were headquartered in Tokyo. During the Taishō period, Tamaya Shōten increasingly produced its own developments rather than selling imports from abroad or manufacturing under license. Theodolites were produced, and from 1922 the first domestically made sextants in Japan. Tamaya specialized in the manufacture, sale and export of optical surveying, measuring, navigation and drawing instruments, as well as weather equipment and optical instruments. By the end of 1964 the company had produced more than 41,000 instruments. In early production, telescopes from Germany were used; these were replaced by Japanese products in the 1970s. In 1978 the two companies were reunited, and in 1983 the business was renamed Tamaya Technics Inc. Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co., Ltd. acquired the company in 2017 and holds 100% of its shares. In the modern era, Tamaya Technics has continued to develop and supply a wide range of instruments. Its product catalog includes navigation instruments such as sextants (including a gold sextant), navigation calculators, chronometers, marine wind vanes and marine binoculars; surveying instruments such as levels, Invar precision staffs, leveling data collectors, planimeters (PLANIX series), single-beam precision echo sounders (ECHOTRAC E20), laser theodolites, laser pointers, laser plumb bobs and 2D scanners; dam-body observation equipment such as normal and reverse plumb-line systems, coordinators, deflection measurement devices and dam leakage water measurement devices with float-type and ultrasonic leak-water level transmitters; meteorological equipment covering wind direction and speed, rainfall (tipping-bucket rain gauges, TAMAPod LLUVIA-2, TAMAPod PULSO-2), temperature and humidity, solar radiation and radiation balance, snow depth, comprehensive weather observation, upper-air wind observation and present-weather visibility; water measurement including water-level gauges (KDC-S10 series), water-level recording and monitoring devices (TAMAPod AQUA-2), small crystal water-level gauges and crisis-management water-level recorders; and fiber-optic sensing including temperature, strain, pressure and displacement sensors and fiber-optic measurement instruments. The company is a member of several Japanese industry associations, including the Japan Surveying Instruments Manufacturers Association, the Japan Marine Equipment Association, the Japan Meteorological Instruments Manufacturers Association, the Japan Association of Surveyors, the Japan Institute of Navigation, and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

• 2017

  Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co., Ltd. acquires the company and holds 100% of its shares.

• 1983

  The business is renamed Tamaya Technics Inc.

• 1978

  The two companies are reunited.

• 1970

  German telescopes used in early production are replaced by Japanese products during the 1970s.

• 1964

  By the end of the year, the company has produced more than 41,000 instruments.

• 1922

  Tamaya Shōten produces the first domestically made sextants in Japan.

• 1901

  Tamaya Megane-Ten is renamed Tamaya Shōten and incorporated; the company operates as a joint-stock company in two divisions.

• 1894

  Tamaya Shōten patents the first optical length-measuring device.

• 1675

  Tozaemon Tamaya founds Tamaya Megane-Ten, a shop for optical lenses and eyeglasses.

Long-established Japanese specialist in precision optical and measurement instruments for navigation, surveying, meteorology, dam monitoring and environmental sensing.

• Navigation instruments

  Sextants (including gold sextant)

• Navigation instruments

  Navigation calculators

• Navigation instruments

  Chronometers

• Navigation instruments

  Marine wind vanes

• Navigation instruments

  Marine binoculars

• Surveying instruments

  Levels and Invar precision staffs

• Surveying instruments

  PLANIX planimeters

• Surveying instruments

  ECHOTRAC E20 precision echo sounder

• Surveying instruments

  Laser theodolites, laser pointers, laser plumb bobs

• Surveying instruments

  2D scanners

• Dam-body observation equipment

  Plumb-line systems (normal and reverse)

• Dam-body observation equipment

  Dam leakage water measurement devices

• Meteorological equipment

  Tipping-bucket rain gauges

• Meteorological equipment

  TAMAPod LLUVIA-2 and TAMAPod PULSO-2

• Water measurement

  KDC-S10 water-level gauges

• Water measurement

  TAMAPod AQUA-2

• Fiber-optic sensing

  Fiber-optic temperature, strain, pressure and displacement sensors

• Fiber-optic sensing

  Fiber-optic measurement instruments

1. 1タマヤ計測システム 公式サイトtamaya-technics.com
2. 2会社概要 | タマヤ計測システム株式会社tamaya-technics.com
3. 3Tamaya Technics – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
4. 4Tamaya – Wikidatawikidata.org