K.K. Kuwata Shōkai (株式会社桑田商会) was a Japanese distributor, based in Osaka.[1] It was found at the beginning of the century.[2] Between 1936 and 1942, it distributed the Mulber (3×4) camera, the Mulber Six, the Semi Mulber, the Mulix and the Seica.
Kuwata was probably the owner of the "Mulber" brand. However the name Mulber Camera Works appears on the shutter plate of the Mulber (3×4) camera and in an advertisement dated March 1936 for the same camera[3] (under "Murber Camera Works"). It is unclear if Mulber Camera Works was an independent company, just Kuwata's manufacturing branch, or some sub-contractor.
Some products distributed by Kuwata are called KKS or have a KKS marking, whose significance is unknown. It is not known if these initials wre directly used by Kuwata or belonged to a manufacturing subcontractor.
Kuwata Shōkai survived the war, and it was an authorized dealer of the Shinkoh Rabbit in 1953.
Cameras distributed
127 film
- Mulber (3×4)
- Seica (4×4)
120 film
- Semi Mulber (4.5×6)
- Mulber Six (6×6)
- Mulix (6×6)
The Green, a rebadged version of the Gotex by Kigawa, has the exact same KKS logo as the Mulix; this might indicate some relation to Kuwata.
Other
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| KKS Anastigmat Mulber 21cm f/4.5. Picture courtesy of Jay Tepper. (Image rights) |
Kuwata also distributed other products:
- Mulber filters;[4]
- Mulber accessory rangefinder, sold ¥15 in 1936;[5]
- KKS Anastigmat Mulber 210/4.5 large format lens, reported to have no diaphragm, sold ¥125 in 1941;[6]
- Bimagon (ビマゴン) wide-angle attachment for the 210/4.5 lens, sold ¥35 in 1941;[7]
- Magnon Special 75/4.5 enlarging lens, advertised in 1940;[8]
- KKS darkroom chemicals.[9]
In the early 1930s, Kuwata was the importer of the Gevaert products.
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| Advertisements for Gevaert products in Asahi Camera February 1930. (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Its address in 1936 was Ōsaka-shi Nishi-ku Shinmachi-dōri 1-chōme 2-banchi (大阪市西区新町通一丁目二番地), and from 1937 to 1939 it was Ōsaka-shi Nishi-ku Itachibori Minami-dōri 1 (大阪市西区立売堀南通一).
- ↑ Lewis, pp.27–8.
- ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera March 1936, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.95.
- ↑ Advertisements in Asahi Camera June and September 1939, October 1940 and February 1941, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.77 and 95–6. — Advertisement on p.17 of Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin, December 15, 1939, reproduced on p.51 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku.
- ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera December 1936, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.95.
- ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera February 1941 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.77. An example sold in an online auction was reported to have no diaphragm.
- ↑ Advertisement in Asahi Camera February 1941 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.77.
- ↑ Advertisement dated October 1940 reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.95.
- ↑ Advertisements in Asahi Camera April 1939 and February 1941, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, pp.77 and 95.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera. Advertisement by Kuwata Shōkai in February 1930 (p.A17).
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7.
- Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin (日本写真興業通信). Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku (百号ごと十回の記録, Ten records, every hundred issues). Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kōgyō Tsūshin Sha (日本写真興業通信社), 1967. No ISBN number. Advertisement on p.51, corresponding to p.17 of the December 15, 1939 issue.
- Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), ISBN 0-935398-16-3 (hard).