History of Hitachi
Hitachi was founded in 1910 by electrical engineer Namihei Odaira in Ibaraki Prefecture. The company's first product was Japan's first 4-kilowatt (5 hp) induction motor, initially developed for use in copper mining.The company began as an in-house venture of Fusanosuke Kuhara's mining company in Hitachi, Ibaraki. Odaira moved headquarters to Tokyo in 1918.Odaira coined the company's toponymic name by superimposing two kanji characters: hi meaning "sun" and tachi meaning rise.
World War II had a significant impact on the company with many of its factories being destroyed by Allied bombing raids, and discord after the war. Founder Odaira was removed from the company.[citation needed] Hitachi's reconstruction efforts after the war were hindered by a labor strike in 1950. The company saw an increase in business during the Korean War due to defense contracts offered by the American military. Meanwhile, Hitachi went public in 1949.
