A D V E N T U R E S   in   C Y B E R S O U N D

Kenjiro Takayanagi : 1899 - 1990

The Japanese say the honour of the first working electronic television system goes to Kenjito Takayanagi of Tokyo. On Christmas Day, 1926, he used a cathode-ray tube to transmit an image of Japanese writing. Japan now honours Mr. Takayanagi, who was a slow learner in school, as the inventor of TV.


Source: http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/schools/rta/brd038/clasmat/class1/tvhist.htm

One of the founders of television in Japan is Kenjiro Takayanagi, who was a teacher at Hamamatsu Technical High School. He began his experiments during the late Taisho Era, and conducted a successful public demonstration using the Braun tube system at a television conference at the Tokyo branch of the Electrical Academy in Kanda during 1928.

At that time, developments were underway by Tadaoki Yamamoto and others at Waseda University. They had a public demonstration of television transmission between Atago Mountain and Hibiya City Hall at the radio exhibition of 1930, in cooperation with NHK Tokyo central station and Hamamatsu Technical High School.

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Fig.1. Television Telephone Apparatus, 1935

At the Sakhalin Colonization Fair in 1936, the Television Telephone Apparatus, (Fig. 1), was a popular exhibition at the Television Pavilion. This device was developed by the Electric Research Section of the Ministry of Communications in 1935.

In its description of the Fair, the August 10 issue of the Hokkai Times newspaper of that year reports that the only three places equipped with television at that time were the Ministry of Communications, Hamamatsu Technical High School and Waseda University. Although they neglected to include NHK and Tokyo Electric Company, it is clear that there were very few television sites at the time.

Experimental television broadcasting in Japan was begun by the Technical Research Center of NHK in 1939, but was curtailed in 1941 with the start of the Pacific War in December of that year.

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Fig. 2. Victor Corporation Television Receiver, 1930

Fig. 2 shows a television made by Victor Corporation that was used at the combined "70th Telegraph, 50th Telephone and 15th Broadcasting Anniversaries" sponsored by our museum and others and held at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi in 1930. When the Pacific War ended in 1945, experimental television broadcasting was resumed as part of the recovery from the post-war confusion. NHK Tokyo Television began regular broadcasting in 1953, and Nippon Television Network commenced operation in August of the same year.


Source: http://www.iptp.go.jp/english/museum/history/siryou/06.html

The Research Institute of Electronics was established at Shizuoka University on the Hamamatsu Campus in 1965. Its history dates back to 1924 when Professor Kenjiro Takayanagi founded the Electronic Vision Laboratory at Hamamatsu Technical College. Professor Takayanagi and his group began their pioneering works on the all-electronic television (TV) system.

In 1930, the images of the TV developed at the College was demonstrated in the presence of the Emperor Showa. Further, the TV broadcasting experiment was successfully performed for the first time in Japan in 1934. It is well known that Professor Takayanagi made many inventions on image devices such as an iconoscope and also major contributions to the development of television technology in Japan.


Source: http://www.rie.shizuoka.ac.jp/RIEhome/Outline.htm

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