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Hitachi

Life of Hitachi Founder: Namihei Odaira

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of birth of Namihei Odaira (1874-1951), the founder of Hitachi. However, the road to the founding of Hitachi was not an easy one. This manga looks back on his life from his childhood to the expansion of his business.

Hitachi's founder, Namihei Odaira, was born in 1874 at Tochigi Prefecture and raised by parents who were passionate about education.
When Namihei was wondering what to study at university, he visited novelist Gensai Murai, who advised him to pursue a career in electrical engineering.
After graduating from university, he went to work at the Kosaka Mine in Akita Prefecture, where he was entrusted with setting up a power plant to run the electric machinery used in the mine.
After completing the power plant at the Kosaka Mine in just two years, Namihei gained experience and went to work for Tokyo Dento (now Tokyo Electric Power Company). However, he was shocked to find that most of the machinery used at the site was made in foreign countries.
Wanting to contribute to Japan's development by producing electrical machinery instead of relying on foreign products, Namihei was encouraged by his boss to change jobs at the Hitachi Mine in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
He joined Hitachi Mine as the head of the repair shop and was busy repairing foreign-made electrical machinery. Later, Namihei was entrusted with the construction of the Ishioka Power Plant, one of the largest in Japan, and attracted many talented people to work with him.
They set about manufacturing a Japanese-made motor, and in 1910, the five-horsepower motor, Hitachi's founding product, was completed.
The following year, the company rebuilt its repair shop, began manufacturing electrical machinery, and began its journey as Hitachi, Ltd. However, even though the company was finally established, it was forced to deal with a series of product problems.
Eventually, orders began to increase as World War I began and imports of foreign products were halted. In 1917, the company moved its headquarters to Tokyo.
After becoming an independent corporation in 1920, Hitachi, Ltd. manufactured large electric locomotives in 1924. When the Kanto region was hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake, the company devoted itself to the reconstruction of the Keihin area and gradually gained public trust.
In 1926, Namihei mass-produced electric fans and began exporting Hitachi products overseas. Even as the Great Depression hit the world, Namihei did not give up, and in just one year he produced a “water electrolysis” on a scale unprecedented anywhere else in the world. He continued to improve his technical capabilities by working on a wide range of products, including elevators and electric refrigerators.
Namihei ended his 77-year life in 1951, but the Hitachi Group continued to expand its business and evolve into a company that provides digital technologies and solutions that support infrastructure. To this day, the founding spirit set forth by Namihei has been handed down from generation to generation.

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